Vasantham (TV channel)
Vasantham is a Singaporean free-to-air television channel owned by Mediacorp. The network is focused towards the Singaporean Indian community in the country. It was originally launched on 1 September 1995 as Premiere 12. Tamil programming was included on 30 January 2000 when the channel was rebranded as Central as Vasantham Central, and was later rebranded again as an independent Tamil-language channel on 19 October 2008.
 | |
| Country | Singapore |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Singapore |
| Network | Mediacorp TV12 |
| Slogan | Naalthorum Navarasam |
| Headquarters | Mediacorp Campus, 1 Stars Avenue, Singapore 138507 |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Tamil |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Mediacorp |
| Sister channels | Channel 5 Channel 8 Channel U Suria CNA |
| History | |
| Launched | 19 October 2008 |
| Links | |
| Website | Vasantham |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Digital terrestrial television | UHF CH 31 554MHz DVB-T2 Channel 4 (HD) |
| myFreeview | Channel 4 (HD) (Johor Only) |
| IPTV | |
| StarHub TV | Channel 105 (HD) |
| Singtel TV | Channel 5 (HD) |
| Streaming media | |
| meWATCH | Available on meWATCH website or mobile app (Singapore only) |
History
Tamil programming was originally shown on Channel 8 from its launch on 23 November 1963 until 1 September 1995, when it became a standalone Mandarin-language channel. After this, Tamil programming transferred to the new channel Prime 12. On 30 January 2000, as Prime 12 was rebranded to Suria and became a standalone Malay-language channel, Tamil programming transferred to the new channel Central, with Vasantham Central as its timebelt for Indian programming.
On 19 October 2008, Vasantham started broadcasting as an independent Tamil-language network focused on the Indian community living in Singapore, first announced on 29 February that year by then Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts Dr. Balaji Sadasivan in Parliament.[1]
Broadcast Timing
- From: 6 April 2020 : 9 am to 12 pm
Programming
References
- Wong, Alicia (1 March 2008). "Dedicated Indian and kids TV channels". Today (retrieved from NLB). Retrieved 24 March 2020.