MediaCorp Teletext

Last updated
MediaCorp Teletext
Country Singapore
Network MediaCorp TV
Programming
Language(s)English
Ownership
Owner MediaCorp
History
Launched1 August 1983;41 years ago (1983-08-01)
Closed30 September 2013;11 years ago (2013-09-30)
Former namesSBCText (1983-1993)
INtv (1993-2001)
Links
Website teletext.sg
Availability
Terrestrial
MediaCorp -
Analogue (PAL-B)
  • Channel 5
  • Channel 8
  • Channel NewsAsia

MediaCorp Teletext was a Singaporean teletext information service provided by MediaCorp. It was carried on MediaCorp's Channel 5, Channel 8 and Channel NewsAsia. On top of the standard information carried by most teletext providers, it also carried information unique to Singapore, such as COE and ERP rates, announcements from selected ministries in Singapore and lottery results.

Contents

The service was also accessible over the Internet since 1999 until its shutdown in 2013.

History

The Singapore Broadcasting Corporation was studying the feasilbility of a teletext service as early as November 1982. Tenders were given to thirty television sets capable to receive such signals [1] By January, SBC was aiming at a possible 1 May launch date. Studies were conducted in the United Kingdom by SBC's news director Lim Kim Tian and since the inception of teletext services in the UK, the corporation (at the time RTS) was monitoring the growth of such services there. With Singapore using equipment similar to Europe, the teletext service was going to be similar to the ones deployed there, but with minor technical adjustments, the most notable being faster access (two to four times). [2] By February, it was now scheduled for "June or July" and was set to be the first of its kind in Asia. British company Logica provided the equipment, [3] [4] [5] while the SBC Text staff were trained by Ceefax executive Graham Clayton for two weeks in May 1983. [6] The first television sets equipped with teletext were to be put on sale in April. [7]

By mid-March, SBC Text was conducting test transmissions. [8] It was used on both channels 5 and 8 from 7am to 11pm, with 100 sets of pages each, in the 100-199 range. [9]

The definitive launch date for the service, 1 August 1983, was announced on 5 June. [10] Technical concerns were raised, especially in the CBD area, of ghosting issues. [11] On 17 June, SBCText began its trial run, from 3pm to 9pm. [12]

On 1 August 1983, the service launched. [13] The new service saw mixed reactions, with Oskar von Kretschmann having a favourable viewpoint, following the introduction of the service at the Hilton International Hotel, but bankers and stock brokers saw a negative review, as the service was catering more to "the home market" and that the information was a few hours out-of-date. [14] By September, further complaints had included lack of instant information in general (compared to similar services in Hong Kong) and limited financial information, but other services were praised. [15] Some hotels didn't adopt the system upon its launch due to financial constraints. [16]

Due to "popular demand from businessmen", SBC announced that the service would start an hour earlier (at 6am) effective 1 February 1984. [17]

By October 1984, SBC announced plans to expand the service, whose user base has risen from 3,000 at the time of launch the previous year to 25,000. Still, this represented 5% of television sets in Singapore. The number of pages has increased from 100 to 300, enhancing information in certain sections. [18]

The bus guide was removed in 1986 due to limited usage. [19]

The service was renamed INtv on 18 January 1993. [20] [21]

It was later expanded to Channel News Asia when the channel was launched on 1 March 1999. From late September 2001, the service became available 24/7. [22]

Teletext Classifieds was shut down on 1 September 2012.

On 3 September 2013, MediaCorp announced that the service will be discontinued from 30th of that month due to “declining usage”. [23]

Content

Teletext was provided on three MediaCorp channels, with each channel specialising in specific types of information. Teletext on Channel 5 specialised in entertainment and lifestyle information, Classifieds on Channel 8 and business information on Channel News Asia.

ChannelContent (page series)
MediaCorp Channel 5
  • News (100s)
  • Financial News & Stocks (200s)
  • SGX (300s)
  • Information (500s)
  • Leisure (850s)
MediaCorp Channel 8
  • Classifieds (closed on 1 September 2012) (160s, 200s, 300s and 500s)
  • Vehicles (500s)
  • Leisure (850s)
Channel NewsAsia
  • News (100s)
  • Financial News & Stocks (200s)
  • SGX (300s)
  • Financial Information (450, 480 & 490)
  • Information (500s)
  • Leisure (850s)

Teletext Online

When the service was still online, the Teletext versions of all three channels were available for browsing via the Internet and features a nearly up-to-date version of the Teletext shown on television (delays might be up to 10 minutes). As with the Teletext on television, this service is now discontinued.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mediacorp</span> Singaporean commercial media company

Mediacorp Pte. Ltd. is the state-owned public media conglomerate of Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the investment arm of the Government of Singapore—it owns and operates television channels, radio, and digital media properties. It is headquartered at the Mediapolis development in Queenstown's One-north precinct, which succeeded Caldecott Hill—the long-time home of its predecessors—in 2015; as of 2022, Mediacorp employs over 3,000 employees; a large number of them are in both public and private sector broadcasting.

Television in Singapore began on 15 February 1963. The public broadcaster, MediaCorp TV, has a monopoly on terrestrial television channels and is fully owned by government holding company Temasek Holdings. Local pay TV operators are StarHub TV and Singtel TV. The private ownership of satellite dishes was previously forbidden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Channel 5 (Singaporean TV channel)</span> English television channel in Singapore

Channel 5 is an English-language free-to-air terrestrial television channel in Singapore, owned by state media conglomerate Mediacorp. The channel primarily airs general entertainment and news programming in the English language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Channel 8 (Singaporean TV channel)</span> Television channel

Channel 8 is a Singaporean Mandarin-language free-to-air terrestrial television channel in Singapore, owned by state media conglomerate Mediacorp. The channel broadcasts general entertainment and news programming in the Mandarin language, including original and imported programming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TV3 (Malaysian TV network)</span> Malaysian private television channel

Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad, operating as TV3, is a Malaysian free-to-air television channel owned by Malaysian media conglomerate, Media Prima. TV3 is the third oldest TV station in Malaysia. It was launched on 1 June 1984 as the country's first and oldest private television channel. As of October 2021, TV3 remains to be the most-watched television station in Malaysia with about 17% of its viewing share among other Malaysian television stations, followed by TV9 with 15% of its viewing share, making two of them become the second most-watched television station in the country, despite the declining viewership of 3 free-to-air television channels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CNA (TV network)</span> Singapore English language news channel

CNA is a Singaporean multinational news channel owned by Mediacorp, the country's state-owned media conglomerate. CNA broadcasts free-to-air domestically in Singapore, and internationally as a pay television channel to 29 territories across the Asia-Pacific. It also streams on Mediacorp's domestic meWatch platform, and on free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) platforms and YouTube internationally.

The following lists events that happened during 2001 in Singapore.

The following lists events that happened during 1994 in Singapore.

The following lists events that happened during 1993 in Singapore.

The following lists events that happened during 1983 in Singapore.

The following lists events that happened during 1980 in Singapore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">StarHub TV</span> Cable television operator in Singapore

Star Hub TV is a pay television service provided by StarHub in Singapore. It has been a subsidiary of StarHub Limited since StarHub acquired Singapore Cable Vision (SCV) in 2001, and was the sole pay-TV operator in the country until 2007 when mio TV, an IPTV service from its competitor, Singtel, was launched.

Infonet was a Malaysian teletext service. It was formerly known as Beriteks. This teletext system was launched in early 1985 by TV3, before starting on the RTM channels later in the year. The service at launch was operated by New Straits Times. While RTM1 and RTM2 were still transmitting Teletext, the contents of the transmission were different from those offered by TV3's service, which was then also transmitted under the name Beriteks. In the case of RTM1 in its first year, it carried information on foodstuff prices and information on eateries and shopping. As Beriteks is carried on RTM and TV3, they are treated "as a service" and not for competition.

Central was a Singaporean free-to-air terrestrial television channel in Singapore, owned by state media conglomerate MediaCorp.

Suria is a Malay-language free-to-air terrestrial television channel in Singapore, owned by state media conglomerate Mediacorp. The channel broadcasts general entertainment and news programming in the Malay language, including original programming, and imported programmes from Malaysia and Indonesia.

Warna 942 is a Malay language radio station in Singapore. Owned by the state-owned broadcaster Mediacorp, it broadcasts a full-service format serving Malay Singaporeans, including music, news, and religious programming.

Capital 958 is a Mandarin-language radio station in Singapore. Owned by the state-owned broadcaster Mediacorp, it broadcasts a classic hits format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SPH MediaWorks</span> Former terrestrial television broadcaster in Singapore

SPH MediaWorks Ltd. was a free-to-air terrestrial television broadcaster in Singapore that operated two television channels: Channel U and Channel i, as well as two radio stations: UFM 1003 and WKRZ 91.3FM. It merged with the city-state's long-established broadcasting company, Mediacorp, in 2004.

News Tonight is a Singapore English long-running main flagship daily television news bulletin programme on Mediacorp Channel 5 since its inception which runs daily from 21:00 until 21:30 SGT on daily/public holidays, providing a round-up of all the day's events around Singapore, as well as coverage of breaking news and occasional global stories relevant to Singaporeans. The highly rated programme is currently presented mainly by Angela Lim, Glenda Chong, Otelli Edwards, and Steven Chia. Currently it is broadcast at 9pm every evening and has been the only news bulletin on Channel 5 since the start of Channel NewsAsia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Channel i (Singaporean TV channel)</span> Singaporean TV channel

Channel i was a Singaporean English language free-to-air terrestrial television channel owned by SPH MediaWorks, a broadcasting subsidiary of Singapore Press Holdings.

References

  1. "Plan to provide instant information on TV". The Business Times (retrieved from NLB). 5 November 1982. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  2. "Teletext service may be launched in May". The Business Times (retrieved from NLB). 6 January 1983. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  3. "Teletext switch-on by June or July". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 19 February 1983. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  4. "SBC teletext more advanced than UK's". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 19 February 1983. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  5. "Here's the news — at the press of a button". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 19 February 1983. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  6. "Putting the final touches to SBCTEXT". The Straits Times. 23 May 1983. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  7. "Teletext comes to local stores in April". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 27 February 1983. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  8. "Singapore Monitor, page 2". Singapore Monitor (retrieved from NLB). 19 March 1983. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  9. "SBCTEXT". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 19 March 1983. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  10. "Teletext in 2 months". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 5 June 1983. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  11. "SBCTEXT could cause ghosting". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 5 June 1983. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  12. "SBCTEXT could cause ghosting". Singapore Monitor (retrieved from NLB). 16 June 1983. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  13. "Teletext Times". The Straits Times. 1983-07-23. Archived from the original on 2013-09-03.
  14. "Bankers, stock brokers not excited about SBCText". Singapore Monitor (retrieved from NLB). 2 August 1983. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  15. "As the text turns on TV..." Singapore Monitor (retrieved from NLB). 18 September 1983. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  16. "Cool reception to SBCText from hotels". Singapore Monitor (retrieved from NLB). 18 October 1983. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  17. "One more hour of SBC Text". The Business Times (retrieved from NLB). 30 January 1984. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  18. "Expansion for SBCText with rising popularity". Singapore Monitor (retrieved from NLB). 1 October 1984. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  19. "Very few used 40-page SBCText bus guide". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 12 July 1986. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  20. "New SBC teletext service". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 17 January 1993. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  21. "Page 25 Advertisements Column 1". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 18 January 1993. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  22. "TELETEXT ROUND THE CLOCK". The Straits Times. 24 September 2001.
  23. "Teletext to end service". Channel News Asia. 2013-09-03. Archived from the original on 7 October 2013.