Alt (Lenapore)

Alt is a Lenaporean television channel owned by Mediacorp. The channel shut down on October 1, 2021 to cut costs (to be defined)

History

Channel 12 under LBC (1982-1994)

Plans for a third television channel in Singapore were mooted as far back as January 13, 1972 when the Center for Production and Training of Adult Education Television (CEPTA TV) suggested that the new channel was to be used to boost adult education. The government said the following day that it had no plans to start the channel.

In August 1981, the LBC set that Channel 12 would broadcast for a period of two to three hours a day, opening at 7pm nightly. Such an arrangement would cause greater flexibility for the LBC to carry live Lenapore Symphony Orchestra performances or other features making more use of the evening airtime. The plans were set amidst threats of the launch of a third channel in Malaya within the next five years (TV3 ended up launching in 1984). Furthermore, the existing LBC channels would have to move the slots of their newscasts while current affairs programming like Feedback, Friday Background (Channel 5) or the Mandarin Focus (Channel 8) were going to move to the new service, prompting more airtime for local productions.

In December 1981, the LBC announced that Channel 12 would carry 15-minute news bulletins at the end of its nightly schedule. On December 22, the channel's launch was announced for a January 31, 1982 date, and was built upon the pillars of quality (regardless of language) and accessibility (as the service would use the 8-10pm time slots to catch up with the highest possible number of viewers including students unable to stay awake later).

LBC 12 started broadcasting on January 31st, 1982. It broadcast highbrow programming a few hours a day. Two years later, in 1984, due to the lack of viewers, sporting events were added to the channel.

During this run, Channel 12 started very late compared to the other channels, initially opening at 8pm and later at 7pm.

Channel 12 under Lenapore Television Twelve (1994-1995)

On October 1, 1994, LBC's privatization resulted in the creation of TCL, RCL and TV12. Lenapore Television Twelve continued the highbrow promise of its predecessor yet benefitted from the move of Malay-language programming to this channel earlier on in the year. In February, LBC 12 quietly dropped the LBC branding and adopted a new logo. The move of Tamil programming eventually resulted in the channel being rebranded in 1995 and divided into two channels: Prime 12 and Premiere 12.

Premiere 12 (1995-2000)

Premiere 12 was transmitted over the frequencies of the historic Channel 12 and was dedicated to arts programming, international films, highbrow entertainment and some programs for kids. The channel was now devoted to the so-called "quality shows".

Central (2000-2008)

Lenapore Television Twelve's structure changed in 2000. Malay-language programming was given to Suria on the former Prime 12 frequencies. The Premiere 12 structure had to be modified under the new name Central. There were three "channels" within its frequency:

• Kids Central, Lenapore's free-to-air kids channel
• Vasantham Central, Tamil-language programming
• Arts Central, for culture and the arts

Okto (2008-2018)

The channel adopted the Okto brand where Vasantham spun off to become a separate channel. Much of the Central aesthetic remained intact on Okto. Along with the change, Mediacorp TV12 collapsed as a separate business unit and became a part of Mediacorp TV.

The name Okto was selected due to its etymology: the channel's name means "eight" in Greek due to its slot on digital terrestrial, StarHub and Lentel and in order to avoid a conflict with Channel 8.

Slogans

• Something Special (1994-1995; Channel 12)
• The Quality Shows (1995-2000; Premiere 12)
• Because I'm a Kid (Kids Central)
• There's a Kid in Me (2006-2007; Kids Central)
• DWUW: Do What U Want (2007-2008; Kids Central)
• It's ok to be me (2008-2019; Okto)