Mediacorp crowned broadcaster of the year, on top of 67 awards haul at Berlin World Media Festivals and New York Festivals

CNA

26-05-2025

SINGAPORE: Mediacorp was crowned broadcaster of the year at the 2025 World Media Festivals (WMF) in Berlin, on top of snagging 67 international awards at the WMF and another event, the New York Festivals.
The national media network clinched 47 wins at the WMF - a global competition recognising excellence in both broadcast and non-broadcast media - on its way to winning the inaugural broadcaster of the year award, which is "in recognition of outstanding achievement across the festival". The honour "reflects the highest overall score, earned through multiple award-winning entries that demonstrate consistent excellence", the organisers said.
On the Broadcaster of the Year win, Mediacorp CEO Tham Loke Kheng said: 'This recognition is especially meaningful because it reflects not just the success of individual programmes, but the strength of our entire suite of content. From compelling English and Chinese documentaries and standout entertainment shows like President's Challenge Night and the drama Unforgivable, to well-deserved recognition for talents like Wei Du for Walk The Line - it's immensely gratifying to see the full breadth of our work celebrated on a global stage.
'This special award reaffirms how we are continually pushing creative boundaries and finding new meaningful ways to connect with, engage and serve the diverse communities that make up our audience," she added.
Sara Chinbuah, Festival Director of WMF, said that Mediacorp "stands out for its versatility, consistent presence, and editorial impact, delivering a diverse slate of high-quality content across documentary, news, entertainment - film and series, and public relations'.
Separately, Mediacorp also won 18 awards at the New York Festivals TV & Film Awards and two awards at the New York Festivals Radio Awards, while coming in as a finalist in 24 other categories. The New York Festivals is an international competition, celebrating advertising, television and radio programming from around the world.
Among the Mediacorp wins, CNA - a subsidiary of the company - clinched 39 awards: it secured one special award, nine golds and thirteen silvers at the WMF. At the New York Festivals, CNA bagged four golds at the Television & Film Awards and a fifth at the Radio Awards. It also won six silvers and five bronzes at the Television & Film Awards.
WALK THE LINE WINS GOLD AT BOTH FESTIVALS
Walk the Line, an in-house documentary, won gold awards at both festivals. The three-part series follows Chinese migrants for seven weeks on their perilous journey, trying to enter the United States illegally from South America.
The documentary previously won Best Documentary Series at the Asian Academy Creative Awards 2024 and bagged a silver award in the Investigative Documentaries and Reports category at the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards.
CNA correspondent Wei Du won Best Factual Presenter at last year's Asian Academy Creative Awards for her work on the documentary.
She clinched a gold at this year's New York Festivals' Television & Film Awards, under the news reporter/correspondent category.
Two CNA documentaries and a podcast also won gold at the New York Festivals.
, a documentary diving into attacks against women in India, won the top spot in the social justice category.
No Ordinary Rescue S2, a returning series featuring rescue stories of ordinary civilians across Asia, scored gold in the heroes category.
A CNA Special podcast - Asian Tsunami Anniversary Special (Part 1 and 2) - clinched the top spot under the narrative/document podcast category.
At the WMF, CNA's nine gold wins included awards from the documentary categories: human concerns, society and social issues, economy, global issues, social engagement, current affairs and climate.
These were for productions such as Reaching The Unreached, a three-part series about doctors in Asia travelling to remote areas with little healthcare access, and The Longest Day S2, which explores over 24 hours how people face the climate crisis in Asia.
It also earned the top spots under the news & current affairs: current events category and the public relations: public health & crisis management category.
These were for its productions Cyber Scammed: Deepfake (India) and When Crisis Calls: Are We Truly Ready?, respectively.
Reaching the Unreached was also honoured with a special award at the WMF.
Mediacorp editor-in-chief Walter Fernandez pointed out that both competitions "attract the highest quality entries from the largest and most established newsrooms around the world".
"The fact that CNA, a young and small newsroom, is able to win a total of 39 international awards - for its documentaries, current affairs programmes, news bulletins, correspondents and even podcasts - is proof that the CNA team is consistently punching significantly above its weight as it flies the Singapore flag proudly on the global stage,' he said.
MEDIACORP WINNERS
Apart from the CNA wins, Mediacorp also won a gold and a bronze at the New York Festivals' Television & Film Awards.
Its Chinese documentary, Tuesday Report "Hands of Wonder - Wig of Hope", clinched the top spot in the social issues category.
Its craft programme, Tuesday Report "Star of Those Days", earned a bronze in the graphic design category.
Mediacorp also won an additional special award, nine gold awards and 14 silvers at the WMF.
The special award was for World's Unique Neighbourhoods, a Chinese documentary series which explores unique neighbourhoods around the world, each shaped by its culture and community spirit.
Among the gold winners were Alienated in the Entertainment Mini-Series category and Lingo Bingo in Children & Youth: Entertainment.