1 June1936, it was started as the first radio station in Singapore. It started a TV service in 15 February1963. 2 April, regular TV services was launch on Channel 5. On 23 November the same year, the second channel, Channel 8, was launched. Channel 5 shows some of the English and Malay programme while the Channel 8 shows some of the Chinese and Tamil programme.
1966, Old broadcast house moved to current TV studio at Caldecott Hill. Old broadcast house was redeveloped into drama street scene.
1997, Channel 8 productions were exported to the Taiwanese cable market via TCSI (TCS International), a cable network in Taiwan. Popular serials included Fann Wong's Return of the Condor Heroes.
1999, SIM Group of Companies underwent corporate restructure, became Media Corporation of Singapore, or MediaCorp Singapore.
1999, it started Channel NewsAsia (CNA), the world and local news channel, which can also be seen on Asia Cable TV.
2000, Prime 12 and Premiere 12 were renamed to Suria and Central respectively. That year, it launched SportCity (later rename CityTV on 2001) for all sports programmes, which ceased transmission in 2002 due to the regional economic slowdown.
2001, TVMobile started operation and it became the world's first outdoor digital TV system, broadcasting on some 1500 SBS Transitbuses.
2001, To end the monopoly Mediacorp Tv had on The media, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) was given the license to enter the broadcasting arena, there by creating SPH Mediaworks TV, which created Channel U and TV Works [Later Renamed To Channel I]. At The Same Time, Mediacorp was given the license to print, write and distribute the free daily tabloit the Today newspaper.
2004, to stem further economic losses, MediaCorp and SPH decided to merge their free to air FTA television and free newspaper operations.
2 October2006, real-time subtitling for news bulletins was launched on Channel 5 news for the hearing inpaired viewers, followed by Channel 8 and Suria on 3 December.
19 March2007, Forced to lock out United States listeners of its webcasts due to royalty rates imposed by Copyright Royalty Board, in America
MediaCorp has held a virtualised monopoly in the television broadcasting market, and most of the radio broadcasting market for a substantial amount of years. With the liberalisation of Singapore media in January 1,2001 however, SPH MediaWorks, a division of Singapore Press Holdings entered the market. Losses by both companies due to competition led to a merger, and as of 1 January2005, MediaCorp once again became the monopoly in the mass market free-to-air terrestrial television provider.
Divisions
MediaCorp Group comprises the following divisions:
MD for MediaCorp Press: Mano Sabnani (resigned 1 November 2006)
MediaCorp channels
MediaCorp offers 6 free-to-air terrestrial television channels:
Channel 5 is a 24-hour, English-language general entertainment channel covering the drama, variety, news, comedy, sports, infotainment and movie genres. Successful local productions include reality series The Dance Floor as well as foreign adaptation Singapore Idol. Its local productions have won numerous regional and international awards and include long-running comedies such as PCK Pte Ltd and Police & Thief, and drama series such as Parental Guidance. Channel 5 also offers a mix of top American programmes such as Prison Break, Desperate Housewives, Ugly Betty, Survivor, Grey's Anatomyand X-Files
Channel 8 is a 24-hour, Mandarin-language channel. It is the highest-rated channel in Singapore, airing local and regionally-made Chinese dramas, variety shows, news and current affairs programmes. Special Chinese-language events, such as the NKF Charity Show, Star Search and Star Awards are also broadcast on this channel.
Channel U is Mediacorp's second Chinese-language channel. It aims to reach the younger generation, providing an alternative to traditional commercial television programming. It has a slogan 带动亚洲流行, or "Leading Asia's Trends".
Central is a combination of Kids Central, an English-language channel for children, Arts Central, an English-language channel featuring the arts, and Vasantham Central, a Tamil-language channel for dramas.
Suria is a Malay-language channel featuring Malay dramas and popular programmes. Its tagline, "Semakin Bersinar", means "Shining Even Brighter". Showing programmes like Anugerah 2005, Pesta Pesta Pesta and Dia, Suria has achieved recognition in the non-Malay community, drawing media attention in Singapore and surrounding regions.
TVMobile is the world's first outdoor digital television channel. Aired on public buses, it features reruns and simulcasts of shows from its sister channels and occasionally features original content, e.g., shorts produced in collaboration with Nanyang Polytechnic. It is broadcast as a free-to-air channel using the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) standard, but can only be received with a digital set-top box by home viewers.
Return of the Condor Heroes (1998) (The most expensive blockbuster wuxia drama ever produced by MediaCorp, based on Louis Cha's novel. The serial made waves in the Taiwan and China markets and was repeated due to overwhelming audience demand. It also made screen idols out of Fann Wong and Christopher Lee, who were the charismatic leads.)
Beautiful Connection (2002) Though consisting of only 20 episodes, this show had the highest viewership rate in Singapore for the year 2002. The show's cast included Hong Kong actress Zhu Mimi, acting as a fierce mother to her 3 children.
Always On My Mind (2003) (Starring Fann Wong, this serial was made to commemorate the sacrifices of the brave members of the Singapore medical profession during the SARS crisis.)
Holland V, 荷兰村 (2003) (The second longest Chinese drama in Singapore history with 125 episodes Biggest winner in Star Awards 2003, winning best M/F Lead and M/F supporting).
The Champion (2004) (The drama series about swimming starred Singaporean and Taiwanese artistes.)
Double Happiness, 喜临门 (2004) (The longest Chinese drama, it had 130 episodes in two parts. The first part was shown from May to August, while the second part began in October).
Portrait of Home, 同心圆 (2005) (The third longest Chinese drama with 100 episodes in two parts. The first part (60 episodes) aired from May to July, while the second part (40 episodes) began in October). Was nominated for best drama serial in 2005, but lost to A New Life.
Comedy Night, 搞笑行动 (The longest variety show in Singapore history, it started from 1990 to 2000. It returned in 2003 to celebrate MediaCorp TV 40 anniversary, for a brief period.)
PSC Nite, 普威之夜 (The variety show which is held in June and during the end-of-year holiday season, it has talent contest and prize giving for lucky draws winner.)
It's Showtime!, 全民创意争霸赛 (Similar to the Japanese TV variety show: Kasou Taishou. Showcased original creativity and entertaining performances achieved by teams.)
Rated: E (Singapore entertainment news programme, premieres July 20, 2006)
Global Picnic (Takes a look at "the different minority expat communities here for an eyeopening look at their vibrant lifestyles.", hosted by Andrea Cruz and Chua En Lai)
TV charity shows
NKF Charity Show, 群星照亮千万心 (The biggest charity show in Singapore every year organised by National Kidney Foundation, it has two shows in total. After The NKF saga, It has since been discontinued indefinitely.)
Star Search, 才华横溢出新秀 - The talent quest event is held once per the two year; the programme is broadcast in Channel 8, in the Chinese language.
Star Awards, 红星大奖 - The annual award ceremony, rewarding the achievements of the artistes who contributes to Channel 8, mostly in the Chinese language.
Talentime - The first talent quest event in Singapore history, on Channel 5.
Project SuperStar, 绝对 SuperStar - A Chinese equivalent of Singapore Idol, but with Mediacorp's own contest rules rather than following the lines of Singapore Idol. It has become such an overwhelming success that Malaysian Tv station 8TV has bought rights to copy this talent search, under the same programme name.
Campus SuperStar, A variant of the Super series of talent searches. It only involves Students.
SuperHost, A variant of the Super series of talent searches. As the name suggests, The talent search is to find the best television host in Singapore.
SuperBand, A variant of the Super series of talent searches. The Talent Search is to find the best bands in Singapore.
Star Idol, 明星偶像 - An acting talent quest to test their acting skills.
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