Channel NewsAsia to broadcast live 24 hours daily from Jan 2013

Singapore's Channel NewsAsia is set to go live for 24 hours a day from January 2013. This is part of its plan to be a global player in news, with the goal of reaching markets in the United States and Europe. The channel has been broadcasting throughout Asia for 13 years. From five million viewers when it first started, viewership has grown to 32 million. Channel NewsAsia's managing director Debra Soon said: "For us to be a true global player, in the news channel space, we need to broadcast 24 hours, every hour, on the hour with live news. "This will eventually allow us to penetrate the US and European pay-TV markets." Programming is currently scaled back between 2am and 6am (Singapore time). The business bulletins will be revamped to reflect Asia's new role as the heart of the global economy. Coverage of South Asia will be ramped up, but the channel will also maintain its lead in content out of Southeast Asia by opening up more bureaus in IndoChina and Indonesia. Channel NewsAsia will also look beyond television, and deliver programmes across all platforms, interactively to audiences anywhere.