CNA is an English-languagenews channel based in Singapore. It broadcasts free-to-air domestically and as a subscription network to 29 territories across Asia and Australia. CNA has the sixth-widest reach among television news channels covering content indigenous to Asia, according to the most recent Ipsos Affluent Survey. 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". It is run by Mediacorp News Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of the Singapore media conglomerate Mediacorp Pte Ltd. 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, and its social media presence through Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter as well as apps for tablets and mobile devices to allow viewers to access content at any time.
History
Channel NewsAsia was launched on 1 March 1999, under the Television Corporation of Singapore. 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. 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 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. 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. 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. In July 2014, CNA opened its Vietnam bureau. 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 satellite office. On 26 May 2015, CNA began airing in HD. In July 2015, CNA's reach was placed at 58 million households in 26 countries. 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. Beginning April 2019, to commemorate the channel's 20th anniversary, Channel NewsAsia will be officially relaunched as CNA. The said rebrand will be in conjunction with the station's transformation as a transmedia news outlet, which will capture as many audience as possible across various platforms. Alongside its traditional television channel and online platforms, the renaming will mark the integration of radio station 938Now to the CNA brand. Meanwhile, CNA will also launch a cross-platform program, Asia First, which will see a simulcast on CNA Talk. Tell CNA will also be 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.
Programming
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 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 servicemeWATCH.
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 on CNA's YouTube channel.
