A case study on Rediffusion Radio
A CASE STUDY ON REDIFFUSION RADIO
Rediffusion Radio: Rise and fall
Two years after the Second World War, at a time where radio relied on Amplitude Modulation (AM) to broadcast, the inception of Rediffusion gave Singaporeans a whole new experience of listening to music. Through cable transmission, Rediffusion’s broadcasts were crystal clear and interference-free (Remember Singapore , 2012). Even though its monthly subscription was priced at $5, a considerable high amount in the 1950s, Rediffusion grew in gigantic proportions compared to its AM channel competitors. Rediffusion offered a mix of English, Malay, Indian, Chinese and several Chinese dialects in its programs; the highly acclaimed story telling of renowned ‘Jin Yong’ classics such as ‘Return of the condor hero’, amongst others, was delivered in Chinese and received widespread popular. Rediffusion became Singapore’s primary radio station for the next 30 years and by late 1970s, it was believed that Rediffusion had more than 100,000 subscribers (Chia & Loh, 2007).
As Singapore progresses, Rediffusion did too. Unprecedented broadcasting concepts such as conducting live shows in shopping malls, interviews with celebrities as well as organising novel call-in games and lucky draws bolster interactivity. In the absence of today’s social media platforms, Rediffusion had done exceptionally well to connect to its listeners. In 1967, the advent of free-to-air radio on Frequency Modulation channels posed serious challenges to Rediffusion. It was probably such competition that motivated Rediffusion to diversify its operations. Similar to its parent company Rediffusion UK, the Singapore unit branches out to offer to CATV, radio communication, sound and paging, AV, and cIosed-circuit television.
The heyday of Rediffusion was believed to have come to an end when Singapore introduced the ‘Speak Mandarin’ campaign thereby forcing Rediffusion to drop its popular dialect programs.
There were also arguments
Rediffusion Radio: Rise and fall
Two years after the Second World War, at a time where radio relied on Amplitude Modulation (AM) to broadcast, the inception of Rediffusion gave Singaporeans a whole new experience of listening to music. Through cable transmission, Rediffusion’s broadcasts were crystal clear and interference-free (Remember Singapore , 2012). Even though its monthly subscription was priced at $5, a considerable high amount in the 1950s, Rediffusion grew in gigantic proportions compared to its AM channel competitors. Rediffusion offered a mix of English, Malay, Indian, Chinese and several Chinese dialects in its programs; the highly acclaimed story telling of renowned ‘Jin Yong’ classics such as ‘Return of the condor hero’, amongst others, was delivered in Chinese and received widespread popular. Rediffusion became Singapore’s primary radio station for the next 30 years and by late 1970s, it was believed that Rediffusion had more than 100,000 subscribers (Chia & Loh, 2007).
As Singapore progresses, Rediffusion did too. Unprecedented broadcasting concepts such as conducting live shows in shopping malls, interviews with celebrities as well as organising novel call-in games and lucky draws bolster interactivity. In the absence of today’s social media platforms, Rediffusion had done exceptionally well to connect to its listeners. In 1967, the advent of free-to-air radio on Frequency Modulation channels posed serious challenges to Rediffusion. It was probably such competition that motivated Rediffusion to diversify its operations. Similar to its parent company Rediffusion UK, the Singapore unit branches out to offer to CATV, radio communication, sound and paging, AV, and cIosed-circuit television.
The heyday of Rediffusion was believed to have come to an end when Singapore introduced the ‘Speak Mandarin’ campaign thereby forcing Rediffusion to drop its popular dialect programs.
There were also arguments
Bibliography: Ang, P. W. (2012, May 14 ). Study showed dialect ban need not have caused Rediffusion 's end. Retrieved from News Link: http://newslink.asiaone.com/user/OrderArticleRequest.action?order=&_sourcePage=%2FWEB-INF%2Fjsp%2Fuser%2Fsearch_type_result.jsp&month=05&year=2012&date=14&docLanguage=en&documentId=nica_ST_2012_24063623 Chan, B. (2012, June 24). Heart of Rediffusion 's revival. Retrieved from News Link: http://newslink.asiaone.com/user/OrderArticleRequest.action?order=&_sourcePage=%2FWEB-INF%2Fjsp%2Fuser%2Fsearch_type_result.jsp&month=06&year=2012&date=24&docLanguage=en&documentId=nica_ST_2012_24532955 Chia, J., & Loh, P. Y. (2007). Rediffusion. Retrieved from Singapore Infopedia : http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1198_2008-10-24.html Chow, J. (2013, Oct 28 ). Rediffusion reaching out via cable TV, online radio. Retrieved from Newslink : http://newslink.asiaone.com/user/OrderArticleRequest.action?order=&_sourcePage=%2FWEB-INF%2Fjsp%2Fuser%2Fsearch_type_result.jsp&month=10&year=2013&date=28&docLanguage=en&documentId=nica_ST_2013_29755722 Goy, P. (2013, May 09). Revamped Rediffusion to return on May 30. Retrieved from News Link: http://newslink.asiaone.com/user/OrderArticleRequest.action?order=&_sourcePage=%2FWEB-INF%2Fjsp%2Fuser%2Fsearch_type_result.jsp&month=05&year=2013&date=09&docLanguage=en&documentId=nica_ST_2013_27907797 Mauborgne, R., & W, C. K. (2004, Oct ). Blue Ocean Strategy. Retrieved from Harvard Business Review : http://hbr.org/2004/10/blue-ocean-strategy/ar/1 Remember Singapore . (2012, May 01). Rediffusion and its glorious 63 years . Retrieved from Remember Singapore : http://remembersingapore.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/rediffusion-glorious-years/ Singapore Business Review . (2012, June 12). Singaporeans own the most smartphones in Asia Pacific. Retrieved from Singapore Business Review : Singaporeans own the most smartphones in Asia Pacific - See more at: http://sbr.com.sg/telecom-internet/news/singaporeans-own-most-smartphones-in-asia-pacific#sthash.12gyIRgl.dpuf (2011). Strategy Implementation, Control and Innovation. In P. A. John, & R. Richard, Strategic Management (p. 344). New York: Mcgraw Hill. The New Paper . (2012, Apr 15). Keep Rediffusion alive. Retrieved from Asia One : http://news.asiaone.com/News/Mailbox/Story/A1Story20120414-339724.html