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45-611: First launched on 26 July 1988, by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), it had an average daily circulation of 101,600 in August 2010, according to SPH. In 1991, the paper organised the New Paper Big Walk , a mass-participation walking event. The event came to be held annually in Singapore. It holds the official Guinness World Record as world's largest walk when a record-breaking 77,500 participants joined on 21 May 2000. There

90-428: A 43-storey upmarket residential condominium, Sky@eleven, at Thomson Road. Paragon REIT (previously SPH REIT) is a Singapore-based REIT established to invest in a portfolio of income-producing real estate primarily for retail purposes. Paragon REIT comprises three retail malls and one strip mall, The Paragon , The Clementi Mall , The Rail Mall , and Westfield Marion . Paragon is a prime retail and office complex in

135-462: A blaze of publicity, its launch night turned out to be a ratings failure from its launch night (12%) to its second night (4.7%), whereas the main news on Channel 8 scored 16.3% and its equivalent on Channel U, 3.9%. Channel 8's vice president Khiew Voon Khang said that the ratings slide looked "like a street bump than Mount Everest". On 16 May, ahead of the launch of TVWorks, its companion magazine Works Weekly launched. In July, SPH MediaWorks set up

180-482: A hardcopy newspaper for five years. The acquisition of SPH's stakes was completed on 29 September 2017. At the 2002 Promax BDA Awards, SPH MediaWorks bagged a record four gold, six silver and one bronze awards, and was touted "Asia's Most Awarded TV Station", a first for a Singaporean group. On 4 December 2002, MediaWorks won the "Broadcaster of the Year" award at the 2002 Asia Television Awards. Channel U also bagged

225-506: A joint management between SPH Multimedia and NTUC Media was launched as SPH UnionWorks; owns, manages, and operates UFM 1003 and WKRZ 91.3FM . Both radio stations were simply re-branded and resume operations of Heart 100.3FM and More Music 91.3FM previously wholly owned by NTUC Media. More Music was given a US-style name, going under the fake callsign WKRZ, and Heart FM was renamed UFM, in a tie-in to Channel U. In November 2001, viewing figures cited by Singapore Press Holdings show Channel U as

270-407: A joint-venture with Chinese consultancy firm Jade. The company, Jade MediaWorks, was used to produce concent for the mainland Chinese terrestrial television market and both companies each held 50% of the stocks. Ahead of the relaunch of More Music as WKRZ, SPH MediaWorks announced that it would carry at least 22 hours of syndicated MTV content per week. On 3 October 2001, SPH Radio Broadcasting Arm,

315-608: A modern retail convenience chain, to Thai-Pore Enterprise for an undisclosed sum. Buzz was previously a wholly owned subsidiary under SPH. On 22 June 2020, SPH was removed from the Straits Times Index (STI), which tracks 30 of the largest companies by market capitalisation listed on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange after a quarterly review of the constituents of the STI announced on 5 June that year. It

360-494: A move to focus on its core media businesses. Mediacorp would thus acquire these stakes for S$ 18 million, resulting in both companies being full subsidiaries of Mediacorp when completed. This came after Mediacorp announced that it would end print publication of Today and shift it to a digital-only publication. The digitalisation of Today would result in 40 roles being made redundant. In addition, Mediacorp agreed not to publish any soft copy or digital format of Today similar to

405-796: A review of its viability), Channel U, and TVMobile . SPH would also take a 40% stake in Mediacorp's free newspaper Today (with SPH winding down its competing Streats ). The transaction was completed on 31 December 2004. Channel U was transferred to Mediacorp at this time, becoming a sister to its now-former competitor Channel 8 the next day. Channel i was shut down, as it was not considered viable in Singapore's small FTA television market. On 25 August 2017, SPH announced that it would divest its shares from Mediacorp, which are 20 percent in Mediacorp TV and 40 percent in Mediacorp Press in

450-603: A share for a 28.6 per cent stake. Later in March 2019, the telco said that Konnectivity, a company owned jointly by the two companies, would buy all of its remaining shares. SPH MediaWorks SPH MediaWorks Ltd. ( Chinese : 报业传讯 ; pinyin : bào yè chuán xùn ) 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

495-515: A war between both companies. SPH MediaWorks signed a co-operation agreement with Hong Kong 's TVB from June 2002, when the contract with MediaCorp expired, but there were no plans for the two to co-produce content. The agreement enabled Channel U the right to premiere new dramas from the broadcaster. A subsequent agreement was signed with the Taiwanese channel China Television for a period of two years. MediaCorp TV consequently did not renew

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540-422: A woman simulating an orgasm. Sex scenes were, then as now, not allowed on Singaporean media, in an attempt to prevent tensions between ethnic groups. On 17 September 2004, SPH MediaWorks announced an agreement under which it would divest its television channels to Mediacorp. SPH would take a 20% stake in a new holding company, Mediacorp TV Holdings, which would consist of Channel 5, Channel 8, Channel i (subject to

585-454: Is also a noon edition that hits the newsstands on Mondays and Thursdays that gives more special coverage of late-night association football matches that occur after the morning edition goes to press. The New Paper was Singapore's second-highest circulating paid English-language newspaper before it became a free newspaper on 1 December 2016. The New Paper is noted for its coverage of sports news, particularly of association football (e.g.

630-579: The Singapore Broadcasting Authority announced it has issued a Nationwide Free-To-Air Television Service Licence to SPH MediaWorks. According to the terms of the license, the company will operate two channels: Channel U and TVWorks, from May that same year. With the licence granted, Singapore now had eight free-to-air television channels available, six from MediaCorp and two from SPH MediaWorks. In connection to this, Channel U and TVWorks started their campaign to raise awareness of

675-591: The UEFA Champions League and the Premier League ). Amongst its sports journalists, Iain Macintosh was voted second runner-up for Best Football Journalist held by Soccerlens.com website in 2010. On 15 June 1993, in partnership with distributor Lityan Systems, both parties launched a one-step video programmer, to help readers key in the four-digit codes assigned for the programmes listed in

720-561: The "Channel of the Year" award. Despite the wins, there were concerns from MediaWorks about potential attacks from MediaCorp. At the 2001 Asian Television Awards , SPH MediaWorks only won one award, with Channel U's The Big Challenge earning the Best Entertainment Programme award. In January 2002, SPH MediaWorks barely managed to gain spots in the English and Chinese top tens. None of TVWorks' content reached

765-658: The 300 shareholders present voted in favour of the proposal. The transfer was completed on 1 December 2021. The assets transferred included its headquarters, the News Center, and its press, the Print Center, as well as all intellectual property and information technology assets. Along with the assets transfer, 2,500 staff were transferred to SPH Media Trust as well. On 28 February 2022, consortium led by Toyota Financial Services Singapore acquired sgCarMart for S$ 150 million. Following its acquisition by Cuscaden Peak, SPH

810-546: The CEO of SPH, replacing Alan Chan . On 29 September 2017, SPH completed its sale of its stakes in Mediacorp 's television operational, and Today . Mediacorp Press and Mediacorp TV Holdings ceased to be associated companies of SPH. In November 2019, SPH stopped publishing Torque , a motoring publication, and moved its operation digital while parking it under its subsidiary, sgCarMart. On 27 April 2020, SPH divested Buzz,

855-600: The English ranking and in the Chinese ranking, only one programme from Channel U, A Kindred Spirit , reached sixth place (week from 13-19 January). Channel i News won the "Best News Programme" award at the Asian Television Awards on 4 December 2003. In January 2003, Channel U organised a charity show, Ren Ci Charity Show, in support of Ren Ci Hospital , shortly after being named the Broadcaster of

900-704: The English/Malay/Tamil Media group of SPH, before it became a freesheet. On 17 October 2016, Singapore Press Holdings announced a 10% cut of staff, and that My Paper and The New Paper (TNP) would be merged to form a revamped TNP that will be a freesheet on 1 December 2016. Distributed free of charge, this version of The New Paper aimed to reach a circulation of 300,000, matching Today , the other English-language free newspaper in Singapore. On 10 December 2021, The New Paper ceased its print edition and went fully digital. Singapore Press Holdings Singapore Press Holdings Limited ( SPH )

945-468: The Year. The charity show featured SPH MediaWorks artistes and guest performers with entertainment and physical endurance segments to encourage the public to donate to the hospital. Channel 8 moved the PSC Nite Special to the night of the show, an hour ahead of its start, causing confusion and opposite arguments between the two broadcasters. The charity raised $ 4.76 million, almost the double of

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990-550: The appointment or dismissal of a director or any member of the staff" the vote of one management share is equivalent to 200 ordinary shares. There were close ties between the directors of SPH and the Singapore Government. S. R. Nathan , Director of the Security and Intelligence Division and later President of Singapore served as SPH's Executive chairman from 1982 to 1988 and the first president (1994–2002) of SPH

1035-553: The city-state's long-established broadcasting company, Mediacorp , in 2004. On 31 March 2000, Lee Cheok Yew was appointed as the CEO of SPH MediaWorks Ltd. Man Shu Sum and some of the Mediacorp artistes joined from SPH MediaWorks the former as Chief Operating Officer of Mediacorp. The company was founded by Singapore Press Holdings on 8 June 2000 in an investment worth $ 50 million, and appointed local television industry veteran Lee Cheok Yew as its CEO. The new company aimed not only at

1080-500: The contract it had with TVB in order to free more time on Channel 8 for local content. By mid-January, it had secured $ 2 million in sponsorship commitments, to advertise on both channels. At the same time as the commercial launch of MediaCorp's TVMobile , SPH MediaWorks planned to launch a similar service, Channel OOH! (OOH as in Out Of Home). The service was going to be a joint operation with Captive Vision and, like TVMobile,

1125-444: The conventional radio and television businesses, but also eyed a potential interest in the online sector. By October of the same year, the company announced that five actors and actresses: Kym Ng , Bryan Wong , Darren Lim , Wang Yuqing and Guo Liang have joined their ranks. The company set plans to launch its two channels by June 2001, aiming to attract at least 30% of Singapore's television viewers. The building that would house

1170-449: The early-2000s, as Singaporeans increasingly turned to online media for their news consumption. On 6 May 2021, SPH in response to shareholder pressures, had proposed that it would restructure itself and transfer its media business into a company limited by guarantee (CLG), which would be privately managed. The new CLG would initially be managed by SPH management shareholders at the time, while still having to issue new management shares of

1215-670: The heart of Orchard Road , Singapore's main shopping belt. The Clementi Mall is a mid-market suburban mall in the centre of Clementi town. In December 2019, then SPH REIT acquired 50% ownership in Westfield Marion from Scentre Group . SPH REIT was renamed Paragon REIT in January 2023. SPH owns Orange Valley which operates nursing homes. In February 2019, it was announced that Keppel Corporation and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) had together obtained majority control of telco M1 , after Axiata accepted their joint offer of $ 2.06

1260-473: The initially intended target of $ 2.5 million. A Lianhe Zaobao editorial on 17 January revealed that MediaCorp disclosed its donation to the charity and denied its anonymity, over the broadcast of advertisements for Ren Ci Hospital during PSC Nite Special, airing at the same time as the competing telethon. This was the second Mandarin television channel in Singapore (after channel 8), which became integrated with Mediacorp's management on 1 January 2005. This

1305-514: The media business under the CLG as required by Newspaper and Printing Presses Act. The government would also lift the shareholder limits on the currently listed SPH entity. Khaw Boon Wan , a retired politician, was appointed as the chairman of the CLG. On 10 September 2021, an extraordinary general meeting was convened over the restructuring proposal to transfer all media business-related assets and staff to SPH Media Trust . Approximately 97.55% of

1350-522: The new company, close to the main SPH one at Genting Lane , was ready to be finished by January 2001. In November that same year, six actors and actresses from the company's Chinese Media and Entertainment division attended training sessions in China and Taiwan , and two journalists have joined their television news division. MediaWorks also revealed the logos of the company and its two television channels to

1395-402: The new services and that, with competition, the quality of local productions would increase. An estimated 95% of Singaporean households would receive the new services. You-weekly finally hit the shelves on 4 May. The campaign, The MediaWorks Big Tune-In , involved viewers earning cash prizes if they received the services. Channel U, the first of the two channels, went live on 6 May. Despite

The New Paper - Misplaced Pages Continue

1440-521: The public. The English channel was to be named TVWorks (also styled TV Works) and the Chinese channel, Channel U. The company aimed at taking over 50% of the television advertising market. By December, the company announced that five English-speaking actors and actresses, including local comedy star Adrian Pang , have joined their ranks. For the news service, MediaWorks poached Arnold Gay and Michelle Quah from Channel NewsAsia . Early in 2001, concerns had emerged at MediaCorp that it would have started

1485-491: The second most watched television station in Singapore, That same year, 73 employees were laid off from MediaWorks, due to a restructuring exercise at TVWorks, as well as a weak advertising market. On 3 March 2002, SPH MediaWorks TVWorks was renamed SPH MediaWorks Channel i. In May, the ratings of its two channels were rising, whereas those of MediaCorp were on the decline. Lee resigned as CEO of SPH MediaWorks on 1 April 2003 over "serious internal differences". SPH became

1530-415: The sole owner of MediaWorks effective 25 April 2003, buying shares from Mr. Lee Cheok Yew, Mr. Cheng Shoong Tat, Mr. Ang Wee Chye and Mr. Man Shu Sum for $ 1.24 million. The rise of both channels' ratings increased by May 2003, attracting 33.2% of the total FTA audience. WKRZ 91.3 was probed for including explicit language in an edition of The Morning Show on 27 July 2003. The fine, worth $ 15,000, involved

1575-1106: The television guides published in The New Paper. The device cost $ 125. FiRST which was originally published as a monthly magazine, merged with The New Paper in May 2009, and was published as a weekly pull-out rather than monthly. The New Paper is often compared to the tabloid Today , although the latter positions itself against The Straits Times . The New Paper targets readers with more eye-catching tabloid journalism featuring sensationalist headlines. It tends to focus on local human-interest stories, with extensive sections on entertainment, fashion and sports. There is, in comparison with The Straits Times , very little coverage of international news. However, according to SPH, The New Paper presents "news with sharp angles not seen elsewhere", and perceives its paper to be "stylish", "arresting" and "easy to read" while tackling "complex issues". The newspaper's average daily sales had dropped to 60,000, according to Warren Fernandez, Editor-in-Chief of

1620-556: The world. 2,500 of the staff, including the journalists and its media business were subsequently transferred to SPH Media . The company was one of the country's "blue-chip" counters on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (SGX) until its delisting on 13 May 2022 following its acquisition by Cuscaden Peak. It was also a constituent of the Straits Times Index until its removal on 22 June 2020. Singapore Press Holdings Limited

1665-613: Was Tjong Yik Min , former chief of the Internal Security Department . The immediate former chairman of SPH, Tony Tan was Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore from 1994 to 2005 and President of Singapore from 2011 to 2017. After 1 December 2021, the regulations have been lifted due to the completion of the transfer of its media business into SPH Media Trust. SPH owns retail properties Paragon , The Clementi Mall and The Seletar Mall . SPH's wholly owned subsidiary, Times Development Pte Ltd, has also developed

1710-464: Was aimed at buses, shops and banks. MediaWorks had the intention of buying radio stations from the NTUC in March 2001, with the creation of a joint-venture between the two, taking over Most Music (FM 91.3) and Heart FM (100.3). The tentative name of the new company was UnionWorks and the relaunch was initially set for the end of May. SPH MediaWorks held its launch ceremony on 20 March 2001, where it

1755-515: Was an organisation with businesses in property and aged care in Singapore . Since its takeover by Cuscaden Peak in 2022, it has been renamed Cuscaden Peak Investments . Prior to 1 December 2021, SPH was in the media business with a reach in the print, digital, radio, and outdoor media . It formed part of a duopoly in the mass media of Singapore , with the other player being Mediacorp . SPH had over 4,000 employees. Its team of approximately 1,000 journalists include correspondents operating around

1800-597: Was delisted from the Singapore Exchange on 13 May 2022. Prior to 1 December 2021, like all newspaper companies in Singapore, SPH was regulated by the Newspaper and Printing Presses Act (NPPA) of 1974 and issues both management and ordinary shares. As specified by the NPPA, all issues and transfers of management shares have to be approved by the Ministry of Communications and Information , and in "any resolution relating to

1845-552: Was formed on 4 August 1984 through a merger of three organisations, The Straits Times Press Group, Singapore News and Publications Limited and Times Publishing Berhad. On 8 June 2000, SPH MediaWorks was set up with the aim of breaking into the broadcasting business, and received Singapore's second nationwide free-to-air terrestrial television broadcasting service licence on 26 April 2001. SPH soon afterwards launched two channels, Channel U ( Mandarin ) on 6 May 2001 and TVWorks (English) on 20 May 2001. On 3 March 2002, TVWorks

The New Paper - Misplaced Pages Continue

1890-405: Was launched on 28 January 2010. In 2009, SPH celebrated its 25th anniversary and for the first time, changed its corporate logo. The new logo was launched on 30 March that year by former president S. R. Nathan and chairman Tony Tan Keng Yam . In 2013, SPH acquired sgCarMart. On 1 September 2017, former Chief of Defence Force and CEO of Neptune Orient Lines Limited Ng Yat Chung became

1935-425: Was officially announced that the two channels were to start operations in May. Ahead of the May 6 launch date, Channel U was supposed to air promos to entice viewers to tune in to the new service. The signal was supposed to be switched on in early April, but at the time, SPH MediaWorks didn't have a licence. Related to that, the company's Chinese-language magazine You-weekly failed to hit shelves. On 26 April 2001,

1980-670: Was renamed to Channel i with a new programming belt. On 31 December 2004, SPH sold its television operation to Mediacorp , restoring Mediacorp's former monopoly status. Channel i was shut down on 1 January 2005, but Channel U continues to operate. Through a merger , SPH retained a 20% stake in Mediacorp 's television operational, as well as 40% stake in Today newspaper. The National Library Board and SPH signed an agreement in 2007 to make digitised articles of The Straits Times available for public access at NLB libraries. The digitised articles were made available at NewspaperSG and

2025-416: Was replaced by Mapletree Industrial Trust. On 13 October 2020, SPH, which published The Straits Times and The Business Times , posted a net loss of $ 83.7 million for the full year. The loss was attributed to COVID-19 which affected all major business segments. On 1 February 2021, SPH's events subsidiary Sphere Exhibits merged with Temasek's SingEx Holdings. SPH's readership has stagnated since

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