Mediacorp Studios is a Singaporean production company owned by Mediacorp that produces original programming for its channels. It was established in its current form in 1999 with the creation of a unit grouping all of its production studios.
Before the current unit was established, SBC operated SBC Entertainment Productions 5, which produced content for Channel 5, in both English and Malay languages. In 1993, its controller was Anwar Rashid. [1] The unit was renamed TCS Production 5 in 1994, vice-presided by Kenneth Liang. [2] The unit produced the channel's local sitcoms and talk show of the 1990s, including Under One Roof , Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd , Happy Belly , [3] , My Grandson, the Doctor , Can I Help You? and Ja's Court respectively. [4]
In 1998, second Production 5 VP Daniel Yun left the unit and joined Raintree Pictures. [5]
On 1 August 1999, MediaCorp Studios was created as a strategic business unit (SBU) of the new MediaCorp conglomerate. [6] The unit was presided by Lee Cheok Yew, who was the chief executive of TCS, and was sacked in February 2000; MediaCorp Studios gained a new CEO, Franklin Wong, formerly of Hong Kong broadcaster Asia Television. [7] Under his presidency, he planned to improve the quality of its productions, aiming to be the best in Asia. [8] The company primarily exported to mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan where its shows gained a higher revenue, but wanted to cast its net wider by reaching more markets. [9]
A block of MCS titles premiered in 2009 on TV5. [10] As of 2024, Mediacorp still sells titles to various Philippine television broadcaster, with the latest being Third Rail which aired on GMA Network. [11]
A Malaysian subsidiary, Mediacorp Studios Malaysia, opened in 2011, producing shows for NTV7. The first such production was Kampong Ties, which gained a second window on Channel 8 in Singapore. [12]
On 2 December 2024, Mediacorp Studios began leasing an ABS-CBN Corporation-owned property, ABS-CBN Soundstage at the Horizon IT Park, San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, Philippines, to increase its global footprint. [13]