Rediffusion Singapore was the country’s first private and cable-transmitted radio station whose services on a subscription. It started operation in 1949 and soon became popular with the locals. The programmes were received through a set that housed a loudspeaker and a volume control. This proved to be a cheaper option as the radio sets were quite expensive. Several households staying in the same house would subscribe to Rediffusion as a group with each household paying one dollar or less monthly.Besides homes, Rediffusion radio sets could be found in almost every coffee shop where people gathered to listen to English hits and storytelling in Chinese dialects. The two Rediffusion channels, namely the Gold Channel, which broadcast in Chinese and dialects, and the Silver Channel, which broadcast in Chinese and English, provided a combined 34 hours of broadcasting daily. Subscription continued to increase in the 1960s and 1970s.Rediffusion Singapore ceased operations in 2012. Now under a new management, the services in Chinese are provided across a digital platform.
