Rediffusion went off-air on 30 April 2012
Rediffusion has officially walked into the history books as the midnight struck on the 30th of April 2012, bringing down the curtains of its glorious 63 years of operation. It was 1949 when the first office of Rediffusion was set up here at Clemenceau Avenue. Rediffusion first started in London in 1928, before expanding to Asia after the Second World War, establishing in then-British colonies such as Hong Kong, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Penang) and Barbados.
During that era, the radio broadcasting technology remained largely at AM (Amplitude Modulation), which was often disrupted by noises and interferences. In contrast, the crystal clear sounds provided by the Rediffusion cable radios proved to be a big hit in Singapore. Thousands subscribed to its monthly rate of $5, a considerably large amount by the standards of that era, to enjoy radio programs in English, Malay, Indian and several Chinese dialects. Legendary storytellers such as Lee Dai Soh 李大傻 (Cantonese), Ng Chia Kheng 黄正经 (Teochew), Ong Toh 王道 (Hokkien) and Chong Soon Fat 张顺发 (Hakka) helped Rediffusion cement its leading position in radio broadcasting from the fifties to seventies. Lee Dai Soh (1913 – 1989), in particular, mesmerised countless listeners with his charming narration of classics such as Monkey God and Return of the Condor Heroes. The programs in dialects were so popular that by the seventies, Rediffusion’s subscription rate hit almost 100,000.
In 1967, the Radio Television Singapore (RTS) launched four FM (Frequency Modulation) radio stations with high quality sounds that posed a threat to Rediffusion’s advantage. Fierce competition in the radio broadcasting arena also caused Rediffusion to lose some of its brilliant talents. In 1982, Rediffusion suffered another blow as its dialect programs were ordered to cease in conjunction of the Speak Mandarin Campaign launched in 1979. The pace in the society and technology might be too great even for an old established brand to keep up. For Rediffusion Singapore, the final moment came in 2012 when the former broadcasting giant decided to cease its 63-year-old operation after failing to find new investors. It is truly a sad day for many of its supporters, especially the older dialect-speaking generations who have depended on Rediffusion as their main source of entertainment.
Rediffusion Singapore
Rediffusion went off-air on 30 April 2012
Rediffusion Singapore (Chinese: 丽的呼声), started in 1949, was the first cable-transmitted radio station in Singapore. It was a Singapore subsidiary of the Broadcast Relay Services (Overseas) Ltd. It was also Singapore's only subscription radio service. Rediffusion Singapore was once considered the "prime entertainment organisation". It was also known as "The Box", as its so-called devices were found in over 100,000 homes. Due to decreasing subscription, it closed in 2012. On closure, a former Rediffusion Singapore deejay, Eva Chang Mei Hsiang, bought the radio station and in 2013 re-opened the radio station as an online radio station.
Rediffusion Singapore was founded in 1949 as a result of the success encountered in radio broadcasting in Singapore, particularly in the post-World War II era. The cable radio service was seen as a remedy against poor reception which affected certain housing estates until then. Rediffusion Singapore was operated by Overseas Rediffusion, a subsidiary of the Rediffusion broadcasting business based in the United Kingdom, from the former's foundation until the late 1980s, when the British-owned Rediffusion conglomerate was broken up. In October 1979, as part of the Speak Mandarin Campaign, Rediffusion began airing Mandarin lessons in Cantonese, Hokkien and Teochew, in collaboration with Nanyang Siang Pau and Sin Chew Jit Poh. Rediffusion had more than 500,000 listeners, most of them speak in Chinese dialects. Rediffusion would begin to gradually reduce programming in the Chinese dialects which were at 40% at the time the lessons were aired, previously at 80%. In 1989, Rediffusion was sold from the local subsidiary of British Electric Traction to the British company Yorkshire Radio Network for the sum of $9 million. The new owner would help revitalise the station. On the same year, Rediffusion applied for a licence for "wireless broadcasting", but was rejected due to the lack of usable FM frequencies.
As an attempt to get rid of the old "matriarch" image of Rediffusion, its Mandarin programmes were refreshed in 1989 and began to cater to young Mandarin-speaking listeners. As of 1990, Rediffusion Singapore had 60,000 subscribers and 209,000 listeners. Responding to the increase of radio stations and competition, Rediffiusion's Silver channel became all-English channel in December 1990, targeting the non-working population, specifically the retirees and the handicapped. It took two years to plan for the change. Since 2000, Rediffusion Singapore provided digital radio services in Singapore. On 15 April 2005, the Media Development Authority issued a five-year licence to Rediffusion Singapore for a subscriber-only Digital Audio Broadcasting service, making it the world's first. In September 2008, Rediffusion Singapore launched Redistar, a radio station playing local music. Rediffusion went off-air on 30 April 2012 but it resumed broadcasting on 11 November 2013 using the internet to transmit their programs.
