CNA (Singapore; PatrZDZ's vision)

**CNA** (stylised as **cna**), which is an initialism derived from its previous name, Channel NewsAsia, is a Singapore multinational news channel owned by Television Corporation of Singapore unit of Singapore International Media (SIM Group of Companies). It broadcasts free-to-air domestically in Singapore and internationally as a pay television channel to 29 territories across the Asia-Pacific.

The network has been positioned as an alternative to Western-based international media in presenting news from "an Asian perspective". Alongside its main focus as an English-language news television channel, CNA also produces news and current affairs content in Singapore's other official languages of Chinese, Malay, and Tamil, which is distributed via digital outlets and TCS local channels in the languages.

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

Despite the economic recession the region was facing, TCS was suggesting the creation of a news channel mirroring CNN in 1998. Under the initially-planned format the channel was set to launch on 1 January 1999.

In October, TCS announced the name of the new service, Channel NewsAsia, and that its cost would be of $20 million in the first year, and $100 million at the long-term period of five years. The channel's initial slogan was "We know Asia".

Channel NewsAsia was first launched on 1 March 1999 under the Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS). The channel opened with a speech from Brigadier General George Yeo at Raffles Place, which as seen as "a bold move" during the Asian economic recession of the time.

The network aired only in Singapore initially, as it only focused on news from that country. It started to be distributed in other Asian countries on 28 September 2000. Public opinion was divided over its editorial independence, as the channel was touted as a government mouthpiece. The launch of the channel to all of Asia was announced in March 2000, announced alongside its first anniversary.

In August 2012, CNA agreed 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 the first foreign news organisations licensed to operate in the country at the time.

On 21 January 2013, CNA underwent a major relaunch, introducing the new slogan "Understand Asia". With the changes, CNA added additional news and current affairs programmes focusing on the "dynamism and progress" of Asia, and added the new late-night newscast News Pulse (which would feature coverage of international headlines, predominantly involving the Americas and Europe) to expand into a 24-hour service. Managing director Debra Soon explained that "as the focus of the world economy shifts towards Asia, we believe we are well positioned to deliver what we've been doing daily since 1999, and help audiences around the world better Understand Asia." With the relaunch, a new bureau in Mumbai opened.

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 satellite office with high-definition capabilities.

On 26 May 2015, CNA began broadcasting in high definition. 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.

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

## Logo

The logo of the channel is a red uppercase A, heightening the Asia in the official channel name. The A is shaped like an open delta whose crossbar is lowered to represent an emerging Asia. The A is painted red representing its auspicious status in Asian cultures, as well as being "striking and bold". The channel's name is written in black, representing its status as a brand of record.

## Programming

CNA is a news channel focusing primarily on Asian news and current affairs. Each of its news bulletins run for half-hour, starting at the top of the hour, except for Asia First, which runs for three consecutive hours and Singapore Tonight, which lasts for an hour. The bottom of the hour features documentaries, lifestyle programming, health programming, current affairs and business news.

### Broadcast feeds

CNA has two separate feeds, namely a Singapore feed - CNA Singapore - and a regional feed - CNA International. Both feeds are almost the same, with very little difference. The major difference is that the international feed does not screen some programmes shown on the Singapore feed such as short Singapore news updates, the nightly Singapore news bulletin - Singapore Tonight and 20/20. Singapore Tonight is made available internationally only on a replay basis at 4.00 am (SIN/HK) and selected segments of that programme are shown on Asian Home News.

Other important differences include a short, one-minute Singapore Update at various times of the day in the Singapore feed, the content of advertising where those in the Singaporean feed cater to local audiences, and the order in which magazine programmes/documentaries are aired within the week. In addition, the Singaporean feed is supplemented by a Teletext service. Furthermore, viewers in Singapore are given more sports highlights than regional viewers, due to rights agreements with international sporting organisations.

When an interviewee gives his/her views in a language other than English, CNA does not superimpose the original audio with a voice translation unlike other news organisations. Instead, an English subtitle appears preserving and complementing the original audio. This includes programmes that use Mandarin as a main language.

## Ticker

The news and stock ticker tape is a permanent feature on Channel NewsAsia and, since August 2001, has not been taken off the air during commercials. This allows for uninterrupted viewing of the latest news and stock prices. Singapore viewers are given local news and live prices from the Singapore Exchange as well; regional viewers are given delayed stock prices from various regional exchanges. In addition, Singapore viewers do get a timepiece at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen during weekends and on Asia First while regional viewers are only given the date during weekends. During latest breaking news, a white bar appears at the top portion of the ticker.