Cable television received an unexpected boost against terrestrial rivals in Singapore after the city eased control on sexual content on TV programming.
In the latest review of its notoriously tight censorship rules, Singapore offered leeway on sexual content, but tightened its rein on violence and coarse language in mass media. With this easing, previously banned shows such as HBO's Sex in the City will be allowed after 10pm on cable TV.
The jury is still out, however, on whether racy content will also be allowed on free-to-air channels. "The content standards for free-to-air (FTA) TV should continue to be stricter than those for other mediums such as film, video and cable TV, because of its wider accessibility to the young," explains the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts of its decision.
Media agencies expect the loosening will provide a timely boost for the cable sector at a time when Singapore's hopes of promoting itself as Asia's media hub have been dashed by a lack of interest in its tender for a second cable-TV licence. "With enhanced content via cable, this could give cable subscription and viewing a strong boost and hence offer advertisers and agencies a viable and credible alternative to terrestrial TV," says Audrey Quah, Maximize Singapore's general manager.
HBO is currently working out plans with StarHub Cable to beam Sex in the City in Singapore. "At this point in time, our next steps are to work out the necessary details with our partner, StarHub Cable Vision," says a spokesman for HBO. "Once the show is ready for broadcast on HBO in Singapore, we hope to see a positive response in subscriber growth."
StarHub, which remains the sole cable-TV provider in the city after the licence tender failed, also expects to see more customers tuning in as they "see the value of cable TV over the FTA offering" and are able to "enjoy more international programmes in their entirety", says a StarHub spokesperson.
On the publishing front, magazines such as Cosmopolitan - banned for more than a decade - will be allowed on newsstands shrink-wrapped, but the more sexually-explicit Playboy and Penthouse will find the door as tightly shut as ever. The irony is that during Cosmopolitan's absence, other franchised titles have become as risque - if not more - than the magazine, which was banned for preaching an immoral lifestyle of cohabitation.
Cleo, an ACP title, has been increasingly pushing the envelope on sexual issues. Recent issues have openly discussed lesbianism and have carried pictures of private parts before and after a sex change operation in an article on transvestites. Cleo's editor Corinne Ng sees little competition from the re-entry of Cosmopolitan's international edition into Singapore, saying the local perspective would still be an advantage.
ACP, whose Australian counterpart publishes Cosmopolitan's Australian version in a joint-venture with Hearst International, doesn't yet have plans to bring Cosmopolitan to Singapore. "I'm not saying we're not interested.
We just haven't discussed it yet," says ACP's managing director Julie Sherborn.
Maximize's Quah believes the print liberalisation will offer consumers greater choice but will have little impact on local planning and buying for clients' campaigns. "The exception could be if local editions are launched for previously banned titles - this could then potentially offer additional avenues for major print advertisers," she says.
The censorship review will also see a new category for film classification, M18, introduced for mature audiences over 18 years. Quah expects to see a wider range of movies coming to Singapore, opening up opportunities for brands to embark on more targeted and integrated campaigns.