Channel U (Singaporean TV channel)
Channel U is a Mandarin-language free-to-air terrestrial television channel in Singapore, owned by state media conglomerate Mediacorp.
The channel was first established in 2001 by SPH MediaWorks—a subsidiary of Singapore Press Holdings—as one of two new FTA channels launched by the company. While it eventually became competitive with MediaCorp's Channel 8 in viewership, Channel i was struggling to compete with MediaCorp's Channel 5, and the company operated at a loss.
In 2004, SPH announced an agreement to divest its television stations and free newspaper business to MediaCorp in exchange for a stake in its television and publishing businesses. As a result, MediaCorp took over Channel U on 1 January 2005, positioning it as a counterpart to Channel 8 targeting a youth and young adult audience.
Channel U broadcasts from 3:00 p.m SGT on weekdays and 10:00 a.m SGT on weekends, until 2:30 a.m SGT daily.
During its SPH MediaWorks era, it broadcast from 10:00 a.m SGT on Mondays to Saturdays and 9.30 a.m SGT on Sundays, until 2:15 a.m SGT daily.
History
At the trade launch of SPH MediaWorks on 1 November 2000, SPH revealed the names and logos of its two channels, with the Chinese channel being named Channel U. MediaWorks was on track to launch the channel and its English counterpart TVWorks by June 2001.The channel started broadcasting on 6 May 2001 with a $3 million launch party, but despite the blaze of publicity the channel received in the two weeks between gaining its licence and starting broadcasts, as well as the launch broadcast that followed, ratings quickly fell behind expectations, falling from 12% on launch night to 4.7% on its second night; 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".
Facing the possibility of low ratings, Channel U moved the news from 9:30pm to 10pm, competing against Channel 8's bulletin, and put the 8:30pm drama half an hour later.
From June 2001, the channel's daily lineup extended from the initial 10 hours to 14. In October, the channel surpassed Channel 8 in primetime ratings for the first time, whereas in all-day ratings it became the second most-watched channel in Singapore, behind Channel 8. The December revamp of Channel U's news bulletins increased its viewership base further.
Despite these successes, SPH's channels operated as a loss, with Channel i in particular struggling in competing with MediaCorp's Channel 5 for viewership and the advertising market. In September 2004, SPH MediaWorks announced an agreement to divest its television stations and free newspaper businesses to MediaCorp, in exchange for a stake of parts of MediaCorp's television and publishing businesses. While Channel i would shut down, MediaCorp would take over Channel U on 1 January 2005, becoming a sister channel to its former competitor. To reflect the integration of Channel U into MediaCorp's portfolio, Channel 8 also slightly changed its name in Chinese from Dì bā bō dào to Bā píndào to match that of Channel U.
In 2006, apart from a graphics rebranding, Channel U, additionally, revamped its news bulletin programmes; broadcasting 7pm, 9pm and 11pm bulletins, until 2010, when it was replaced by a one-hour delayed telecast of the 10pm Channel 8 news bulletin, News Tonight. In 2008, the channel announced that it would increase its offer for young and working adult audiences, such as a third edition of Campus Superstar'', and it would also look for quality programmes from East Asia.
In 2023, Channel U introduced a new logo as part of a wider rebranding of Mediacorp's properties, dropping the teal sphere emblem that had been used since its establishment.