Okto

okto
奥多频道
எட்டு

Okto logo
Launched 31 January 1984 as SBC-12
1 October 1994 as STV-12
1 September 1995 as Premiere 12
30 January 2000 as Central
20 May 2001 as TVWorks
3 March 2002 as Channel i
20 October 2008 as Okto
Network MediaCorp TV12
Owned by MediaCorp
Picture format PAL 576i (SDTV) 4:3/16:9
Slogan

Going further to bring you closer(2008-2013)

It's ok to call the shots(2013-present)
Country Singapore
Language Singapore English
Broadcast area Singapore
Formerly called
MediaCorp TV12 Central
Sister channel(s) Channel 5
Channel 8
Channel U
Suria
Vasantham
Channel NewsAsia
HD5
Timeshift service 09:00 to 00:00 SST during weekdays
07:00 to 00:00 SST during weekends and public holidays)
Website okto
Availability
Terrestrial
MediaCorp – Analogue (PAL-B) Channel 30 (UHF 543.25 MHz)
MediaCorp – Digital (DVB-T2) Channel 27 (UHF 522MHz) (LCN 10)
Satellite
Astro (Malaysia) Channel 614 (Coming Soon)
Cable
StarHub TV Channel 108
MediaCorp – via (SCTV socket) Channel 25 (UHF 503.25 MHz)
IPTV
Singtel TV Channel 8 / 209

Okto, stylised as okto, is a television channel in Singapore, managed by MediaCorp and caters to the general youths and young adults of Singapore, similar to Channel U. It is formerly known as MediaCorp TV12 Central and the channel is aired on the frequency 495.000 MHz.

The word "okto" means "8" in Greek. To reflect this, both StarHub TV and SingTel Singtel TV carry this channel as Channel "8", which should not be confused with MediaCorp Channel 8, MediaCorp's main Mandarin language channel. Despite the meaning of the channel's name, the channel is aired on channel 30 for those receiving channels via aerial or channel 25 for those using StarHub TV sockets. For those who subscribed to StarHub TV the channel will be aired on channel 108 and mio TV the channel will be aired on channel 209. Due to mio TV's channel number switch, this channel would broadcast on Channel 209 with effect on Thursday, 1 November 2012 at 00:00 SST.

Okto has a mascot named Ollie, who was originally named OktoBoy. He was introduced in 2011.

By 2016, Okto, along with Channel U and Channel NewsAsia will go digital, in line with the start of the digital switchover that will take place by 2018.[1]

History

On 1 September 1995, Channel 8 began a 24-hour transmission and also aired Tamil programmes. Premiere 12 was launched to include more children's programmes (mainly for Pre-school children) and sports coverage. Premiere 12 later included Tamil programmes and was renamed as Central, on 30 January 2000.

Central had three program belts, Kids Central, which was a children's television channel with enriching educational & animation programming, Vasantham Central, which was a Tamil language channel, and Arts Central which showcases art, cultural and largely foreign award-winning productions and incorporated a significant amount of niche programming, making the channel rather distinctive compared to the others.

On 19 October 2008, Central was dissolved. The program belt of Vasantham Central was extended to form the new Vasantham, a full-fledged Indian Channel to provide better television programmes to the Indian community of Singapore, as announced on January 2008 when the Parliament of Singapore decided to expand the Tamil language Vasantham Central into a standalone Tamil language channel.

Kids Central and Arts Central, the other two program belts of Central and Central was merged and renamed Okto since then. Okto took over the frequency of Channel i, a channel which went defunct since 1 January 2005. Besides broadcasting children's programmes and cultural programming, the channel also broadcast live sporting events such as Football, Olympic Games, Asian Games and Southeast Asian Games if there is a need to.

Programming

Okto is predominantly an English channel with selected programmes in the language of the country of origin. The programming on the channel is similar to its predecessors Premiere 12, Kids Central, Arts Central and SPH MediaWorks Channel i, with preschool and children programmes between the day and night and documentaries; lifestyle, news, current affairs, anime and art performances in the rest of the night.

Okto aims to be a one-stop channel that will enrich, engage and entertain, offering some of the best local and international programmes to the Singapore viewers. The channel has a special focus on the kids and arts communities and on User Generated Content (UGC) enabling them to participate, grow and be an integral part of the channel. It is also the first channel to use the old Premiere 12 structure.

When Okto first started broadcasting, it was split into two segments, oktoday & oktonite. oktoday shows programmes mainly for kids and young teenagers. Since 1 April 2011, oktoday is divided into oktots, which shows programmes for toddlers, and okto. oktonite was also renamed as a~ok.

In June 2014, Sports on Okto was introduced which shows sporting events live as well as recorded and delayed coverage. Events such as 2014 FIFA World Cup (opening match, 2 semi-finals & final), 2014 Asian Games and 2014 AFF Suzuki Cup have been broadcast on the channel.[2]

Transmission Hours

During weekdays, Okto starts at 09:00 SST and ends at 00:00 SST. On weekends and public holidays, Okto starts at 07:00 SST and ends at 00:00 SST. The oktots segment airs from 09:00 to 15:00 SST during weekdays. The a~ok segments airs from 22:00 to 00:00 SST.

At other times when programmes are not transmitted, still image of the Okto logo is displayed with the radio broadcast channel Gold 90.5FM played in the background.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "MediaCorp is going fully digital". www.mediacorp.sg. MediaCorp. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  2. ↑ "Game on with the new Sports on okto!". www.mediacorp.sg. MediaCorp. Retrieved 11 December 2014.

External links