When the Eurovision song contest organisers came calling, Cambodia was among the first group of 10 Asian nations to put its hand up to participate. Come November 2026, TV5 Cambodia will be among the inaugural Asia edition’s official broadcasters. 

Eurovision is yet another example of Cambodia’s media companies’ proactive engagement with international brands, led for longest by a lively interest in unscripted format adaptations. This is despite a television and film production environment that is under-resourced compared to most of its Southeast Asian neighbours.

Even if acquisitions have dropped off steeply from 2017 highs, Cambodia still outpaces format adaptation volumes in Hong Kong, Myanmar and Singapore. 

In addition to local versions of "Idol", "The Voice", "X Factor" and "Got Talent" over the years, titles include Cambodian Broadcasting Service’s (CBS) recent "MasterChef Cambodia". The local version of the Banijay format broke viewership records for its premiere in June 2025. Regionally, broadcaster PNN has adapted Workpoint Group’s Thai format "The Wall Song" and Bayon TV made a local version of "The Rapper", also from Workpoint. 

"MasterChef" is part of a much bigger picture being drawn by CBS CEO, Dave Ulmer, one which raises Cambodia’s voice in the global production conversation and creates a bridge between Hollywood and Cambodia. The initiative revolves around  CBS’s studio facility, Camwood Studios, and the L.A.-based The Studio, who are working on a plan that involves up to 10  international film and TV productions. 

And then there is... microdrama, another angle Cambodia is actively working to reframe its global image. The country’s tourism authorities showed up at Hong Kong Filmart in March 2026 with plans to roll out a “Microdrama-Led Tourism Content Ecosystem” in partnership with Oceanus Media Global (aka OMG Studios). This, they said, was “tourism reimagined” and part of the country’s stepped-up bid to grow its share of location services spend in the region. “By embracing new storytelling formats and digital platforms, we are able to connect with new audiences and showcase the depth and vibrancy of Cambodia in a more engaging way,” Cambodia Tourism Board CEO, Kim Minea, said.

Cambodia’s film industry, meanwhile, is working on strengthening its contemporary dramatic voice alongside the flow of stories rooted in Khmer Rouge-era trauma. 

From Deip Sela ("Mannequin Wedding", a commercially triumphant mockumentary supernatural horror feature based on real events in 2021) to Boren Chhith ("Golden Dragon", a short film about the human cost of rapid growth and foreign investment), contemporary filmmakers are navigating their country’s rapid modernisation and unresolved history. 

Indonesian-Cambodian co-production, supernatural horror film, "The Curse of Kampong Batu", is also part of the optimism about closer ties with filmmakers around the region. The love is, however, selective: Thai films remain excluded after 2025’s border clash.  

While committed to building soft power, authorities are acutely sensitive to what they see as negative narratives. Most recently, references to scam farms in Cambodia elicited official ire and swift action.