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Goodbye Xinmsn, Hello Toggle: Microsoft & MediaCorp Disband Entertainment Site

We swear this is not an April Fool’s joke.

Media giants Microsoft and MediaCorp have disbanded their joint content website Xinmsn effective today.

Microsoft will now operate MSN Singapore individually as msn.com.sg, aggregating news items from various local and international publishers. Content teams working under Microsoft will stay with the technology company.

Content teams working under MediaCorp will now be part of the revamped over-the-top broadcasting website Toggle, which relaunches today.

In a reply to comments on the old xinmsn.com Facebook page, the team said:

“As content consumption trends continue to evolve with the increasing use of digital technologies, there is a need to relook at content strategies to cater to the ever-changing needs of consumers.”

“MediaCorp and Microsoft, joint owners of xinmsn, have reviewed the operations and believe that they can better serve audiences as two separate entities, i.e. toggle.sg and msn.com.sg.”

The Toggle site will now contain entertainment and lifestyle news from the same editorial team that was at xinmsn as a newly-added content layer to the site.

This now makes Toggle the de-facto digital portal by MediaCorp focused exclusively on entertainment and lifestyle news.

Starting from today, no login is required to watch dramas on Toggle from local free-to-air channels such as Channel 5 and Channel u. However, logins are still required to access content on exclusive service Toggle-It-First.

Other on-demand Toggle-exclusive channels and content as well as live channels will still remain.

The new Toggle site will also stream content from MediaCorp’s stable of radio stations.

As part of relaunch efforts on Toggle, the site will launch an exclusive web series from April 6, according to Channel NewsAsia. 12-parter Sabo will feature MediaCorp artistes and local celebrities from other entertainment agencies being pranked.

Both companies are still collaborating on other projects. On March 6, it was announced that Toggle content would be made available on Microsoft’s Xbox One.

Disclaimer: This reporter was a former employee of Xinmsn. This report was filed independent of both companies.

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