The nightmare of TVMobile is coming back to haunt commuters in Singapore in 2018.

Mediacorp and Grab are partnering each other to bombard commuters -- also know as captive audiences -- with content screened on screens in Grab rides.

Screens fitted in Grab cars

Both entities signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on April 24, 2018.

They will co-create media content to be shown on Grab’s in-car tablets, which will also be featured on Mediacorp’s "suite of platforms and distribution network".

Grab passengers will be subjected to content such as short-form dramas, sitcoms, variety shows and headline news, while riding to their destinations.

Grab said “greater emphasis will be placed on innovative content”.

Vertiginous car sickness, be damned.

Following the trend

This initiative of putting content in front of an audience with nowhere to escape is not new.

Previously on public buses, TVMobile screens were playing content non-stop for nine years from February 2001 to January 2010.

More recently in mid-April 2018, taxi company ComfortDelGro did something similar in collaboration with Moove Media, which saw some 3,000 in-taxi screens fitted inside cabs.

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While commuters can only dim or mute ComfortDelGro's Moove Media in-taxi screens, Grab passengers may choose to switch off the screens entirely.

Mediacorp is the provider of content for these platforms.

However, with ComfortDelgro's in-taxi screens, content from SPH Magazines and influencers, and various content from categories such as beauty, food, trending content, entertainment, plus a selection of films will be shown.

Drivers get payment

Interested drivers can choose to have their cars fitted with Grab’s in-car tablet. The cost of the fitting of the screens will not be foisted on them.

This move will reportedly create new revenue opportunities for private-hire car drivers, as part of an extension of the current advertising programme, which enables more drivers to earn some more passive income.

The advertising programme, which includes car wraps and in-car hangers, has already generated more than S$300,000 collectively for participating Grab drivers.