SINGAPORE: Media professionals will be given support to create digital content under a new S$48 million (US$37.3 million) programme, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said on Thursday (Jun 18).The Digital Content and Capability Development (DCCD) programme, announced by Senior Minister of State for Digital Development and Information Tan Kiat How, will span four years.More than 87 per cent of people in Singapore aged 15 and above access top social media sites like TikTok, YouTube and Facebook weekly, marking a shift in local audience behaviour towards digital platforms, IMDA said."We are starting from a good position with our Made-with-Singapore content making waves outside Singapore," Mr Tan said in his speech at the launch of the programme. "At the same time, standing still is not an option," he added.The programme aims to support media professionals in responding to this shift through two main pillars: Digital content development and capability development.Digital content development supports the creation and distribution of content that reflects how local audiences discover and connect with stories across social platforms, digital channels and mobile-first formats."This includes supporting Singapore stories that can resonate with youth, adults and seniors through relevant formats and narratives," IMDA said.Capability development targets innovation in digital storytelling, emerging formats and technologies, and production approaches, including artificial-intelligence-generated content and short-form live action and animated episodic content."It will also foster experimentation with and adoption of AI-assisted workflows for content development, production and localisation," IMDA said."This will enable media professionals to focus more time on the creative aspects such as creative direction, storytelling and narrative crafting, as well as business development and pitching.""The Digital Content and Capability Development programme will support the digital content creators looking to scale up in more established formats. We will call for proposals across areas such as micro dramas and shorter TV series, while also supporting capability development," Mr Tan said.