MediaCorp is a state-owned[1] group of commercial media companies in Singapore specialising primarily in television and radio broadcasting, and to a lesser extent, in periodicals and newspaper publishing and film-making. At present, MediaCorp runs eight television channels and 13 radio channels, making it the largest media broadcaster and provider in Singapore. It is also a monopoly in free-to-air television in Singapore. [edit] History Before 2001, MediaCorp was formerly known as: [edit] Important events | Year | Date | Event | | 1963 | June 1 | It was started as the first radio station in Singapore. It started a TV service in 15 February 1963. 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 programmes while the Channel 8 shows some of the Chinese and Tamil programmes. | | 1966 | | Old broadcast house moved to current TV studio at Caldecott Hill. Old broadcast house was redeveloped into drama street scene. | | 1976 | | It started a colour television service. | | 1984 | | It launched the TV12 channel, and in 1994, had them separated into Prime 12 and Premiere 12. | | 1990 | | SBC launched Stereo on all TV channels. | | 1994 | | SBC revamp all channel and launched their own channel's logo which currently using. | | 1994 | | SBC becomes Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS), one of the three companies created from the privatisation process. | | 1995 | | Channel 5 and 8 started 24-hour broadcasts. | | 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 the Media Corporation of Singapore, or MediaCorp Singapore. | | 1999 | | MediaCorp started Channel NewsAsia (CNA), the firm's news channel, which can also be received regionally by cable or satellite subscription. | | 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 | | TCS becomes MediaCorp TV. | | 2001 | | TVMobile started operation and it became the world's first outdoor digital TV system, broadcasting on some 1500 SBS Transit buses. | | 2001 | | To end the monopoly MediaCorp TV had on the media, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) was given the licence to enter the broadcasting arena, thereby creating SPH Mediaworks TV, which launched Channel U and TV Works (renamed to Channel I the same year). At the same time, MediaCorp was given the license to print, write and distribute the free daily tabloid, Today. | | 2004 | | To stop further economic losses, MediaCorp and SPH agreed to merge their free-to-air television and free newspaper operations. | | 2004 | 31 December | MediaCorp and SPH announced that the merger is legally completed, thereby creating the new holding company, MediaCorp TV Holdings, which now owns Channel 5, Channel 8, TVMobile and Channel U. | | 2005 | 1 January | Channel U joins MediaCorp. Channel i went off the air and ceased transmission. | | 2006 | | MediaCorp launches its online broadband television MOBTV. | | 2006 | May | MediaCorp began a HDTV trial channel, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was the first movie to be shown on the channel. | | 2006 | 2 October | Subtitles for news bulletins was launched on Channel 5 for the hearing impaired viewers. | | 2006 | 3 December | Subtitles for news bulletins was launched on Channel 8 and Suria. | | 2007 | 09 December | Channel 8 celebrates 25 years drama anniversary, with Xie Shaoguang and Huang Biren winning the coveted 'My Favourite Actor' and 'My Favourite Actress' awards respectively. | | 2007 | 19 March | Forced to lock out United States listeners of its webcasts due to royalty rates imposed by Copyright Royalty Board, in America. | | 2007 | 11 November | MediaCorp officially rolled out HD5, its first free-to-air HD channel, which is an HD-version of Channel 5. | | 2007 | November | URL for Channel 8 and Channel 5 websites were updated to use the mediacorptv.sg address instead of the former mediacorptv.com. | | 2008 | 23 April | MediaCorp TV came out with a new look and a new forum for the Channel 5, Channel 8 and Channel U websites. | | 2008 | 19 October | MediaCorp TV12 launched the new channel okto that replaced Kids Central and Arts Central. It has also launched Vasantham to replace the Central channel and take its position to be full-fledged free-to-air Tamil channel in Singapore.[2] | [edit] Divisions MediaCorp Group comprises the following divisions: - Television
- Radio
- Print
- Interactive Media
- Enterprises
- Productions
[edit] Ownership MediaCorp is 100% owned by Temasek Holdings, the Singapore government's wholly owned investment arm. [1] [edit] Location  MediaCorp Caldecott Broadcast Centre MediaCorp is currently located at Andrew Road, Caldecott Broadcast Centre. In 2011, it will be relocated to a 70,000 square metres site in Bukit Batok. [edit] MediaCorp Channels MediaCorp offers seven free-to-air terrestrial television channels, and one high-definition channel: | Name of Channel | Description | | 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 accolades and include long-running comedies such as Phua Chu Kang Pte Ltd and Police & Thief, and drama series such as Parental Guidance. Channel 5 also offers a mix of top American programmes such as dramas like Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy to reality shows such as The Amazing Race, Survivor and America's Next Top Model. There is a simulcast HD version of this channel, MediaCorp HD5. | | 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 Chingay Parade, 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 tagline 最精彩, or "The Most Exciting". Other than local programmmes, most East Asian dramas (especially Korean and Japanese) are shown over this channel. | | okto | is an English-language channel targeted at the young, the young at heart and adults with an interest in the arts scene. The channel features pre-school and children programmes in the day and documentaries, lifestyle, anime and art performances (operas, dance, art films etc.) in the evening. | | Suria | is a Malay-language channel featuring Malay dramas and popular programmes. Its tagline, "Suria, Sinar Bersama Anda ", means "Suria, Shines With You". Showing programmes like Anugerah, Pesta Pesta Pesta and Dia, Suria has achieved recognition in the non-Malay community, drawing media attention in Singapore and surrounding regions. | | Vasantham | is an Indian-language channel of entertainment for the growing Indian community in Singapore. It also serves as a crucial source of local news and current affairs for the community. Vasantham aims to be the Pulse of the Indian Community. The channel has screened many Tamil and Indian movies, especially during the weekends. | | Channel NewsAsia | is an English-language news network for international news and current affairs telecast to more than 20 Asian countries and territories. | | 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 broadcasted 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. | [edit] Notable TV Shows from MediaCorp [edit] TV drama and sitcom series MediaCorp celebrated 25 years of local Chinese dramas in 2007. - Chinese language
| Year | Name of Drama | Description | | 1982 | Seletar Robbery
实里达大劫案 | First Singapore telemovie | | 1984 | The Awakening
雾锁南洋 | The first blockbuster epic drama | | 1996 | The Golden Pillow
金枕头 | First drama to have scenes filmed overseas, in Turkey | 1993
1996
2002 | The Unbeatables
双天至尊 | First drama series in Singapore about gambling. Its three seasons were released in 1993, 1996 and 2002 respectively. | | 1996 | Don't Worry, Be Happy | The first local Chinese sitcom | | 1998 | Return of the Condor Heroes
神雕侠侣 | 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. | | 2003 | Always On My Mind | Starring Fann Wong, this serial was made to commemorate the sacrifices of the brave members of the Singapore medical profession during the SARS crisis. | | 2003 | Holland V
荷兰村 | 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. | | 2004 | The Champion
任我遨游 | The drama series about swimming starred Singaporean and Taiwanese artistes and was extremely popular. | | 2004 | Double Happiness
喜临门 | 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 | | 2005 | Portrait of Home
同心圆 | 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. | | 2007 | The Peak
最高点 | Sponsored by Keppel, filming went as far as Brazil. | | 2007 | Kinship
手足 | MediaCorp's long-running 80-episode Chinese drama in 2007. | | 2007 | Metamorphosis
破茧而出 | Channel 8's most watched television drama series in 2007 and was awarded Best Drama Series Award in Star Awards 2007. | | 2007 | Honour and Passion
宝家卫国 | A 20-episode military drama series sponsored by the Singaporean Ministry of Defence | | 2007 | The Golden Path
黄金路 | A 30-episode blockbuster drama celebrating MediaCorp's 25 years of local Chinese drama. | | 2008 | Love Blossoms
心花朵朵开 | MediaCorp's long-running 110-episode Chinese drama in 2008 | | 2008 | The Little Nyonya
小娘惹 | A 30-episode blockbuster drama celebrating MediaCorp Channel 8's 45th anniversary. | | 2009 | The Ultimatum
双子星 | Mediacorp's 30-episode mid-year blockbuster for the year 2009 | | 2009 | Together
当我们同在一起 | A 35-episode blockbuster drama celebrating MediaCorp Channel 8's 46th anniversary. | - English language
- Masters of The Sea (1994) (TV drama) Animal rights activists were unhappy with the catch phrase of one of the main cast members (Magaret Chan) whose lines kept stating that she wanted to physically abuse cockroaches.
- VR Man (TV Drama) Attempt at making a superhero show with local personality.
- Under One Roof, 同一屋檐下 (1994) (The first local English sitcom)
- Phua Chu Kang (Local English sitcom, starring Gurmit Singh. Much Singlish was used in the series.) (1996-2007)
- Living with Lydia (Local English sitcom, starring Lydia Sum.)
- Oh Carol! (Local English sitcom, starring Carol Cheng.)
- After hours (Local English drama, starring Linda Liao, Utt, Joanne Peh) (2 seasons)
- ABC DJ (2006) (Local English sitcom, starring Korean actor Eugene Lee)
- Maggi & Me (2006) (Local English sitcom, starring Adrian Pang and Fiona Xie, premieres July 25, 2006)
- Yang Sisters (2006) (Local English sitcom, starring Cheng Pei-Pei, premieres September 28, 2006))
- Red Thread (2009) (Local English blockbuster drama, premieres April 14, 2009)
- Fighting Spiders (2009) (Channel 5's blockbuster drama, premieres April 14, 2009)
[edit] TV variety shows - Live From Studio 1, 缤纷 (The classical variety show in 80s are broadcast every week in live.)
- Sharp Nite, 声宝之夜 (The variety show in 70s & 80s.)
- 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.)
- The Sheng Siong Show (The variety show which includes exciting outdoor and studio games (with thousands of dollars to be won!) and features a children's singing competition.)
- Top Fun, 欢乐巅峰 (It had 7 series and was created by jteam Productions.)
- Super TV Champion, 超级电视迷 (The gameshow for celebrate 20 years of MediaCorp drama in 2002.)
- Everyone Wins, 今天谁会赢 (Singapore's very own formatted gameshow after Who Wants to be a Millionaire, The Weakest Link, Wheel of Fortune, Russian Roulette and Hollywood Squares; the show was created by Robert Chua.)
- Russian Roulette, 灵机一洞 (The U.S. gameshow produced by Game Show Network)
- Celebrities Squares (The Singapore version of Hollywood Squares.)
- The Weakest Link, 智者生存 (Based on the British gameshow. Produced in both the English and Chinese languages, though not simultaneously).
- Who Wants to be a Millionaire, 百万大赢家 (based on the British gameshow, also produced in the English and Chinese languages.)
- 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)
- Deal or No Deal (Singapore) (A game show)
[edit] TV charity shows [edit] Major shows - Singapore Idol, 新加坡偶像 - The Singapore version of American Idol on Channel 5 in English language.
- Live the Dream - Channel 5's brand new reality talent show for aspiring singers aged 25 and above to take that golden shot at fulfilling their dream.
- The Dance Floor - The search for outstanding dancers. Started in 2007.
- Star Search, 才华横溢出新秀 - Started in 1988, the talent quest event is held once per the two year, except in 2005 due of more talent search like Star Idol, Project SuperStar, SuperHost, but it returned in 2007. The programme is broadcast on Channel 8 in the Chinese language.
- Star Awards, 红星大奖 - The annual award ceremony, rewarding the achievements of the artistes who contributed to Channel 8, mostly in the Chinese language.
- Talentime - The first talent quest event in Singapore history, on Channel 5.
- Miss Singapore Universe, 新加坡环球小姐 - A pageant contest choosing one lady out of the whole to represent Singapore for Miss Universe and offered MediaCorp contracts, 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 ranging from Secondary School to University.
- 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.
- SuperMummy, 全能俏妈妈 - A variant of the Super series of talent searches. The talent search is to find the best mother/mummy in Singapore. Debuts 26 August 2008, every Tuesday at 8 pm. Grand Final is on 7 December 2008, 8pm.[3]
[edit] News and current affairs - News 5 Tonight (wrap-up of the day's news in English)
- Talking Point
- Get Real! (The Current Affairs Show in Singapore, hosted by Diana Ser)
- The Frontline, 前线追踪 (The Chinese Current Affairs Show, investigative programme shown every Friday night.)
- Cross fire
[edit] Other shows [edit] MediaCorp Stations [edit] Radio's 70th Anniversary Gag DJs were locked up in rooms in Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza in February 2006 to celebrate 70 years of Radio in Singapore. [edit] See also [edit] References [edit] External links [edit] Television [edit] Interactive Media | MediaCorp Pte Ltd | | | Television | |  | | | Radio | | | | Print | | | | Interactive Media | | | | Enterprises | | | | Productions | | | | Defunct | | | |
