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Oli 968

Singapore
Broadcast area	Singapore Johor Bahru/Johor Bahru District (Malaysia) Batam/Batam Islands, Riau Islands (Indonesia)
Frequency	96.8 MHz
Programming
Language(s)	Tamil Mandarin (until 31 December 1989)
Format	Tamil music
Ownership
Owner	Mediacorp
History
First air date	1 January 1951; 73 years ago (1951-01-01) (on AM) 15 July 1967; 57 years ago (1967-07-15) (on FM)
Last air date	31 December 1993; 30 years ago (1993-12-31) (on AM)
Former names	Red Network (1 January 1951–3 January 1959) Radio Singapore (4 January 1959–31 December 1981) Tamil Service (4 January 1959–31 December 1981) Radio 4 (1 January 1982–31 October 1991) Olikkalanjiam 96.8FM (1 November 1991–11 February 2001)
Former frequencies	1370 kHz (1 January 1951–23 November 1978) 1368 kHz (23 November 1978–31 December 1993)
Links
Webcast	MeListen TuneIn
Website	Oli 968

Oli 968 (Tamil: ஒலி 968) is a Tamil-language radio station in Singapore. Owned by the state-owned broadcaster Mediacorp, it broadcasts programming serving Indian Singaporeans, including music of Tamil Nadu.

The station's origins can be traced back to Radio Malaya Singapore's Red Network—which broadcast programming in Tamil. The station later became the Tamil Service of Radio Television Singapore, and began to be relayed on 95.8 FM on 15 July 1967. It became known as Radio 4 on 1 January 1982, and later Olikkalanjiam 96.8FM on 1 November 1991. The station was simulcast on AM and FM until 31 December 1993.

An audio simulcast of Oli 968 is carried by Mediacorp's Tamil television channel Vasantham after sign-off.

History

Although programming in Tamil was carried by the extant Singaporean radio station in its several incarnations from 1 March 1937 to 22 December 1945, it wasn't until 23 December 1945 where a de facto separate service for Chinese and Indian dialects—the Red Network, was created by Radio Singapura. On 1 January 1951, Chinese programmes were spun off to a new station, the Green Network.

The AM frequency was first used in 1963 to provide a second audio channel for TV Singapura. The station began FM transmissions on 96.8 MHz on 15 July 1967. The AM signal moved from 1370 kHz to 1368 kHz on 23 November 1978 to comply with the Geneva Frequency Plan of 1975.

On 1 January 1982, the station was rebranded as Radio 4 as part of a restructuring of the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC)'s stations; by then, most of its broadcast day was occupied by Tamil-language content, although it still carried a small block of Chinese programmes from 9 p.m. to midnight. As part of the rebrand, Radio 4 would also introduce a new evening "chat show" featuring music, topical segments, and listener phone-ins; Radio 4's programme manager M K Narayanan stated that it was "the first time such shows are being broadcast in this region. As far as I know, there are no such shows in India and Sri Lanka."

On 1 November 1991, it was announced that Radio 4 was to be renamed Olikkalanjiam (Tamil: ஒலிக்களஞ்சியம்), meaning "treasure house of sound". The AM signals of all SBC stations were discontinued on 1 January 1994.

References

1. "NEW RADIO SCHEDULES Begin TODAY". Sunday Tribune. 23 December 1945. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
2. "CHINESE GET OWN RADIO". The Straits Times. 12 December 1950. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
3. "2nd sound channel for TV within a '—month—'". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 9 June 1963. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
4. "Singapore begins second TV sound channel". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 25 June 1963. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
5. "FM stereo test runs". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 23 June 1967. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
6. "Regular FM service on Radio S'pura". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 17 July 1969. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
7. "Radio frequencies to be changed". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 3 October 1978. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
8. "New Year gift: New-sound radio". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 16 December 1981. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
9. "New names for four SBC radio stations". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 4 November 1991. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
10. "MW band cut with no warning". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 8 January 1994. Retrieved 12 August 2023.

External links

• Oli 96.8FM Official Website
• Oli 96.8 FM Listen Now Online

• Radio stations in Singapore
• Tamil-language radio stations
• Radio stations established in 1951
• 1951 establishments in Singapore