CNA (TV network)

CNA (an initialism of its former name, Channel NewsAsia[1]) is an English-language news channel based in Singapore. It broadcasts free-to-air domestically and as a subscription network[2] to 29 territories across Asia and Australia.[3]

For other news organisations, see CNA (disambiguation) § News agencies.

ChannelNewsAsia
CountrySingapore
Broadcast area
NetworkMediacorp TV
SloganUnderstand Asia
HeadquartersMediacorp Campus, Singapore
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format1080i HDTV
(downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed)
History
Launched1 March 1999 (1999-03-01)
Former namesChannel NewsAsia (1999 - 2019)
Links
Websitewww.channelnewsasia.com
Availability
Terrestrial
Digital terrestrial televisionUHF CH 33 570MHz DVB-T2 Channel 6 (HD)
myFreeviewUHF CH 33 570MHz DVB-T2 Channel 6 (HD) (Johor Only)
Satellite
AsiaSat 73736 MHz
Thaicom 63760 H 30000
Thaicom 812604 V 30000
PSI (Thailand)Channel 225
GMM Z (Thailand)Channel 70
Streaming media
CNA Official (International)Watch TV
meWATCH (Singapore feed)Available on meWATCH website or mobile app
(Singapore only)

CNA has the sixth-widest reach among television news channels covering content indigenous to Asia, according to the most recent Ipsos Affluent Survey.[4] The network has been positioned since its launch as an alternative to Western-based international media in its presentation of news from "an Asian perspective".[5] It is run by Mediacorp News Pte Ltd,[6] a subsidiary of the Singapore media conglomerate Mediacorp Pte Ltd.[7]

CNA also produces news and current affairs content in Singapore's four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Content is produced for Mediacorp's online platforms, with news bulletins made for and shown on the company's mass entertainment channels Suria, Channel 5, U, Channel 8 and Vasantham.

CNA provides news broadcasts through its own domestic radio station. It also provides live streaming of world news through its official online portal,[8] and its social media presence through Facebook, Instagram, YouTube[9] and Twitter as well as apps for tablets and mobile devices to allow viewers to access content at any time.[10]

History

Channel NewsAsia was launched on 1 March 1999, under the Television Corporation of Singapore (renamed Media Corporation of Singapore the same year). The network aired only in Singapore at the beginning, as it was only focused on news from that country. It started to be distributed in Southeast Asia on 28 September 2000.[11]

In 2002, CNA signed a news content deal with Metro TV, in which it allowed the latter to use its video footages on its own network in Indonesia. Several carriage deals were done in 2004, including an arrangement between Mediacorp and China International TV Corporation (CITV) for CNA to be made available in hotels in China from 2005. The deal was signed in May and announced in November. In July, a deal was struck between Mediacorp and the Thailand Cable TV Association for CNA's carriage in the country. A similar deal was made with Malaysian pay-TV operator MiTV the following month.

In August 2012, CNA reached an agreement to be broadcast in Myanmar through satellite-TV operator Sky Net.[12] CNA opened its Myanmar news bureau in the capital Yangon in October 2013 – the bureau officially opened in January 2014 – as only one of four foreign news organisations licensed to operate in the country at the time.[13]

The network's graphical package was rebranded on 21 January 2013, and began broadcasting 24 hours a day. The network's new city studio in the Marina Bay Financial Centre was unveiled.[14] In July 2014, CNA opened its Vietnam bureau.[15] Other bureaus the channel had opened at the time were Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Seoul and Tokyo; unofficial offices were also maintained in other cities such as Mumbai, New Delhi and Washington D.C.

In September 2014, the channel announced plans to expand its studio in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, into a fully functional high-definition (HD) satellite office.[16]

On 26 May 2015, CNA began airing in HD. In July 2015, CNA's reach was placed at 58 million households in 26 countries.[17] CNA began broadcasting in India on 19 November 2015, through satellite operator Tata Sky. The move extended the network's reach to 14 million households in India, Mediacorp and Tata Sky said in a joint press statement.[18]

On 1 August 2018, Channel NewsAsia was launched on Astro in Malaysia. It stayed on Channel 533 and moved to Channel 515 on 1 April 2020.

In April 2019, to commemorate the channel's 20th anniversary, Channel NewsAsia was officially relaunched as CNA.[1] The said rebrand is in conjunction with the station's transformation as a transmedia news outlet, which captures as much audience as possible across various platforms. Alongside its traditional television channel and online platforms, the renaming marks the integration of radio station 938Now to the CNA brand (with the station taking the CNA938 brand, which will carry news and talk shows that complements that of the TV channel). Meanwhile, CNA launched a cross-platform program, Asia First, which is simulcast on CNA 938. Tell CNA is also launched as a citizen journalism program of the network.

Beginning 1 May 2019, CNA ceased its daytime simulcast on Channel 5, due to the merger of the latter channel and okto, which ceased its transmission on the same day.[19]

Programming
Main article: List of programmes broadcast by CNA

Broadcast feeds

CNA's programs are transmitted into two separate broadcast feeds:

  • Domestic - the channel's official feed providing 24-hour news, talk and lifestyle coverage. The Domestic feed also contains Singapore-only content including local public service videos, Mediacorp promos, sports content limited by rights agreement with international sporting organisations, and (as in most international channels with domestic feeds) the national anthem Majulah Singapura every 06:00 SST. CNA Domestic is available to Singapore viewers via over-the-air, StarHub Cable, Singtel TV, and Mediacorp's over-the-top streaming service meWATCH.
  • International - almost identical to the Domestic feed, but also provides opt-outs during Domestic-only content and annual English commentary coverage of Singapore's National Day Parade every 9 August. The International feed is carried by most cable and satellite systems in Asia and, occasionally, in other parts of the world via livestreaming and (since 1 February 2019) on CNA's YouTube channel.[20]

See also
  • Media of Singapore

References
  1. "Channel NewsAsia to adopt 'CNA' as its brand name". CNA. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  2. "Channel NewsAsia". Lyngsat. 30 January 2018. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2018.
  3. "About Channel NewsAsia". Mediacorp. Archived from the original on 3 June 2018. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  4. "Ipsos Affluent Survey: No change at top for Asia-Pacific's #1 news brand". Mediaweek. Sydney, Australia. 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 2 April 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  5. Michael Bromley; Angela Romano (12 October 2012). Journalism and Democracy in Asia. Routledge. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-134-25414-9.
  6. "BizFile online business registry". Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) of Singapore. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  7. Tan, Chwee Huat (2002) [1997]. Singapore Financial and Business Sourcebook (2nd ed.). Singapore: NUS Press. p. 586. ISBN 9971692562. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  8. Tay, Vivienne (25 April 2017). "Channel NewsAsia undergoes "most extensive upgrade"". Marketing Interactive. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  9. "Mediacorp becomes YouTube's strategic content partner in Singapore". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  10. "Channel NewsAsia revamps app, website for better browsing experience". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  11. "Speech by DPM Lee Hsien Loong at the Asian launch of Channel NewsAsia at the Raffles Ballroom". National Archives of Singapore. Singapore: Media Division, Ministry of Information and the Arts. 28 September 2000. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  12. "Channel NewsAsia hits Myanmar's shores". Marketing. 29 August 2012. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  13. "Channel NewsAsia opens bureau in Myanmar". TODAY. Singapore. 10 October 2013. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  14. "Channel NewsAsia relaunches; adds Mumbai bureau". Indian Television. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  15. "Channel NewsAsia opens bureau in Vietnam". Channel NewsAsia. Singapore. 22 July 2015. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  16. "CNA to launch satellite studio in Malaysia". Asia Broadcast Union. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Archived from the original on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  17. Thongtep, Watchiranont (6 July 2015). "Singapore expands its news outlets". The Nation. Bangkok, Thailand. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  18. "Tata Sky launches Singapore's Channel News Asia in India". The Economic Times. Mumbai, India. 19 November 2015. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  19. "Mediacorp integrates English-language channels Channel 5 and okto". Channel NewsAsia. 20 February 2019. Retrieved 20 February 2019.
  20. "Mediacorp becomes YouTube's strategic content partner in Singapore". Channel NewsAsia. 1 February 2019. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
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