[Media Invite] Rebirth of Rediffusion

Do you remember this?  

If you were born after 1990s, you probably wont recongnise this.

  

Rediffusion, a pioneered cable radio in Singapore, has touted itself as Singapore's only subscription radio service & the "1st in the world to broadcast on DAB+ (Digital Audio Broadcasting Plus). 

Founded in 1949, Rediffusion Singapore was a subsidiary of Broadcast Relay Services (Overseas) Ltd, based in the United Kingdom, until the late 1980s, when the British-owned Rediffusion conglomerate was broken up. In the 1960s and 1970s, the station's dialect programmes enjoyed a strong following, & many households were fitted with the Rediffusion set.  My mum's house did not have this.  But I remember my neighbour's house had. 

When the Speak Mandarin Campaign was launched, Rediffusion was required to stop all dialect programmes by 1982.  Facing the ban & increased competition from free-to-air radio, subscription plunged. By the 2000s, Rediffusion had become a shadow of its glorious past. 

In April 2012, Rediffusion went under receivership & went off air on 30 April. It’s branding & some of the assets were then brought over by Eduplus Holdings in June 2012.  You may read about the news here.  

The rebirth of Rediffusion was on 8 January 2014, with fresh content & a totally new identity, yet preserving its history.  The new Rediffusion produces original content that is distributed over multiple platforms like Video On Demand (VOD), cable, mobile, wireless devices, social media, etc..   Rediffusion now also has its’ own ‘Rediffusion Originals’ that include talk shows, news, entertainment, business, fashion, lifestyle & TV specials.  Rediffusion’s goal is to provide relevant, diverse, exciting & uplifting programming geared towards the international market.

I was honoured to be invited to visit the Rediffusion office during the soft launch in Novemember last year.  Here are some snapshots:

The Reception

The Global Reach

News broadcasting area

On air interview area

Acting studio

Library where they keep all the valuable old records

The bike Eeva On Air uses

With 2 of the staff

Do visit Rediffusion's website & like their facebook fanpage to get more details & updates.  You may also download Rediffusion app in your iphone or android phone.