Singapore Media Festival Adds Asia Creator Summit, Expands AI and Microdrama Focus

The Singapore Media Festival (SMF) will introduce a new creator‑economy event this year, launching the Asia Creator Summit (ACS) alongside its long‑running Asia TV Forum & Market (ATF). The two‑day ACS will run Dec. 4–5 at Marina Bay Sands under the banner “Create. Monetize. Scale.”, while ATF will return Dec. 1–4, drawing more than 5,000 content players from 60 countries.

SMF is hosted by Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). Assistant chief executive Yvonne Tang said the 2026 program is designed to help Singapore’s media professionals adapt to a rapidly changing landscape by strengthening creative and commercial capabilities through partnerships and business opportunities.

ACS, curated by Generation Experience (GenXP) with founder and CEO Monica Khan, will feature over 20 sessions—keynotes, panels, master classes and practical workshops—aimed at turning creator output into sustainable businesses and intellectual property that can travel globally. Speakers include South Korean creator Kimpro (130 million subscribers, 154 billion views), Japanese creator Issei (75 million YouTube subscribers), and AJ Eckstein, founder of U.S. company Creator Match.

Singapore‑based executives such as GRVTY Media CEO Johnathan Chua, DU Media Holdings CEO Kelvin Tan and Gushcloud International co‑founder Althea Lim will also speak. Creators will have opportunities to pitch for brand work: Mandarin Oriental, Singapore is running a Creator Pitch Challenge tied to its 40th anniversary, and Bloomr.SG’s “Creator Lab” will award up to SGD 100,000 ($78,000) for creator‑focused ideas.

ATF, organized by RX Global, will feature the theme “The Attention Economy” in its opening‑day Leaders’ Dialogue, with executives from East West Bank, Omdia, TikTok, Unilever, Webtoon Productions and YouTube discussing how fandom and shifting viewing habits affect content distribution, financing and branded entertainment.

A new strand, “The AI Era | Entertainment Reimagined,” will combine a dedicated program with an AI zone focused on content creation, IP rights, regulation and safeguarding creative work. Participants will include Huace Group, Moonmax, Studio Meta K, the Motion Picture Association, the Television Academy and the World Intellectual Property Organization. ATF will also host the final round of AI Hackathon 2026.

Canada and Indonesia will each bring a new pavilion to the market. Microdrama will receive greater focus this year, with ATF maintaining drama showcases alongside accelerator and pitching programs that pair new IP producers with development partners.

"ATF has evolved beyond a marketplace to become a premier industry platform for strategic commercial announcements, content launches, and thought leadership," said Yeow Hui Leng, managing director, Singapore, of RX Global. "Emerging technology, including AI, will be a key part of this conversation, alongside critical issues such as regulation, financing, distribution, monetization, and content innovation."

The event’s theme for the year is “The Heart of the World’s Stories.”