Merger Between MCS and SPH Mediaworks

[velvet_ice]

Well, what do YOU think about it?

There used to be so much buzz about a new TV station being established in Singapore. I mean, there were the ardent supporters of MCS pelting SPH Mediaworks with so much flak before they even started airing any dramas. And there were the detractors who turned to CH U and Ch I for a different approach to TV-based entertainment. And now they say that Singapore's too small for 2 TV stations -- and though it promotes competition, the losses made are much much more. It's something I agree with, I'm thinking, why not pool those resources and work together to bring out the best of TV-based entertainment in Singapore?

I'm looking forward to higher quality local dramas being produced in Singapore. If we're successful, we could even make a breakthrough overseas. Just look at TVB, FujiTV etc etc who have invaded our tubes

[Guo Xiang]

Don't know but I don't really like the idea at all... And I have the idea that artistes whom had jumpshipped would all or mostly be 'boycotted' by Mediacorp...

[GuangRong]

some pple at medicrap (Class 95 FM)is already gloating about it..

But channel U artiste signed termed contract or are hired on a project basis..
I dun think we'll see mass downsizing of channel U artiste..

Media crap will probably not go to the extent of terminating their contract..., bad for their image and morale of those they do want to keep, worst is their terms get downgraded..

and come time to renew contract.. these people are going to have a hard time..., holding the monopoly , all the cards are in Mediacrap's hands now..

Pitty those now redundant production and admin guys, most probaly would have to go..

Anyway, all the the artistste that "defected" to channal U is the ones I dun like when they're still in mediacrap (yes, including Kym ng)
with the exception of Li Wen Hai and Chen hui hui I'm not sorry at all to see any of them go..


Adrain Pang , I'm not sure if he's project-based or contracted, but mediacrap better woo him., They desperately need another alternative to Gurmit Singh ,somemore Adrain speaks better English....

IX shen too , though I dun like him , he's the beefcake that mediacrap is critically short of ,Edmund chen is all they have.., I'm sick of seeing him already..

[velvet_ice]

Actually, I don't think Mediacorp would really boycott all of them.

MCS would probably 'keep' the better ones, those who have grown and matured skills-wise over at Mediaworks. After all, they appeal to the masses, and would probably help garner more viewership for MCS. Besides, I must admit that some of the Mediaworks artistes have shown improvement. If not for Mediaworks, they probably wouldn't have stepped out of the shadows of MCS.

Some examples include people like Quan Yifeng, who has become one of the better hosts, Guo Liang, etc etc. (MCS, imo, has a shortage of hosts) and of course as GuangRong said, they need more beefcakes also. Heh, yes, I understand what you mean when you say you're sick of watching Edmund Chen on TV. It's not that he's no good, just that it's overexposure.

I think MCS would like Adrian Pang to stay, 'cos he's an all-rounder. Other than those few, I dare not say anything for the other artistes.

[wkeej]

(1) mediacorp lacks comperes, which channel u can provide
(2) the market is really too small. channel u was a instant success as it shows non-singapore shows - e.g. kindred spirit, and allows songs to be in cantonese. thereafter mediacorp also started showing non-singapore shows.
(3) producer ma will be back to mediacorp. he is a person very well respected. even in zoe tay's wedding, he was invited and many mediacorp artistes went to greet/talk to him. my friend was one of wedding photographers. . if so, ma will definitely take care of those who went to channel u.

hope with the merger, mediacorp can come out with our own hsds, especially tapping on jy's third edition. hehe.

[Gunner]

the wisest thing for MCS to do would be to move some it's less-used stars over to Channel U to get some exposure and also a chance to appear in films. Alot of Channel U's 'unknown' stars will probably be on the cutting board but that's no big loss really coz I feel some of Channel U's stars were hired more out of desperation and lack of a talent pool than common sense. The lady who won the big-boobs competition is one of them. If both sides look at things objectively, both sides really have a good chance of coming out BOTH as winners.

[foreva]

When Mediaworks first came out, most people i know were already seeing demise of what was to come. What have Mediaworks come up with in these years? Besides sending their stars overseas to take part in mega productions as 2nd tiered actors, (When I see them, I want to cringe, because most of them, like Bryan Wong, cannot act), they haven't really done much.

Their comperes had always been good, and about Quan Yi Feng becoming one of the better hosts, she had already been a very popular host (remember Huan Dao Zui Zui Zui) before her "illegal activities", so it's not as though it's because of Mediaworks that she became popular. If she had been an fen shou ji in Mediacorp without causing so much trouble, I'm sure she will be just as popular.

And I actually feel a little sorry for most of the not-so-popular actors (ie. Ix Shen, Chen Huihui - she took so long to win best supporting actress) who jumped ship because they felt that they will have better chances in Mediaworks. Now they are dropped back into the shuffle again.

But the rest of the people like Kym Ng, I never liked them anyway.. I mean Kym Ng is so ugly, scrawny and rude in real life.

And those people who had blab their mouths off.. who knows what will happen.. But if they are popular.. most likely they will be given their deserved chances. Look at what thomas Ong said when he left, and he was welcomed back in the fold now. Of course, he had been one of the most popular actors of that time.

[wkeej]

do not like bryan, on the contrary i like kym very much. i remembered the star award whereby they also open the award to comperes. kym won it and later she always won the top 10. i especially liked the part whereby she replied that sorry she needs to thank all of them again. so humble.
kym is also very well-liked by her colleagues in real life. do you know in most filmings, she is the one who always volunteered to go buy coffee/snacks for EVERYONE. even aunties are fond of her. her popularity is also seen from the alloted car park lot she had at mediaworks. the only channel u star i think.
when she went over to channel u, i remembered sharon au wrote a three-pg article to indicate that kym was missed.

i think most people who do not know her well always feel thae she talks BIG and LOUD.

hence, to me, kym is more an asset to singapore. hehe.
[QUOTE=foreva].But the rest of the people like Kym Ng, I never liked them anyway.. I mean Kym Ng is so ugly, scrawny and rude in real life.
QUOTE]

[foreva]

do not like bryan, on the contrary i like kym very much. i remembered the star award whereby they also open the award to comperes. kym won it and later she always won the top 10. i especially liked the part whereby she replied that sorry she needs to thank all of them again. so humble.
kym is also very well-liked by her colleagues in real life. do you know in most filmings, she is the one who always volunteered to go buy coffee/snacks for EVERYONE. even aunties are fond of her. her popularity is also seen from the alloted car park lot she had at mediaworks. the only channel u star i think.
when she went over to channel u, i remembered sharon au wrote a three-pg article to indicate that kym was missed.

i think most people who do not know her well always feel thae she talks BIG and LOUD.

hence, to me, kym is more an asset to singapore. hehe.

Actually, I disliked her when I saw her in real life. Years ago, when I was still a teenager, I saw her at Taka when I was lining up to buy bubble tea. And she cut queue and was acting as the big shot, and was very loud and rude to the girl serving at the counter. And you don't realise how emaciated and scrawny she looks in real life, and how bad her skin is, and she literally had make up caked to her face.

And most of the time, when I see stars real life, it make me like them more. No I don't see them during promotions and stuff. Usually it's just by accident and bumping into them.

[wkeej]

anyway, let's hope that the merger is beneficial to everyone, esp the viewers like us. hehe.

[velvet_ice]

(2) the market is really too small. channel u was a instant success as it shows non-singapore shows - e.g. kindred spirit, and allows songs to be in cantonese. thereafter mediacorp also started showing non-singapore shows.

You know, I didn't really like the fact that they were importing shows instead of making more of their own dramas. I understand that they do it because of a simple reason -- they pull up viewership ratings. Right now Ch U is airing their new show, 'Changing Lanes'. I caught an episode, and though I am aware that one episode is not really enough give me an overall impression of the show, I could see that it was quite well produced. It's not often that a local dramas dares to touch on the more controversial themes. The moment I switched it on, I saw Ann Kok's character hurtling at breakneck speed from the top of a building down down... then SPLAT. I got a shock. 'Cos we don't usually see much of that in local dramas. All I see is FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY. Which sickens me sometimes. It's just too bad that they decided to make something different only now, when the merger has already been confirmed.

(3) producer ma will be back to mediacorp. he is a person very well respected. if so, ma will definitely take care of those who went to channel u.

Are you talking about Man Shu Shum ( I think that's how its spelt)

hope with the merger, mediacorp can come out with our own hsds, especially tapping on jy's third edition. hehe.

So confident of MCS? As far as I know, their ancient series have not been that fantastic.. heh. Though I know I may be biased 'cos I'm comparing them to TVB.

the wisest thing for MCS to do would be to move some it's less-used stars over to Channel U to get some exposure and also a chance to appear in films. Alot of Channel U's 'unknown' stars will probably be on the cutting board but that's no big loss really coz I feel some of Channel U's stars were hired more out of desperation and lack of a talent pool than common sense. The lady who won the big-boobs competition is one of them. If both sides look at things objectively, both sides really have a good chance of coming out BOTH as winners.

Yeah, I agree. Ann Poh is her name, I believe? I'm befuddled as to how she got herself an acting career... I don't think it's fair to other potential acting talents.

[GuangRong]

Yeah, I agree. Ann Poh is her name, I believe? I'm befuddled as to how she got herself an acting career... I don't think it's fair to other potential acting talents.

atleast, b'cos of the limited talent pool they have, Channel U did tried to groom and nuture all their people..

most of them wear 2 hats (compere/actor)....

unlike mediacrap, over- expose a handful of stars while a whole lot of others are left unuse ,
some appear to "deepfreeze" thru out the year only to be thawed out to risk life and limb in charity shows.

To Join mediacrap , the best way is not join star search, you'll rot in there even if you're the champion...
a better way is to be a Model, you'll likely land a starring role in your first show

Being a Eurasian or having an accent (western) also helps..

[sunnysnow]

[QUOTE=wkeej]do not like bryan, on the contrary i like kym very much. i remembered the star award whereby they also open the award to comperes. kym won it and later she always won the top 10. i especially liked the part whereby she replied that sorry she needs to thank all of them again. so humble.
kym is also very well-liked by her colleagues in real life. do you know in most filmings, she is the one who always volunteered to go buy coffee/snacks for EVERYONE. even aunties are fond of her. her popularity is also seen from the alloted car park lot she had at mediaworks. the only channel u star i think.
when she went over to channel u, i remembered sharon au wrote a three-pg article to indicate that kym was missed.

i think most people who do not know her well always feel thae she talks BIG and LOUD.

hence, to me, kym is more an asset to singapore. hehe.

.But the rest of the people like Kym Ng, I never liked them anyway.. I mean Kym Ng is so ugly, scrawny and rude in real life.
QUOTE]

agree...i think kym is humble n taleneted nt forgetting well liked by e audience...hmm contrary to wad foreva said, i thought kym was really nice when i met her in real life. she n bryan was doing this show n i saw them in town. kym was really sweet n kept chatting to everyone n e producers n she even took pics w aunties n stuff n kept waving at passerbys n telling alot of jokes making everyone laugh. bryan on e other hand was taking a break n smoking non-stop while talking rudely to the producers almost shouting n when passer bys like looked at him n talked to him he ignored em n kinda like snubbed em..he's v different off the camera..he looked so sulky n unfriendly n kept talking on e hp whereas kym was v friendly n all smiles n kept interacting.

[sunnysnow]

atleast, b'cos of the limited talent pool they have, Channel U did tried to groom and nuture all their people..

most of them wear 2 hats (compere/actor)....

unlike mediacrap, over- expose a handful of stars while a whole lot of others are left unuse ,
some appear to "deepfreeze" thru out the year only to be thawed out to risk life and limb in charity shows.

To Join mediacrap , the best way is not join star search, you'll rot in there even if you're the champion...
a better way is to be a Model, you'll likely land a starring role in your first show

Being a Eurasian or having an accent (western) also helps..

agree...im so disgusted w their same old boring shows, lame jokes n bad acting that i always avoid e 7pm n 9pm shows now....does any1 watch their variety shows in which they use e same crappy jokes over n over again?? e momment i c the ads, i freak out....they use e same ppl over n over again such that i get so sick of seeing e same person....there was once huang biren was acting in a 7pm show n i watched a little cause my bro was watching it thn 9pm she was there again....at 1st i though huh y is e 7pm show so long cause huang biren looks almost e same n was screaming n crying n it took me awhile to realise that its a different show...

even if u act badly bt if u look cute n have a hot bod u'll get heavy promotion..one eg, fiona xie...she has e worst acting skills i've ever seen n besides flaunting her bod, putting on that fake sweety voice n always forcing that cute grin, i cant understand y she gets promoted as an actress, she should b a bikini model instead...she's nt e only 1 there r may others..w e exception of a few actresses e others r juz craping ard n wasting time...

e thing i get irritated is those charity shows where e actors do a whole load of crap to get phonecalls....im nt dissing charity shows bt i feel it'll b wiser to do shows on e lives of those needy n disabled which will somehow touch e audiences more thn watching a bunch of fool performing child's play on stage...oh ya plus i seem to c them more on charity shows thn tv shows...so r they actors or stunts performers?? n wow i think mc actors r e best performers in magic n dangerous stunts in e world....they r able to perform dangerous stunts such as eating fire, a guy pulling a few cars w his neck n so on in such a short time practice that in fact they should b in e guiness world bk..every few months theres a charity show where each time e actors r successfully able to perform dangerous stunts...they even beat performers such as david copperfield who take yrs to muster tricks n stunts...he should learn frm mc artists who take less thn 3 months...y dun mc turn emselves into magic performers n earn millions frm a worldwide tour??

i still prefer e older 80s n early 90s tcs dramas i watched when i was little...at least e acting is realistic n fun to watch...e ppl were more natural n original plus they evoke a sense of nostalgia compared to the trash nowadays

[velvet_ice]

agree...i think kym is humble n taleneted nt forgetting well liked by e audience...hmm contrary to wad foreva said, i thought kym was really nice when i met her in real life. she n bryan was doing this show n i saw them in town. kym was really sweet n kept chatting to everyone n e producers n she even took pics w aunties n stuff n kept waving at passerbys n telling alot of jokes making everyone laugh. bryan on e other hand was taking a break n smoking non-stop while talking rudely to the producers almost shouting n when passer bys like looked at him n talked to him he ignored em n kinda like snubbed em..he's v different off the camera..he looked so sulky n unfriendly n kept talking on e hp whereas kym was v friendly n all smiles n kept interacting.

I'm not a fan of either, nor do I hate either of them. But I always think that most artistes never display his/her true self in public... not all, but most. Haha. I dunno. But its sad if it's true, 'cos all we're liking is an public image conjured up by the artistes...

But to be fair, there are some artistes out there who are themselves off and on screen. We never know lah, 'cos we're all quite well-informed that the media industry is not exactly the friendliest industry to be in.

[wkeej]

yes, u are right. too many FAMILY shows nowadays - possibly to promote family values. time to have one or two period series.

thks for pointing out the name.

i think mediacorp has the actors/actresses. while only two? singapore artistes (florence and phyilis) acted in hsds2003, i think their performances are on par with the taiwanese/china counterparts. hehe.

All I see is FAMILY FAMILY FAMILY.

Are you talking about Man Shu Shum ( I think that's how its spelt)

So confident of MCS? As far as I know, their ancient series have not been that fantastic.. heh. Though I know I may be biased 'cos I'm comparing them to TVB.

[foreva]

agree...i think kym is humble n taleneted nt forgetting well liked by e audience...hmm contrary to wad foreva said, i thought kym was really nice when i met her in real life. she n bryan was doing this show n i saw them in town. kym was really sweet n kept chatting to everyone n e producers n she even took pics w aunties n stuff n kept waving at passerbys n telling alot of jokes making everyone laugh. bryan on e other hand was taking a break n smoking non-stop while talking rudely to the producers almost shouting n when passer bys like looked at him n talked to him he ignored em n kinda like snubbed em..he's v different off the camera..he looked so sulky n unfriendly n kept talking on e hp whereas kym was v friendly n all smiles n kept interacting.

I think it depends on who they are interacting with. Some people may not be good to their maids etc. but to their acquaintanences, or collegues, they may be very nice. But of course, I may have caught her on a bad day, but she ought to have remembered that her actions in public, considering her status, will be imprinted in those people who saw her.

[Guo Xiang]

Channel U indeed has very interesting drama serials and variety shows like 'Service Chachacha!'. I hope such interesting shows wouldn't stop after the merger... It would be a real pity.

[beansprouts]

Yup, the variety shows that Channel U produce are definitely much better than Channel 8. I hope the shows won't end after they merge too, it would be such a pity if they do. The comperes in Channgel U certainly knows how to make variety very fun and humourous at the same time.

[wuchang]

Just watched the evening Channel U news. The list of who's staying and who's leaving is out.

Of the 42 Mediaworks artistes, 20 will go over to the new company, Mediacorp TV. 13 will be retrenched. 5 are given a week to decide whether they will take up a part time contract. On Mediacorp's side, they are not renewing 4 artistes' contracts.

The 20 staying

1. Guo Liang
2. Bryan Wong
3. Michelle Chia
4. Kym Ng
5. Quan Yifeng
6. Lynn Poh
7. Ezann Lee
8. Ix Shen
9. Constance Song
10. Apple Hong
11. Celest Chong
12. Ann Kok
13. Adam Chen
14. Hu Bing
15. Darren Lim
16. Ong Ai Leng
17. Adrian Pang
18. Ben Yeo
19. Zhang Haijie
20. Eelyn Kok


Those not offered contracts

1. Chen Huihui
2. Peter Yu
3. Ericia Lee
4. Shaun Chen
5. Bernard Tan
6. Ann Poh


Mediacorp really dislike Shaun Chen.....

Another surprise is Ezann Lee. She's staying but her older sister is leaving.