Rediffusion to be back on air next February
Revived radio service will target youth but also cater to older listeners
Purchase this article for republication
Buy SPH photos
Radio icon Rediffusion will be back on air next February with a makeover to attract younger listeners, and with efforts to retain older, Chinese-dialect followers.
New owner Eva Chang Mei Hsiang said all programmes from the 63-year-old broadcaster will be online-based, but she does not want to reveal for now if she will opt for a paid-subscriber model.
To signal her move to keep the station - which she took over in May - viable, her game plan includes launching a youth radio channel featuring video clips, live-video streaming and a contest to talent-scout 16 deejays.
Ms Chang, who is in her 50s, said: "Rediffusion does not belong to me; it belongs to the young ones who want to be heard and a platform to express themselves without many boundaries."
Background story
Work is under way to digitise 300,000 pieces of audio recordings such as Cantonese and Hokkien stories told by deejays Lee Dai Sor and Ong Toh for the February launch, she added.
