A case study on Rediffusion Radio
Rise and fall row years after the Second World War, at a time where radio relied on Amplitude Modulation (AM) to broadcast, the inception of Readmission gave Singapore a “hole new experience of listening to music. Through cable transmission, Redefinition’s broadcasts were crystal clear and interference-free (Remember Singapore , 2012).
Even though its monthly subscription was priced at $5, a considerable high amount in the sass, Readmission grew in gigantic proportions compared to its AM channel competitors.
Readmission offered a mix of English, Malay, Indian, Chinese and several Chinese dialects in its programs; the highly acclaimed story telling of renowned ‘Jinn Young classics such as ‘Return of the condor hero’, amongst others, was delivered in Chinese and received widespread popular. Readmission became Singapore primary radio station for the next 30 years and by late sass, it was believed that Readmission had more than 100,000 subscribers (Chic LOL, 2007). As Singapore progresses, Readmission did too. Unprecedented broadcasting concepts such as conducting live shows in shopping malls, interviews
Ninth celebrities as well as organizing novel call-in games and lucky draws bolster interactivity.
In the absence of today’s social media platforms, Readmission had done exceptionally well to connect to its listeners. In 1967, the advent of free-to-air radio on Frequency Modulation channels posed serious challenges to Readmission. It was probably such competition that motivated Readmission to diversify its operations. Similar to its parent company Readmission I-J, the Singapore unit branches out to offer to CATV, radio communication, sound and paging, VA, and closed-circuit elevation.
The heyday of Readmission was believed to have come to an end when Singapore introduced the ‘Speak Mandarin’ campaign thereby forcing Readmission to drop its popular dialect programs.
There were also arguments discussing the poor business decisions and strategic management of Readmission that caused its downfall. Such included the perception of ‘old-fashioned’ on Redefinition’s broadcast box, the lack of technological improvement (not portable), and perhaps the most critical of all, was Redefinition’s decision not to lay cables into new HAD estates in the sass (Nag, 2012).
Subscription dropped from 110,348 in 1982 to 62,940 by 1988 and by 2006, it had only barely 8000 subscribers. In 2008, with two new owners helping the ailing Readmission, it successfully bought rights to broadcast digitally. The short- lived digital swing resulted in 22 channels including ‘Reediest’, a channel promoting local music talents. On 30 April 2012, the owners of Readmission gave up, citing Insurmountable financial woes.
Assessment of Readmission Radio Ironically, I only knew about the existence of such a cable-transmitted radio station urine its closure.
I grew up in a one room HAD flat at Prince Charles Square in the early ass and when I was to age to understand music, portable radios (that can play cassette tapes) were already broadcasting Singapore Broadcasting Corporation SIBS)’s FM channels such as Y. E. S 9. 3.
3. A search on Google or Yahoo on ‘Readmission’ leads to many sites and reports created to remember Readmission. The digitized content of Readmission after 2008 similarly was not found online hence leading to one certain conclusion – There was either a serious lack of or no real connection at all via ewe media.
Even though Readmission did went digital, it was still, Just another radio station. There was no draw for audience to choose Readmission over competing Mediator’s radio stations.
It’s leaders also lack foresight and failed to capitalist what new media and smart phones could and did offer, and remain disconnected with Singapore. Conversely, its competitor Mediators was broadcasting live radio via Mermaid’, an application downloaded from Apple‘s ‘tunes.
Singapore own the most smartness in Asia Pacific (Singapore Business Review , 2012) and this meant hat Mediators could outsource additional broadcasting platforms, reaching out to a Ender audience beyond merely tuning into radio stations and FM channels on a transistor radio. Mediator’s strategy in retrospective was more holistic; digitization was only a beginning, forming alliances with such new media platforms Nas the winning strategy.
Readmission ‘reborn’ rhea collapse of Readmission stirred many sentiments of the older generation.
Reports such as “Keep Readmission Alive” (The New Paper , 2012) flooded newspapers headlines. Some even urged the Government to intervene to save a part of Singapore history. On 29 Cot 2012, Straits Times reported that Readmission was bought over by Miss Eva Change, a renowned deejay turn entrepreneur and will be re-launched in Feb. 2013 (Chow, 2013). “Readmission is no longer Just a radio box that {o listen to.
You can also see it on the Internet and TV, Eva Change, owner and CEO of Readmission. Indeed, the new Readmission emerged completely different from the Old, switching to fully broadcast on online platforms (Go, 2013).
Brand new people Mere brought to staff the company’s new operations and that included renowned USIA director Dick Lee as its creative director, no less. The mission of the company came next and to distinct Readmission from ‘Just another radio station’, it was decided that listeners would be able to change or enhance their lives after hearing unique programs that combined global perspective, current affairs and most talk about topics. A total of four segments were introduced – ‘Readmission on.
Air’, ‘Radiocarbon’s ‘MN¦H-‘, ‘Television’, ‘Readmission classic’ and a privately run ‘Readmission Media Academy.
Apart from retaining the old dialect story telling segments and USIA, Readmission ventured into the public dimension, inviting voices from the streets to discuss close to heart issues such as whether ‘Singapore kids are happy and ‘Singapore really hate foreign talents’. These programmed gained public interest; when Readmission became available on Apple and Android platforms as an app, it attracted more than 50,000 downloads, with an average increase of 300 every month. Readmission also took on ‘education’ as a portfolio. Miss Change was quick to strategies other avenues for Readmission to grow.
A partnership with Startup TV pave he way fortuneteller’s’, a channel dedicated to help primary students in learning the Chinese language. Undoubtedly, the driving torte stems trot Miss Changes experience in owning and running six language tuition centers (Chance, 2012). Assessment of the new www. Readmission. Com. So rhea Readmission under Ms Change distinct itself not Just another radio station and create a niche broadcast station that essentially returned listeners’ with a voice and opportunity to discuss heartland and national issues.
Ms Change then took Readmission one step further by incorporating educational elements into the equines. The old Readmission was a radio station amidst a pool of heavy weight competitors, but the new Readmission under Ms Change was a product that broke the conventional barriers of a radio broadcast station and created a new market, a possibly Blue Ocean strategy/ product in the making (Unbroken & W, 2004). The interviews on video posted online also gave a face to that voice when listeners tune in to the bedposts.
These certainly work to Redefinition’s benefit in terms of connecting to their listeners. Besides being made available on ‘tunes and Android littorals, the strategic alliance with Startup TV, further reinforced that connection. Now, a younger generation of Singapore will learnt about Readmission first from learning Chinese via ‘Television’ on Startup TV, wouldn’t the probability of them tuning to ‘Readmission on.
Air’ be higher? Quality, differentiation, cost advantages and speed are four key sources of competitive advantage (Strategy Implementation, Control and Innovation, 2011).
Ms Change certainly built a differentiation element compared to other broadcast stations by implementing a vision that Readmission hangers and enhances listeners’ life. Conclusion Ms Change created opportunities for Readmission to grow without being threatened by its existing competitors who merely broadcast music. The educational portfolio in tandem with public discussions does culminate a closer bond than merely availing one station on social media platform.
Features such as Television rein in a group of listeners who may not even have known anything about music and other broadcast stations but already acquainted with the brand ‘Readmission’. If we run a SOOT analysis, Redefinition’s three segments excluding Readmission (arguable music roads similar to its competitors), coupled with Ms Changes solid experience in the education industry does placed Readmission in a position to support an aggressive strategy.
