City TV (Singapore)
| Country | Singapore |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Singapore Johor Bahru/Johor Bahru District (Malaysia) Batam/Batam Islands, Riau Islands (Indonesia) (overspill) |
| Headquarters | Caldecott Hill |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English Mandarin (from 2001) |
| Picture format | 576i (4:3 SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | MediaCorp |
| History | |
| Launched | 30 January 2000 |
| Closed | 11 January 2002 |
| Former names | Sportscity (2000 – 2001) |
| Availability (at time of closure) | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Analog terrestrial television | Channel 38 |
City TV (formerly Sportscity) was a Singaporean free-to-air television channel owned by Mediacorp. The channel initially specialized in sporting events, but due to low viewer interest, the channel attempted to remain afloat by adding Chinese-language programming under the new name City TV. The channel eventually shut down in 2002.
History[edit]
Attempt at launching an all-Chinese UHF channel[edit]
Shortly after the launch of Premiere 12, Singapore's first UHF channel, on channel 24 on 1 September 1995, the Television Corporation of Singapore showed potential for launching a UHF channel of its own (Premiere 12 was under the editorial control of Singapore Television Twelve). The service would complement Channel 8 and would carry a mixture of sports, arts and documentary programming, mirroring Premiere 12. Had TCS found viability in the project, work would start within a year. The aim of the channel was to reach out to the upmarket audience. However, there were concerns over TCS's Chinese audience being lured by Singapore CableVision, which carried no less than eight Chinese channels on its basic offer, and a further three on additional packages.[1] It is unknown why was the plan discarded; in 2005 Mediacorp gained its second Chinese channel, after the takeover of Channel U from SPH MediaWorks.
Sportscity[edit]
TCS eventually announced the launch of an all-new UHF channel, Sportscity, in late October 1999.[2] By early January 2000, TCS had secured the rights to UEFA Euro 2000 and the 2000 Summer Olympic Games,[3] and was bidding for Mike Tyson's fight against Julius Francis, whose big was being competed by SCV's sports channels.[4]
On 13 January 2000, TCS announced that Sportscity would launch on 30 January. The channel concentrated on six key sports, soccer, basketball, tennis, rugby, golf and badminton.[5] Accompanying the predominantly international sporting events was Sports Night, a nightly sports bulletin.[6] Sportscity would provide sports coverage with a "local flavour".[7]
On launch day, Sportscity carried Super Bowl XXXIV.[8][9] Despite the blaze of publicity at launch, there were still viewers who encountered static and related difficulties.[10]
City TV[edit]
On 4 May 2001, Mediacorp announced the rebranding of Sportscity fo City TV, positioned as "a channel for trendy adults", targeting a cosmopolitan bilingual (English and Mandarin) demographic. Sports programming remained predominant, at 60%, with the remaining 40% capped out by Chinese programming, to complement Channel 8's. More than 80% of the Chinese-language programming was first-run, with Taiwanese variety shows, Korean and Japanese dramas and entertainment news programmes. Some old dramas and movies were to be rerun, but on a "selective" basis. The Chinese slots were limited to weekdays from 3pm to 10:30pm. This was divided into City Entertainment (lifestyle and variety), City Nights (dramas, primetime Mondays to Thursdays) and City Movie (Fridays during City Night's slot). City TV Sports ran from 10:30pm to 1:30am on weekdays and on weekends from 10:30am to the end of transmission. If necessary, some of the Chinese slots would be pre-empted for live sports.[11]
Shutdown[edit]
On 9 January 2002, Mediacorp announced that City TV would shut down at the end of 11 January (1am on the early hours of 12 January). Its sports output moved to Channel 5 and Channel NewsAsia and all of its Chinese-language programming moved to Channel 8. Although the channel attracted a larger viewer base than Sportscity, its ad revenue didn't increase in tandem.[12]
The shutdown of City TV led to a content vacuum within Mediacorp's sports coverage, with viewers demanding other Mediacorp TV channels to air some of the events that were left without a channel.[13]
References[edit]
- ^ "TCS sees market for second all-Chinese TV channel". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 30 September 1995. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "Even the most sporty will be glued to couch". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 29 October 1999. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "BATTLE STATIONS". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 4 January 2000. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "Local channels bid for Tyson's big fight". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 15 January 2000. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "MORE EVENTS TO BE SHOWN LIVE". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 13 January 2000. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "They'll give you the buzz in sports". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 15 January 2000. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "It'll have a local flavour". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 15 January 2000. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "Page 45 Miscellaneous Column 1". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 30 January 2000. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "You'll be Bowl-ed over". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 30 January 2000. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "Fuzz over tuning in to Sports City". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 1 February 2000. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "A channel for trendy adults". Today (retrieved from NLB). 4 May 2001. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "MediaCorp TV to shut down City TV channel". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 10 January 2002. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- ^ "A sports fan's plea". Today (retrieved from NLB). 16 January 2002. Retrieved 23 May 2024.