Much like the television industry in the US, which started out earlier, and contributed significantly to the invention of the television, the television industry in Singapore has experienced much changes since its early days as well. A brief history of the Singapore television and cable industry would show us that it has gone through numerous iterations and organizational changes to become what it is today. What started off as Television Singapura on 15 February 1963 has gone through multiple changes to become what we now know as MediaCorp TV.

 

When Singapore first gained independence on the 9th of August 1965, Television Singapura merged with Radio Singapura to form Radio Television Singapore (RTS). The next step for Singapore’s television industry was on 1st February 1980, where RTS was corporatised and renamed to become Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Under the management of the Singapore International Media (SIM) group, the SBC was eventually reorganized into three individual privatized firms. Forming Television Corporation Singapore (TCS), Radio Corporation Singapore and Singapore Television Twelve (STV12). In June 199 SIM changed its name to Media Corporation of Singapore (MediaCorp Singapore) which subsequently led to the renaming of TCS in February 2001 to MediaCorp TV.

 

The first television demonstration in Singapore was a significant event, as it was also the second demonstration of the TV in South East Asia. The TV was first brought into Singapore by the british while Singapore was still a British colony, and the first demonstration was held during the 1952 British Radio Exhibition organized by the British Radio and Accessories Manufacturers’ Association. The first person to be seen on television in Singapore was the governor of Singapore Sir John Fearns Nicoll whose opening speech for the British Radio Exhibition garnered over 3000 views. The estimated cost for the first broadcasting held in Singapore is about $95,000 which only had a total of 31.600 viewers paying a total of $15,800.

 

In the same year, the Singapore government announced the plans for a television station,  though the idea was short lived due to the lack of funding. In 1955 when the plan was revived, there were 3 private organizations (Cathay Organization, Rediffusion and Shaw Brothers) that tendered for the rights to own Singapore’s first broadcasting station. The following year, the government announced its decision not to award the television broadcasting rights to a commercial operator due to concerns that the  television would be exploited for commercial reasons. Instead a committee was formed to investigate the various aspects of introducing the television in Singapore. Subsequently in 1957 a report was released by the committee which proposed the first broadcasting station to be run by a public corporation rather than a commercial operator and also some recommendations on other aspects such as advertising, government control and legislation, programming and financing. However in 1958, the plan was once again put on hold due to the lack funding.

 

Finally in April 1961, the government announced the $5.9million budget to setup a one channel television broadcasting station, with the plan to eventually add a second channel in the near future. The introduction of the television has the intention to break down language barriers in multiracial Singapore, fight illiteracy and supplement education in schools. Ultimately leading to the creation of Television Singapura.

 

The first broadcasted programme that Television Singapura produced was a 15 minute long documentary talking about intended effect and the potential impact that broadcast television should have on the lives of Singaporeans. In 1971, a satellite was installed in new Television Centre previously built in 1966, to allow Singaporeans access to syndicated and international broadcasting programs. Singapore was also one of the first few countries in Southeast Asia to introduce the color television in 1974.

 

In 1979, the Singapore government passed the Singapore Broadcasting Act, which paved the way for the corporatization of television in Singapore. The Act states that the government would retain control over the policy of the corporation in the public interest. The act ensures that the air time for minorities would be kept equal to that of others. The following year, RTS was renamed the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) which boasted more autonomy and flexibility. Subsequently SBC was privatized and became wholly owned by SIM, reaming the broadcasting station to Television Corporation of Singapore. TCS increased transmission times from 5 and 8 hours to 24 hours daily, and also launched a new channel called Channel News Asia in 1999 which is still operating today.

 

In June of 1999, the broadcasting station went through a name change once again, though this time it had no structural changes. SIM was renamed Media Corporation of Singapore, which remains till today. MediaCorp still retains the prime 12 and Premier 12 channels, but with name changes to Suria (malay programs) and Central (Vasantham for tamil programs, Kids Central and Arts Central). The most recent change that MediaCorp has undergone is the merger with Singapore Press Holdings in 2004. The television broadcasting network still retains its name as MediaCorp Singapore, but has added a new channel (SPH’s Channel U) to their list of channels. Although MediaCorp monopolizes the Television Broadcasting industry in Singapore, their mission is to be a “public broadcaster that is run as a private corporation”.