Okto is a Singaporean children's programming block broadcast by Mediacorp's Channel 5 in English and Channel 8 in Mandarin Chinese.
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| Country | Singapore |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area |
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| Network |
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| Headquarters | Mediacorp Campus, 1 Stars Avenue, Singapore 138507 |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) |
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| Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed) |
| History | |
| Launched | 19 October 2008 (as a standalone channel) 1 May 2019 (as a children's block on Channel 5) 6 February 2021 (as a children's block on Channel 8) |
| Closed | 30 April 2019 (as a standalone channel) |
| Replaced by | |
The brand originally operated as a standalone free-to-air channel from 19 October 2008 to 1 May 2019, having been spun off from the Arts Central and Kids Central strands aired by Central (whose Tamil language programming had been concurrently spun off as the new channel Vasantham). The channel also occasionally aired sports programming, which from 2014 to its closure occupied the network's prime time schedule.
On 1 May 2019, the channel was discontinued, and Okto transitioned to becoming a children's block on Channel 5, and a content brand on MeWatch. The brand was later extended to Channel 8 in Chinese.
History
In March 2008, MediaCorp announced that it would split its channel Central into two separate channels; a channel serving the Indian community, and a channel focused on arts and children's programming.[1] On 19 October 2008, the channel officially launched as Okto, alongside the new Tamil channel Vasantham.[2][3] The name Okto was derived from the Greek numeral for "eight", as the channel was on StarHub TV channel 8 (the former EPG slot of the defunct Channel i) and Singtel Mio TV channel 108.[4]
Okto was split into two strands; children's programming occupied most of the schedule (later branded as Okto Jr.),[5][6] while programming from evening to closedown focused on arts and cultural programming. In June 2014, coinciding with its rights to selected matches of the FIFA World Cup, the Sports on Okto brand was introduced.[7]
In 2017, arts programming was dispersed from Okto to other Mediacorp channels, in favour of expanding the nightly OktoSports block.[5][6]
On 1 May 2019, Okto was discontinued as a television channel, with its children's programming becoming a daytime block on Channel 5 under the Okto on 5 branding,[8][9] and a content brand on Mediacorp's streaming platform Toggle (now MeWatch); previously, Channel 5's daytime programming largely consisted of a simulcast of Mediacorp's news channel CNA. Okto's sports programming was also moved to Toggle and Channel 5.[10] Okto's channel license was subsequently surrendered to the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).[11] This would be the second Mediacorp's free-to-air television channels to shutdown outright after City TV which was closed on 11 January 2002.
On 6 February 2021, the Okto brand was extended to Channel 8's children's programming block 乐乐窝 (Lè Lè Wō), which was rebranded as Okto尽在8' (Okto on 8)
Programming
Since its standalone channel era, Okto mostly aired English language-produced series with selected shows being broadcast in their original language. The channel aired mostly children's programmes, as well as some arts and sports programmes. The channel's target audiences were children aged 4–13, and adults aged 18–39.[6]
From June 2014 to 30 April 2019, Sports on Okto (later renamed as OktoSports) was introduced which showed sporting events live as well as recorded and delayed coverage. It occupied the nightly schedule from 9pm to closedown every night from 2017 to 2019.[5]
In September 2024, expanding upon existing agreements with the company, Mediacorp made its largest-ever acquisition of children's programmes from BBC Studios, covering 150 hours of programming (including series such as Go Jetters, Hey Duggee and JoJo & Gran Gran) to be carried by Okto and MeWatch.[12]
References
External links
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