Information about Mediacorp

MediaCorp
MediaCorp logo
	Private
Founded	Singapore (1965, as Radio and Television of Singapore)
Headquarters	Caldecott Broadcasting Centre, Caldecott Hill
Industry	Television, Online Broadcasting, Publishing, Moviemaking, Media Consultancy
Services	Television Broadcasting and Production, Publication
Divisions	MediaCorp TV, among others
Owner	Temasek Holdings
Website	[1]

MediaCorp (Chinese: 新传媒; Pinyin: Xīn Chuánméi) is a conglomeration group of commercial media companies in Singapore specializing largely in television and radio broadcasting, and to a lesser extent, in periodicals and newspaper publishing and filmmaking. At present, MediaCorp runs 6 television channels and 14 radio channels, making MediaCorp the largest media broadcaster and provider in Singapore. It is also a monoploy in free-to-air TV in Singapore.

History

Before 2001, MediaCorp was formerly known as:

• the Radio and Television of Singapore (RTS) (1965–1980)
• the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) (1980–1994)
• the Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS) and the Radio Corporation of Singapore (RCS) (1994–2001)

Important events

Year	Date	Event
1936	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 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		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 TVhad 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.
2004	31 December	MediaCorp and SPH announces that the merger is legally completed, thereby creating the new holding company, MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte Ltd, which now owns Channel 5, Channel 8, TVMobile and Channel U.
2005	1 January	Channel U (Previously under SPH MediaWorks Ltd, a subsidiary of SPH) joins MediaCorp.
2006		Mediacorp launch the online broadband television, called MOBTV.
2006	May	Mediacorp began a HDTV trial channel, was the first movie to be shown on the channel. Mediacorp expects to be HDTV ready by 2007.
2006		2 October 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.
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 will officially roll out its high definition free-to-air television signal, HD5.

MediaCorp has virtually held a 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 January 2005, MediaCorp once again became the monopoly in the mass market free-to-air terrestrial television provider.

Divisions

MediaCorp Group comprises the following divisions:

• MediaCorp TV
• MediaCorp Studios
• MediaCorp TV12
• MediaCorp Radio
• MediaCorp News
• MediaCorp Press
• MediaCorp Publishing
• MediaCorp Technologies
• MediaCorp Raintree Pictures
• Media Research Consultants
• Caldecott Productions International
• Singapore Media Academy

Ownership

MediaCorp is 100% owned by Temasek Holdings, the Singapore government's wholly owned investment arm. [2]

Location

MediaCorp is currently located at Andrew Road, Caldecott Broadcasting Centre. By 2011, it will be relocated to Bukit Batok.

Management

Board of Directors

• Chairman: Ho Kwon Ping

General Management

• CEO: Lucas Chow
• DCEO (TV): Chang Long Jong
• DCEO (News, Radio & Print): Shaun Seow
• DCEO (Corporate Services) / CFO:
• MD (Singapore Media Academy) : Chua Foo Yong
• EVP(Sales): James Yip
• EVP(Human Resource): Chan Yit Foon
• EVP(Corporate Development): Tan Peck Joo

MediaCorp Group's Strategic Business Units (SBUs) are managed quite independently from the parent group.

• MD for MediaCorp TV12: Lim Suat Jien
• MD for MediaCorp News: Woon Tai Ho
• MD for MediaCorp Technologies: Mock Pak Lum
• MD for MediaCorp Publishing: Pang Siew Moi
• MD for MediaCorp Radio: Philip Koh
• MD for MediaCorp Press: Philip Koh

MediaCorp TV Channels

MediaCorp offers 6 free-to-air terrestrial television channels:

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 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 America's Next Top Model, 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.
Channel NewsAsia	is an English-language regional channel for international news and current affairs.
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.

Noteable Shows for MediaCorp TV

TV drama and sitcom series

MediaCorp celebrates 25 years of local Chinese dramas in 2007.

Chinese language:

Year	Name of Drama	Description
1982	Seletar Robbery	First Singapore telemovie
1984	The Awakening	The first blockbuster drama
1996	The Golden Pillow	First drama to have scenes filmed overseas - Turkey
1993 1996 2002	The Unbeatables	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	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	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?	Sponsored by Keppel, filming went as far as Brazil.
2007	Kinship 手足	MediaCorp's long-running 80-episode Chinese drama in 2007.
2007	Path of Gold 黄金路	This year-end 30 episodes blockbuster drama is yet another MediaCorp's TV productions to celebrate Mediacorp's 25 years of local chinese drama.

English language:

• Masters of The Sea (1994) (TV drama)
• 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 Dodo Cheng.)
• 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))

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, only Singapore had the Chinese version.)
• 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.)
• (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)

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.)
• Affairs of the heart, 心手相连 (The charity show organised by Singapore Heart Foundation.)
• President Star Charity (The charity show for the President Challenge.)
• True Heart (The first outdoor charity show in Singapore, organised by Community Chest.)
• Ren Ci Charity Show (The first charity show which no prizes or lucky draws to encourage donations.)
• Thye Hua Kwan Charity Show (The first charity show will have no stunts which other charity show going on.)

Major shows

• Singapore Idol, 新加坡偶像 - The Singapore version of American Idol on Channel 5 in the 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 the 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 return in 2007.; 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.
• 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.
• 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.

News and current affairs

• 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

Other shows

• Crime Watch (Talk about crime prevention, partially based on the German programme Aktenzeichen XY... ungelöst.)
• True Files (Cases of the murders of yesteryears.)
• True Courage (The extraordinary courage of some Singaporeans.)

MediaCorp Radio Stations

English

• Gold 90.5FM
• Symphony 92.4FM
• 938LIVE!
• Class 95FM
• 987FM
• Lush 99.5FM
• Radio Singapore International (shortwave regional arm)

Chinese

• Y.E.S. 933FM (醉心频道, Cuìxīn Píndào)
• Capital 958FM (城市频道, Chéngshì Píndào)
• Love 972FM (最爱频道, Zuì'ài Píndào)

Malay

• Ria 89.7FM
• Warna 94.2FM

Tamil

• Oli 96.8FM (ஒலி)

French/German/Japanese

• The International Channel (Singapore) (96.3FM)

Others

• Radio Singapore International
• SmartRadio

Radio's 70th Anniversary Gag

DJ's were locked up in rooms in Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza in February 2006 to celebrate 70 years of Radio in Singapore.

See also

• Broadcasting in Singapore
• Censorship in Singapore
• List of Singaporeans
• Media of Singapore
• Singapore Broadcasting Corporation
• Television Corporation of Singapore
• List of Channel 8 programmes

External links

• Entertainment Portal of MediaCorp

Television

• MediaCorp TV
• Channel 5
• Channel 8
• Channel U
• Channel NewsAsia
• Suria
• Arts Central
• Vasantham Central
• Kids Central

Radio

• MediaCorp Radio
• 938LIVE
• Symphony 92.4FM
• Lush 99.5FM
• 987FM
• Class 95FM
• The International Channel 96.3FM
• Gold 90.5FM
• Ria 89.7FM
• Warna 94.2FM
• Oli 96.8FM
• Love 97.2FM
• Capital 95.8FM
• Y.E.S. 93.3FM
• Radio Singapore International

Press

• TODAY

Publication

• 8 Days
• LIME
• Manja
• i-weekly

•  • [ e] MediaCorp Pte Ltd

MediaCorp Group: Singapore Media Academy Caldecott Productions International Raintree Pictures MediaCorp TV: Channel 5 - Digital 5 - HD5 Channel 8 - Digital 8 Channel U TVMobile MOBTV MediaCorp TV12: Suria Central (Kids Central, Vasantham Central and Arts Central) MediaCorp Radio: Gold 90.5 FM Symphony 92.4FM 938LIVE Class 95FM 987FM Lush 99.5FM Capital 95.8FM Love 97.2FM Y.E.S. 93.3FM Warna 94.2FM Ria 89.7FM Oli 96.8FM International Channel 96.3FM Radio Singapore International Smart Radio MediaCorp News: Channel NewsAsia Teletext xin.sg MediaCorp Online: Mocca.com MediaCorp Press: Today MediaCorp Publishing: 8 Days Arena Singapore Asian Diver BabyCare Electronic Gaming Monthly ELLE Singapore Family I-Weekly Kids Company Lime Manja Mother And Baby Singapore FHM Style Style Weddings MediaCorp Studios MediaCorp Technologies: 1-Net