Passion FM99.5, Singapore's only Arts-centred radio station
(http://www.passion995.org.sg) was officially put off
the air on 31 December 2003. The reason for closure and a brief
history of the radio station, as extracted from the official
Passion99.5 website, are in the below paragraphs within the
parentheses.
"The recent organisation review undertaken by NAC to redefine its
business strategies and consolidate its resources has led to the
decision to stop operating the station. Passion has been heavily
supported through government funding. In the current economic
climate, such funding has to be prioritised and deployed to more
critical areas of arts development. As an arts radio station,
Passion has a niche listenership that is too small to attract
sustained sponsorship and advertising revenue to cover its
operating cost. The frequency 99.5 FM will be returned to the Media
Development Authority on 31 Dec 2003.
Passion went on air in December 1997, broadcasting 11 hours a day.
In April 2000, sponsorship from NTUC Income made possible an
extension of broadcast hours to 16 hours a day, from 7am to 11pm.
At the same time, the station began a daily 2-hour slot for
Singapore music. Last year, the station began broadcasting some of
its arts programmes in Mandarin. Overall, the stationĀfs arts and
cultural programmes, and ethnic world music (including Singaporean
music) reached an average of 30,000 listeners per week."
This forum is chiefly dedicated to the reminiscing of the radio
station. Also, the analysis of the reasonings behind governmental
policies over Singapore's art scene and NAC's move.[/url]