The crisis in local television is a harbinger of the crisis that Singapore as a whole will soon face. In a nutshell, it's an inability to compete in a world of ideas. Censorship and authoritarian politics are the root causes.
True to the fact that most of the time, my family is either tuned to some Taiwanese variety show or Korean drama on local channels. Otherwise we are glued to Starhub AXN/Star/CNN/CNBC/Discovery channels catching better quality shows. Parents these days have subscribed to Nickelodeon or Disney channels for their children; whilst young adults with access to fast broadband speeds are watching everything online like on Youtube - they make up the fussiest age group with their short attention span and the fact that the internet offers them a wide variety. Why would anyone watch local TV shows anymore? I have observed over the years, more advertisements are being shown on cable channels these days - is this the result of the recession or the declining viewership on local TV channels?
So lucky for those who can afford fast broadband speeds and a slew of overseas programs on a Starhub/MIO TV subscription. They have alternatives, but what about those who can only afford the basic TV license for free-to-air channels?
A great quote from Yawning Bread's article:
Innovation needs a nurturing environment. A bright spark without that environment typically amounts to no more than a flash in a pan. Our politics have ensured that we don't have that environment. So the intellectual desert we see on free-to-air television is a vision of Singapore's future, when we are outclassed by the rest of the world in an age when ideas, knowledge and creativity matter more than ever. And gently, all the while entertained by the best from abroad via the internet, we slip into the Third World.
As we slowly progress on to international quality shows on the internet and paid cable channels, I wonder when can we stop paying TV and Radio licenses? Perhaps that can help to speed up the inevitable - kill off poorly made local productions and drive MediaCorp to really think out of the box to produce good quality content. Why waste taxpayers money to even bring back Phua Chu Kang? A sudden urge for nostalgia? I hardly think this even qualifies as a desperate attempt to help integrate the new PRs and citizens with our local Ps and Qs of Singlish.
Personally, I rather watch old re-runs of Seinfeld and Friends on Star TV.
