Mediacorp Suria
| Suria | |
|---|---|
| Launched |
31 January 1984 as SBC 12 1 October 1994 as STV 12 1 September 1995 as Prime 12 30 January 2000 as Suria |
| Network | Mediacorp TV12 |
| Owned by | Mediacorp |
| Picture format | 576i (SD)/1080i (HD), 4:3/16:9 |
| Audience share | 10.3% (P4+: 1.4%) (M4+, 2015, [1][2][3][4]) |
| Slogan | Sinar Bersama Anda |
| Country | Singapore |
| Language | Malay |
| Broadcast area |
Singapore Malaysia (Johor Bahru) and Indonesia (Batam) and (Bintan) |
| Sister channel(s) |
Channel 5 Channel 8 Channel U Vasantham Channel NewsAsia Okto HD5 |
| Website | Suria |
Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| MediaCorp TV12 – Analogue (PAL-B) | Channel 12 (224.25 MHz) |
| MediaCorp TV12 – Digital (DVB-T2) | Channel 29 (UHF 538MHz) (LCN 04) (HD) |
| Cable | |
| StarHub TV |
Channel 104 (SD) Channel 116 (HD) |
| MediaCorp TV12 (via SCTV socket) | Channel 12 (224.25 MHz) |
| IPTV | |
| Singtel TV | Channel 4 / 601 (HD) |
Mediacorp Suria or more commonly known as Suria (Malay: "Sun") is a Singaporean Malay language channel owned by Mediacorp, broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel broadcasts popular Malay television programmes whether they are made locally in-house or acquired from neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
History
As SBC 12
Before it is known as Suria, it was originally known as SBC 12, launched on Tuesday, 31 January 1984. The idea of the channel was to promote and appreciate arts and culture towards Singaporeans. Besides showing art-related programmes, they also broadcast some documentaries, current affairs and educational programming (both local and acquired). The channel was best known for its sports coverage, notably the Malaysia Cup, which garnered millions of Singaporeans watching at home, to cheer on for their local footballers. The channel covered a lot of major sporting events such as the Summer and Winter Olympics, Asian Games, SEA Games, Commonwealth Games, FIFA World Cup, European Cup and the English Premier League. Following SBC 8's increase of its transmission hours in June 1993, CDIS (Educational television) programmes were transferred to SBC 12 by January 1993 (starting on the first week of the first school term), thus introducing more local educational content.
A new home for Malay programmes
On New Year's Day 1994, Malay programmes were transferred from Channel 5 to Channel 12, gradually increasing from 9 to 15 hours of Malay programming (local and acquired) but they continued broadcasting some English and Chinese content such as Chinese Opera, documentary, sports, current affairs, performances, comedy, lifestyle, dramas and children's programmes (mainly for pre-school children). As they celebrated its 10th anniversary on the following month, Channel 12 unveiled its brand new logo (turned out to be the second and last logo) and slogan, "Something Special". On 1 October 1994, SBC was dissolved and one of two TV broadcasters, the newly established Television Twelve (later renamed Singapore Television Twelve), took over Channel 12 but its format remain unchanged.
Channel 12 becoming Prime 12 and a new home for Tamil programmes
On Friday 1 September 1995, Channel 12 was renamed Prime 12 to coincide with the launch of its sister channel Premiere 12 while Tamil programmes from TCS Channel 8 were transferred here as well. Their slogan was "Speaking Your Language", inspired by the national pledge. Similar to their TCS counterparts, Prime 12 went on to be the generalist channel, catering towards both Malay and Indian audiences in Singapore. Besides broadcasting in Malay and Tamil, English programmes were also broadcast, mainly classic sitcoms from their sister channel, TCS Channel 5 and its predecessor Channel 12. Among the English programmes were Diff'rent Strokes, George and Mildred, Madeline, Rhoda, Xuxa and Fawlty Towers. Not only that, the rest of the foreign language programmes in Swedish, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Tagalog, Korean and Japanese were also shown on this channel, making the channel as Singapore's only multilingual channel.
Prime 12 was best known for its Malay and Tamil programmes - the former language through the Sandiwara drama slot while the latter with Amali Thumali (considered as the world's first Tamil sitcom) and the Naadaga Arangam weekly drama strand. It was also known for its sports coverage such as the Southeast Asian Games (particularly in 1995, 1997 & 1999), UEFA Euro 1996 (selected matches) and the 1996 Summer Olympics.
By 1 October 1997, more Tamil and Malay programmes were introduced but Japan Hour was transferred to Premiere 12 in 1998.
As a standalone channel
On Sunday 30 January 2000, Prime 12 was renamed Suria, becoming a standalone Malay channel as it is today. At the same time, Tamil programmes were transferred to Premiere 12, resulting to be renamed Central. To coincide with channel's 10th anniversary in 2010, Suria unveiled their second and current logo but the slogan remains unchanged.
Branding
Taglines
Suria originally used the taglines "Suria, Sinaran Hidup Anda" ("Suria, Shine in Your Life") and Semakin Bersinar ("Shining Even Brighter"). They were later switched for a new tagline in 2008 as Suria, Sinar Bersama Anda ("Suria, Shines With You"), which reflects the channel's desire to be the heartbeat of the Malay community, networking closely with them and understanding their needs and aspirations.
Transmission Hours
From 17 August 2015, MediaCorp Suria had some modification on its transmission. The current broadcasting hours are shown as below.
- Monday - Saturday: 3:00 pm to 12:00 am SST
- Sunday: 10:00 am to 12:00 am SST
- Public holiday: 10:00 am to 12:00 am or lateSST or 24 hours
At other times when programmes are not transmitted, still image of Suria logo will be displayed with radio channel Ria 89.7FM played in the background.