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Industry collaboration to develop Singapore as global Digital Marketplace

Dec 12, 2008: Promoting international best practices in content security, management and distribution of digital media content, is key to the development of a vibrant Digital Marketplace.

The Digital Marketplace Programme is an important component of the iN2015 masterplan to grow the Digital Media and Entertainment sector through infocomm, says James Kang, IDA’s Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Government Chief Information Office.

He was speaking at an industry roundtable organised by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA).

"We look forward to increased collaboration with the industry to develop Singapore’s value proposition as a trusted global Digital Marketplace supported by a strong ecosystem of secure and robust services for the management, trade and distribution of digital content through Singapore to the rest of the world,” Mr Kang adds.

The collaboration was agreed by leading media and technology organisations, including the Motion Pictures Association, the US-based Entertainment Technology Centre and MediaCorp.

The Digital Marketplace initiative is spearheaded by IDA to develop a trusted and conducive environment with capabilities and services for digital media businesses to hub, manage, trade and distribute digital media content through and from Singapore. The programme is expected to spur the economy by creating 1,000 new jobs and growing an additional S$1 billion in revenue for Singapore’s Digital Media and Entertainment sector by 2015.

During the roundtable, the following government-industry collaborations and initiatives are forged:

● First digital extension of the Media Marketplace

One of the initiatives include the i-Screener, aimed at encouraging the industry to use technology to provide digital extensions for physical media trading marketplaces.

Developed in partnership with Reed Exhibitions, Ascent Media and Microsoft, the i-Screener is an example of an electronic online platform that provides on-demand viewing of television programme screeners to facilitate the buying and selling of content.

Unveiled at the Asia Television Forum (ATF), the i-Screener alleviates the need for organisers to set up physical screening libraries to manage physical tapes and DVDs, reducing the need for buyers and sellers to handle physical material. Already, the i-Screener has received over 200 programme screeners from content sellers for ATF 2008.

● Content site security programme

With the worldwide digital transition well underway, there is an increasing need to enhance security and protect high-value digital content from theft.

As Singapore develops a secure ecosystem of services in digital content storage, management and distribution, IDA will work closely with the Motion Pictures Association (MPA) to implement and promote content security best practices to Singapore’s digital media and entertainment companies.

The MPA’s Site Security Programme, developed in conjunction with Deloitte & Touche LLP’s Enterprise Risk Services Practice, establishes digital and physical security best practices for facilities along the media value chain, including post production facilities, film labs and supply chain companies.

Recognised by the major studios for content security practices, MPA’s programme applies to the storage, management, and distribution of audio-visual files across the film, television, and broadband content sectors. Singapore is the first country to create such a content security initiative around the MPA Site Security Program and will play a key role in promoting content storage and distribution best practices in the Asia-Pacific region. The MPA’s Site Security Program rates facilities on how securely content is handled across three categories: physical, digital and environmental controls. The criteria enable content owners to determine the level of security at facilities which handle content.

● Collaboration with the Entertainment Technology Centre

IDA and the ETC at the University of Southern California, will collaborate on projects to influence and extend digital content delivery opportunities in Singapore and throughout Asia.

Founded in 1993, the centre's goal is to bring technology and entertainment visionaries together to collaborate on entertainment technology. Sponsoring participants of the centre include Disney, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount and Warner Bros, and technology firms such as Cisco Systems, Deluxe Laboratories and Thomson.

One of IDA’s key objectives in this collaboration is to work with the centre to connect global content owners, global service providers and Singapore companies to discuss and develop models for digital content to be securely managed in Singapore and to be re-distributed to Asian countries across different distribution platforms such as broadcast, cable, VOD, IPTV, mobile and the Internet.

● Singapore's efforts in meta data standardisation

There is a need for the adoption of best practices and standards for managing the storage of digital content through a set of meta data framework. Global standards bodies and regional authorities are exploring how best to create a set of best practices for meta data for identifying and cataloging digital content. The Digital Marketplace industry roundtable will focus on standardisation as a key area for Singapore to address.

MediaCorp will chair the Metadata Standardisation Subgroup, working with industry leaders to identify best practices for meta data management in the media industry.

Note: IDA set up the Digital Marketplace Roundtable in June 2008, comprising local and international players such as Accenture, Aims, Ascent Media, Cisco, Entertainment Technology Centre, GlobeCast, Home Box Office-HBO, MediaCorp, the Motion Pictures Association, Oracle, Siemens and Technicolor.