Birth of a Station

February 15, 1963

Way, way before we had Netflix, there was, yes, good old television. It was Feb 15, 1963 and making his first ever television appearance was the late S Rajaratnam, who was Minister for Culture at the time. He was onscreen to launch the country's first TV station Television Singapura - the precursor of MediaCorp as we know it today.

At the time, only 2,400 households had their own TV, so they could tune in to the telecast of the station's inauguration at the Victoria Theatre. There were 300 invited guests at the event, while thousands more gathered to watch the telecast over 17 other TV sets which had been set up outside the theatre and along Princess Elizabeth Walk. Being a couch potato was not an issue then. Daily programming included a five-minute newsreel, half-hour comedy and cartoon clips, barely lasting three and a half hours each day.