Channel i was a Singaporean English languagefree-to-airterrestrial television channel that was launched in 20 May 2001 as TVWorks. The channel was owned by SPH MediaWorks, a subsidiary of Singapore Press Holdings. As a result of the media merger with Mediacorp, it shut down due to low ratings and lack of advertiser support. Its frequencies and channel space were taken over by okto nearly four years later. However, Okto itself later also closed down in 1 May 2019 due to similar reasons, after which the channel space created by TVWorks in 2001 folded and ceased to exist.
History
On 26 April 2001, SPH MediaWorks received a nationwide free-to-air television service licence from the Singapore Broadcasting Authority, allowing them to start broadcasting two channels, Channel U, a Chinese language channel, and TVWorks, an English channel. On 20 May 2001, TVWorks was launched. On 9 November 2001, TVWorks was restructured following a loss of 65 employees and a decreasing audience share. Plans for its shutdown were dismissed. On 25 February 2002, it was announced that the channel would rebrand as Channel i. This rebrand became effective on 3 March 2002. Under the new name, Channel i would put a strong emphasis on action entertainment and coverage of the S.League, as well as offering movies every evening. The new brand reflected "the habits, preferences and tastes of the viewers" i Sports like sport event programmes including tennisAustralian Open, and soccer2002 FIFA World Cup, i Movies like Hollywood films was Hollywood major big film studios includes Casper, Notting Hill, The Score, and The Scorpion King, and i Drama like United States television series was Hollywood major big television productions.
Closure
On 7 December 2004, it was announced that Channel i would cease broadcasting in January, due to the "fragmented and small English language TV market". At 1:30am, 1 January 2005, the transmission ceased with the repeat of the last edition of the Channel i News and a message from the SPH MediaWorks team, the ident in use, and then a montage set to Shirley Bassey's "Thank You for the Years", showing footage of imported content, sporting events and local programming. This later changed to a countdown featuring Andrea Bocelli with British soprano Sarah Brightman's Time to Say Goodbye, with the film countdown interspersed with footage from films, before showing in accelerated format, showing shots of channel stings and ending with the message "Farewell Singapore". The national anthem was played before a notice that the channel has ceased transmission being permanently displayed.
