Capital 958
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| Broadcast area | Singapore Johor Bahru/Johor Bahru District (Malaysia) Batam/Batam Islands, Riau Islands (Indonesia) |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 95.8 MHz |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Mandarin |
| Format | Classic hits (C-pop) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Mediacorp |
| YES 933 Love 972 | |
| History | |
First air date |
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Former frequencies |
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| Links | |
| Webcast | |
| Website | CAPITAL 958 |
Capital 958 (Chinese: 958城市頻道; lit. '958 City Channel') is a Mandarin-language radio station in Singapore. Owned by the state-owned broadcaster Mediacorp, it broadcasts a classic hits format.
The station's origins can be traced back to Radio Malaya Singapore's Green Network—which broadcast programming in Chinese dialects. The station later became the Chinese Service of Radio Television Singapore, and began to be relayed on 95.8 FM in 1967. It became known as Radio 3 in 1982, and later 95.8 City Sounds in 1992. The station was simulcast on AM and FM until 1994.
In a 2022 survey, Nielsen ranked Capital 958 as Singapore's fourth-highest rated radio station.[1][2]
History[edit]
Although programming in Chinese dialects was carried by the extant Singaporean radio station in its several incarnations from 1937 to 1945, it wasn't until 23 December 1945 where a de facto separate service in Chinese and Indian dialects, the Red Network, was created.[3] Strictly speaking, an all-Chinese service was announced in December 1950, with the launch date set for 1 January 1951. The new network was known as the Green Network.[4] One of the aims of the new service was to counter Communist propaganda in the region (alongside the Malay service). The station broadcast on 72 metres (7200 kilocycles, later redefined to 680 kHz on AM medium wave) from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. nightly,[5] and was moved to 675 kHz in 1978 to conform with the Geneva Frequency Plan of 1975.
The station began FM transmissions on 95.8 MHz in 1967,[6][7] and was renamed Radio 3 in 1982.[8] It was then rebranded as 95.8 City Sounds (城市频道, lit. "City Channel", later given the English subtitle "Capital Radio") on 16 December 1991, capturing the essence of "city life". The previous format remained unchanged.[9] All AM broadcasting in the country ended on 1 January 1994.[10] In preparation for 24-hour broadcasts in December 1994, City Sounds recruited six new deejays: three of them from mainland China. The new deejays were under 30. The station also trained the China-born deejays to speak clearly to make them understandable to local listeners.[11]
In 1997, 95.8 aired news in Chinese dialects – Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka, Hainanese and Fuzhounese, airing nightly at 8 pm with each dialect news lasting three to five minutes. RCS also had problems replacing its current batch of dialect newsreaders,[12] with most of its newsreaders in their late 50s and 60s.[13] Although the news scripts were the same as Mandarin, the script readers will need to improvise due to the differences in the structures of each dialect.[12] The dialect news broadcasts also suffer from lack of funds and professional newsreaders, with listeners preferring dialect songs than dialect news.[12]
The station ended its broadcast at Caldecott Hill at 10:00 on 8 February 2017 and thereafter moved to Mediacorp Campus at 1 Stars Avenue. The first programme to be broadcast at the new campus began on the same day.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Mediacorp radio stations land 9 out of the top 10 spots in Nielsen survey". CNA Lifestyle. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "Mediacorp radio stations land 9 out of the top 10 spots in Nielsen survey". CNA Lifestyle. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ "NEW RADIO SCHEDULES Begin TODAY". Sunday Tribune. 23 December 1945. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ^ "CHINESE GET OWN RADIO". The Straits Times. 12 December 1950. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ^ "Green Network To Fight Reds". The Straits Times. 23 December 1950. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
- ^ "FM stereo test runs". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 23 June 1967. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ "Regular FM service on Radio S'pura". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 17 July 1969. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
- ^ "New Year gift: New-sound radio". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 16 December 1981. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
- ^ "Mandarin radio station renamed". Today (retrieved from NLB). 16 December 1991. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ "MW band cut with no warning". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 8 January 1994. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ "Six new deejays for SBC's City Sounds". The Straits Times. 7 July 1994. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ a b c "S'poreans tune in to dialect songs, tune out dialect news". The Straits Times. 21 August 1997. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "I feel closer to the Hakka news". The Straits Times. 21 August 1997. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
External links[edit]
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