SPH MediaWorks
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SPH MediaWorks Ltd (SPH MediaWorks; Simplified Chinese: 报业传讯; pinyin: bào yè chuán xùn) was the ephemeral free-to-air terrestrial television broadcaster in Singapore. SPH MediaWorks brought 2 alternative free-to-air terrestrial television channels to the audience in Singapore, in 2001. As of 1 January 2005, SPH MediaWorks had ceased to exist upon the merging of operations with MediaCorp TV Singapore Pte Ltd (MediaCorp TV) and MediaCorp Studios Pte Ltd.
A subsidiary of Singapore Press Holdings Ltd, (SPH), SPH MediaWorks was originally set up to create variety and healthy competition with MediaCorp TV Singapore Pte Ltd (MediaCorp TV). MediaWorks is widely praised for injecting more variety in local programming and for its creative innovations.
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[edit] Merger
On 17 September 2004, however, SPH and MediaCorp Ptd Ltd (MediaCorp) announced that both company had entered an agreement on merging the television operations of the two companies, of which operates the mainstream free-to-air terrestrial channels; Channel 5, Channel 8, TVMobile, Channel U (优频道) and Channel i. The other free-to-air terrestrial channels: Suria and Central run by MediaCorp TV12 and Channel NewsAsia by Mediacorp News, remained wholly owned and run by MediaCorp Pte Ltd, in contrast to the channels owned by MediaCorp TV Pte Ltd, under the holding company of MediaCorp TV Holdings Pte Ltd (MediaCorp TV Holdings) as of 1 January 2005; MediaCorp TV Holdings were 80% owned by MediaCorp and 20% by SPH. The merger was seen as a move to reduce the losses faced by SPH since the launch of Channel U and Channel i, and to reduce the losses in the free newspaper market of “Today” faced by MediaCorp.
Apart from the merging of television operations, the merging package includes the merging of the free newspaper operations of both MediaCorp and SPH. Streats, managed by SPH was merged into “Today”; Streats will cease its independent publication upon the completion of the merger. “Today” continues to be managed by MediaCorp solely.
[edit] Milestones
In June 2000, Mr Lee Cheok Yew was appointed as the CEO of SPH Mediaworks Ltd. Between August and November 2000, Mr Man Shu Sum and some of the MediaCorp artistes joined from SPH Mediaworks, the former as Chief Operating Officer of MediaCorp.
In May 2001, Channel U, a Mandarin channel and its English counterpart, TV Works were launched.
In October 2001, UnionWorks, a subsidiary of MediaWorks and NTUC Media was launched; owns and operates UFM 1003 and WKRZ 91.3FM. Both radio stations were simply re-branded and resume operations of Heart 100.3FM and 91.3FM, previously wholly owned by NTUC Media.
In March 2002, TV Works was renamed Channel i.
In December 2002, MediaWorks won the "Broadcaster of the Year" award in "Asia Television Awards". Channel U also bagged the "Channel of the Year" award.
Channel U too organises a charity show, "Ren Ci Charity Show", shortly after being named the Broadcaster of the Year. Ren Ci Charity Show bears similarity to those hosted by MediaCorp. Audience will be fed with intense performance presented by actors, actress and guest, and encouraged to donate, commonly through telephone or mobile phone. However, this program does not make use of material incentive to encourage donations unlike any other charity shows going on then. With the great team effort of the Mediaworks team, in both years of the show under Mediaworks, donations broke previously set records.
Mr Lee Cheok Yew resigned as CEO of SPH Mediaworks in April 2003.
Channel i News won the "Best News Programme" of "Asia Television Award" in December 2003.
In September 2004, MediaCorp Group CEO Ernest Wong struck a deal with SPH CEO Alan Chen to merge their mass-market television and free newspaper. The two media companies have previously been scathed and stifled by stiff and unhealthy competition from each other and the merger is widely seen as inevitable. MediaCorp TV Holdings will be created upon the completion of merging. MediaCorp will have an 80% stake while SPH will own the remainder.
On 31 December 2004, MediaCorp and SPH jointly announced that the merger is legally completed and that Channel i will be ceasing transmission at 2am, 1 January 2005, after being reviewed as not commercially practicable to maintain the channel. And on this day, SPH MediaWorks Ltd comes to her last day of providing Singaporeans an alternative that was however, ephemeral.
[edit] Conclusion
Despite being in the market for merely four years, MediaWorks had managed to emerge as an eminent competitor to the more established MediaCorp. Channel U was much praised for pioneering Mandarin-dubbed Korean dramas as well as Taiwanese TV-serials in their programmes. For example, the TVB longest running drama series Kindred Spirit was highly popular, and resulted in the rival company, MediaCorp, producing local marathon family drama series like Holland V and Double Happiness.
[edit] Programmes
[edit] Channel U
- 换栖俱乐部
- 圆梦心计划
- 骨牌真情录 - Variety
- U转娱乐圈 - Variety
- 独家头条 - Drama
- 亲子关系
- 优先出击
- 电视新纪元
- 情色男女 - Drama
- 完美把戏 (Ad-War) - Sitcom
- 周末FUN轻松 - Variety
- 标出新加坡 - Infotainment
- 杨门女将 - Drama
- Add Your Service
- 苹果派 (Apple Pie) - Sitcom
- Back to Basics - Drama
- Banzai My Kids
- 如果没有你(Bare Essentials) - Infotainment
- Be Somebody - Drama
- Big Challenge - Variety
- Bon Voyage - Info-tainment
- 自游万岁 (Celebrity Travellers) - Variety
- Channel U News
- Crunch Time - Docu-drama
- e时代爱心勇士(Dream Challengers) - Infotainment
- Food Train (2 Seasons)
- Go East (4 seasons)
- Happy Rules - Variety
- 侠骨仁心 (Healing Hands) - Drama
- Inside Out - Current affairs
- Legally Yours
- Money No Problem - Drama
- OK, No Problem - Drama
- Open Sesame (2 Seasons) - Variety
- 你是哪里人？ (Origin of our Roots) - Infotainmnet
- Renci Charity Show
- 新卧虎藏龙(Route to Glamour) - Variety
- Snap (3 seasons) - Variety
- Star Stuck (2 seasons) - Variety
- Thank you for the years
- The Frontline - Drama
- The Next Big Thing - Variety
- The Westside Story
- Tonight I will tell (2 Seasons) - Docu-drama
- Top 10
- Ultimate Tastebuds (2 Seasons consecutive) - Variety
- Yummy King (3 Seasons) - Variety
- 综艺无界限 (Variety Unlimited) - Variety
- Zero (Ling Lou) - Drama
- $2 Wonderfood - Variety
[edit] Channel i
- Ah Girl (3 Seasons) - Sitcom
- Channel i News - Current affairs
- Cue - Current affairs
- Durian King - Drama
- Fat to Fit - Reality
- Heath Matters - Current affairs
- iContact - Current affairs
- i on the news - Current affairs
- i2u - Variety
- Makansutra (4 seasons) - Infotainment
- Perceptions - Drama
- Singapore Shakes - Drama
- Six Weeks - Drama
- The Money Tree - Current affairs
- Worldlife - Current affairs
[edit] TV Works
- After Hours
- Big Chilli Wednesday
[edit] Artists
- Adrian Pang - to Mediacorp
- Arnold Gay
- Ben Yeo 杨志龙 - to Mediacorp
- Bryan Wong 王禄江 - to Mediacorp
- Zhang Yuhua (Celest Chong) - to Mediacorp
- Chen Yuyun (Evelyn Tan)- Resigned
- Cynthia Lee - Sacked
- Fu Fangling - to Mediacorp
- Guo Liang 郭亮 - to Mediacorp
- Guo Shuxian (Ann Kok) - to Mediacorp
- Huang Sufang - to UnionWorkz UFM100.3
- Hong Yiping - to [Mediacorp]
- Zhong Qing (Kym Ng) 钟琴 - to Mediacorp
- Lin Minglun - to Mediacorp
- Lin Wanfei 林琬绯 back with Singapore Press Holdings
- Lee Zhiqing (Ericia Lee) - Sacked, now with Dream Forest
- Lee Zhiyi - to Mediacorp
- Michelle Chia 谢韵仪 - to Mediacorp
- Pamela Oei - Sacked
- Quan Yifeng 权仪凤 - to Mediacorp
- Shen Qingshan (Ix Shen) - to Mediacorp
- Song Yifei (Constance Song) - to Mediacorp
- Wang Yanqing - to UnionWorks UFM100.3
- Zhang Haijie 张海洁 - to UnionWorks UFM100.3
- Zhou Huimin - to Singapore Press Holdings SPH
- Chen Huihui - Sacked
- Hong Rong - Sacked
- Fu Aini - Sacked
- Chen Hongyu - Sacked, now with Dream Forest
- Chen Chuanzhi - insurance agent
