Mediacorp Radio 933

[Lotte Donohoe]

Itsmonopoly on terrestrial television was briefly broken in the early-2000s by SPH MediaWorks. In 2004, amid struggles at its two channels, SPH sold the MediaWorks subsidiary to MediaCorp in exchange for stakes in its television and publishing businesses; only its Chinese-language Channel U would continue under MediaCorp. SPH divested its stake in MediaCorp in 2017 after Today ceased print publication.

The history of radio broadcasting in Singapore began with the formation of the Amateur Wireless Society of Malaya (AWSM) in April 1925, which launched shortwave transmission from a studio in the Union Building at Collyer Quay using a 100-watt transmitter lent by the Marconi Company under callsign 1SE (One Singapore Experimental).[2][3][4] The transmissions could be received as far as Penang, albeit with atmospheric interferences at times.[5] In 1930, Sir Earl from the Singapore Port Authority commenced its short wave broadcast every fortnight either on Sundays or Wednesdays. The BBC World Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was inaugurated on 19 December 1932 as the BBC Empire Service, broadcasting on shortwave[6] and aimed principally at English speakers across the British Empire. In his first Christmas Message (1932), King George V characterised the service as intended for "men and women, so cut off by the snow, the desert, or the sea, that only voices out of the air can reach them".[7] First hopes for the Empire Service were low. The Director General, Sir John Reith, said in the opening programme:

Don't expect too much in the early days; for some time we shall transmit comparatively simple programmes, to give the best chance of intelligible reception and provide evidence as to the type of material most suitable for the service in each zone. The programmes will neither be very interesting nor very good.[7][8]

In Singapore, the BBC World Service in English is essentially treated as a domestic broadcaster, easily available 24/7 through long-term agreement with British Malaya Broadcasting Corporation which expanded the array of programmes available for resident listeners. In 1933, Radio ZHI was launched as the first professional shortwave broadcasting station in Singapore. Owned by the Radio Service Company of Malaya, it was a shortwave radio station that delivered static-free broadcasts. Radio ZHI acquired a loyal following in Singapore and abroad. Despite its success, the station closed at the end of December 1936 when its license expired[9] because the British Malaya Broadcasting Corporation was granted the status of having the radio monopoly.[10]

The British Malaya Broadcasting Corporation (BMBC) was created on 12 April 1935 with a nominal capital of $500,000,[11] formed on 21 July 1935 and awarded a broadcasting license by the British crown on 1 June 1936 as a radio network.[12] The station was initially scheduled to start broadcasting in 1935, but was subsequently delayed to 1936 due to initial government uncertainties.[13] The station broadcast from the hill on Thomson Road.[14] ZHL made its first broadcast of Chinese music on 10 June 1936 as an experiment.[15] The BMBC conducted auditions in November 1936.[16] On 1 March 1937 at 6pm, its studios and transmitters at Caldecott Hill were officially opened by Governor of the Straits Settlements Shenton Thomas, aiming at a potential target audience of 10,000 listeners.[17][18][19][20][21]

In a move to adjust its budget, BMBC cut the number of weekly hours in late June 1937, from the initial 34 3/4 hours to 28 3/4. The Sunday schedule was cut from seven hours to four: before the revision, the daytime period ran from 11am to 1:30pm and the evening period from 5:30pm to 10pm. This was cut to 11:30am to 1:30pm for the daytime period (reducing half an hour) and 6pm to 8pm for the evening period (cutting two and a half hours). On weekdays the schedule ran from 6pm to 10pm, simply cutting the last quarter hour on air (before then, the station closed at 10:15pm). On Saturdays, the afternoon period remained in the 12:45pm to 2pm slot, but the evening period, starting at 6pm, now ended at 9:35pm instead of 11:15pm. This also prompted ZHL to reduce the number of artists to those able to perform without paying fees. Juvenile sessions were dropped because the artists had paid more. The existing charter suggested that the daily schedule would last at least four hours, with extensions depending on listener feedback. Any potential expansion was hampered purely by lack of budget. The monthly income was of $3,500, $2,500 from the licence and $1,000 from the Municipality. There were hopes to increase the income due to the start of sponsored programmes.[22] Plans for shortwave broadcasting had been outlined in July 1937, despite concerns over the quality of its reception.[23] In its first trimester on air, the BMBC was operating at a loss, a cause of "grave concern" for the staff.[24]

Work on the shortwave BMBC station started in October 1937, aiming at a March 1938 launch date. The station was to broadcast at a frequency of 31.48 meters daytime and 49.9 meters nighttime. The programming would be the same as the existing medium wave ZHL station.[25]

In January 1938, it was announced that the BMBC would cease receiving its monthly $1,000 grant from the municipality effective the end of February.[26] In the year ending February 28, 1938, the BMBC was operating at a net profit of $275.88; compared to the loss of $5,368.67[27] The number of listeners now stood at 4,213, up from the initial figure of 2,598 - even so, the figure was relatively lower than the planned target of 10,000 in the formal launch the previous year.[28] Ahead of the start of the shortwave service, it was reported that it would be picked up by over 9,000 radio receivers in Malaya - combined with over 4,000 in Singapore, the number of potential listeners was going to increase threefold.[29] The station started on 19 July 1938 under the callsign ZHP (the "P" stood for "Progress") attracting an audience not just in Malaya, but also in Sarawak, Borneo and the Dutch Indies, especially in tin mines and rubber estates.[30]

Thanks to the wider coverage range of ZHP, ZHL was able to broadcast more sporting events, namely horse races, tennis and the football, specifically the Malayan Cup. Before the change in policy, it was more likely for attendees to go to the matches.[31]

The shortwave frequency moved in on 1 October 1938 from 30.96 meters to 48.58 meters, under the new callsign ZHO, at the request of the Posts and Telegraphs Department. The extant medium wave frequency (225 metres or 1333kc) remained unchanged.[32]

The corporation was taken over by the Straits Settlements government in 1940[37] as a part of the British Department of Information, subsequently nationalised and reorganised as the Malaya Broadcasting Corporation (MBC),[18] the local counterpart to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Additional French programming was added on 16 September 1940.[38]

In order to counter German propaganda, a second shortwave transmitter was added on 29 September 1940, ZHP 3 (the existing transmitter was renamed ZHP 1). The station carried a special programme in German on Friday nights from 10pm to 10:30pm. The remainder of the line-up consisted of music and news, in Hindustani, Dutch, Tamil, Arabic and French. ZHL and ZHP 1 carried primarily content in English and Chinese dialects, with some Malay programming as well.[39][40] By April 1941 ZHP 2 was activated. The station was merely a relayer of ZHL's output, that was also heard on ZHP 1.[41]

During occupation, a confidential British Far Eastern Broadcasting Service (BFEBS) was carried out by the UK to its occupied territories, briefly having its offices at Caldecott Hill. The facilities were later used as a relay station for the BBC.[18]

Two separate stations were introduced from 23 December 1945. The existing service was renamed Blue Network, carrying programming in English and Malay. The second service, the Red Network, carried content in Tamil, Hindustani and Chinese dialects. The Blue Network was carried on the 41,61,225 metre band and the Red Network, on the 41,61,300 metre band.[46]

On 1 April 1946, Radio Malaya Singapore and the Federation of Malaya (RMSFOM; or Radio Malaya), a short- and mediumwave service, was established in Singapore. Radio news and information, as well as local entertainment, were aired on its stations in English and later Mandarin Chinese and Malay. In June 1947, the BBC initiated a one-year takeover plan of the BFEBS.[47] The plan was culminated on 8 August 1948.[48]

Changes to programming led to the Blue Network adding some Chinese content on from 1 January 1949. Both networks increased their airtime.[49] This was due to requests from individual communities, who demanded more programmes for them.[50] The Chinese output gained its own station on 1 January 1951, the Green Network.[51]

On the basis of the Radio Malaya broadcasters that moved to Kuala Lumpur in 1958, Radio Singapura took over on 4 January 1959 as the radio service for Singapore, organised into a station each for English, Malay and Mandarin listeners, plus a blocktime slot for Tamil speakers.[54] Shortwave broadcasts commenced on 14 February 1960, consisting of relays of extant Radio Singapore output.[55] The frequency changed in 1961, with test transmissions in the new frequencies (7250, 6175, 6615 and 4280) were carried from mid-January.[55] A new radio station, Siaran Istimewa, was announced in May 1961[56] as the nation's first multilingual radio station signing on offially on 3 June, with programming in all 4 languages airing on the 990 kc (990 kHz) band.[57] When Singapore joined Malaysia on 16 September 1963, Radio Singapura's stations became part of Radio Malaysia and rebranded as "Radio Malaysia (Singapura)".[58]

Television Singapura aired test broadcasts on channel 5 from 21 January to 15 February 1963, ahead of its first official pilot broadcast on the evening of 15 February 1963. Minister for Culture S. Rajaratnam became the first person to appear on Singapore TV, announcing that "Tonight might well mark the start of a social and cultural revolution in our lives." The first programme aired was a documentary, TV Looks at Singapore. The pilot service would broadcast for one hour and 40 minutes nightly; at the time, it was estimated that only one in 58 Singaporeans owned a television.[61]

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