Okto

okto (奥多频道, is a television channel in Singapore, managed by MediaCorp and caters to the general youths and young adults of Singapore, similar to Channel U.

The word "okto" means "8" in Greek. To reflect this, both StarHub TV and SingTel mio TV carry this channel as Channel "8" (this channel shouldn't be confused with MediaCorp Channel 8, which is MediaCorp's main Mandarin language channel). Despite the meaning of the channel's name, the channel is actually airing on channel 30 for those receiving channels via aerial or channel 25 for those using StarHub TV sockets. For those who subscribed to StarHub TV the channel will be aired on channel 108 and mio TV the channel will be aired on channel 209. Due to mio TV's channel number switch,this channel would broadcast on Channel 209 with effect from 1 November 2012 which is on Thursday at 00:00 hrs.

Okto has a mascot named Ollie who was originally named OktoBoy, drawn on his back is the logo of Okto and born last year (2011).

History

 * 1 September 1995 - Channel 8 began 24-hour transmission and Tamil programmes, previously aired on Channel 8, was separated from Channel 8 to form Prime 12. Premiere 12 was launched to include more children's programmes (mainly for Pre-school children) and sports coverage. Premiere 12 later included Tamil programmes and was renamed Central, on 30 January 2000.

Previously, Central had 3 program belts:
 * 1) Kids Central – a children's television channel with enriching educational & animation programming.
 * 2) Vasantham Central – a Tamil language channel.
 * 3) Arts Central  –  a channel that showcases art, cultural and largely foreign award-winning productions and incorporated a significant amount of niche programming, making the channel rather distinctive compared to the others.

This leaves behind Kids Central and Arts Central, the other two program belts of Central remained and Central was renamed Okto since then. Okto took the frequecy of Channel i, a channel which went defunct since 1 January 2005. Besides broadcasting children's programmes and cultural programming, they also broadcast live sporting events (e.g., Football, Olympic Games, Asian Games, Southeast Asian Games etc.) if there is a need to, making the channel somewhat similar to SPH Mediaworks Channel i and Premiere 12.
 * 19 October 2008 - Central was restructured. The program belt of Vasantham Central was extended to form the new Vasantham, a full-fledged Indian Channel to provide better television programmes to the Indian community of Singapore, as announced on January 2008 when the Parliament of Singapore decided to expand the Tamil language Vasantham Central into a standalone Tamil language channel.

By 2016, Okto, along with Channel U and Channel NewsAsia will definitely go digital, in line with the digital switchover that will take place by 2020.

Transmission hours
Transmission hours are from 9:00 am (weekday), 7:00 am (weekend) to 12:00 midnight (daily), 1:00 am(Sunday) daily and public holidays from 9:00 am (weekday), 7:00 am (weekend) to 12:00 midnight (daily), 1:00 am (Sunday) when it plays the national anthem.

TV Tuner Frequency
495.000 MHz

Startup
okto starts up at 9:00 am (weekday), 7:00 am (weekend). The national anthem will be played and station ident.

Closedown
Okto closes down at 12:00 midnight (daily) or later than the expected closedown time with the station ident and the national anthem.

Programming
Okto is predominantly an English channel with selected programmes in the language of the country of origin. The programming on the channel is similar to its predecessors Premiere 12, Kids Central, Arts Central and SPH MediaWorks Channel i, with preschool and children programmes between the day and night and documentaries; lifestyle, news, current affairs, anime and art performances in the rest of the night.

Okto aims to be a one-stop channel that will enrich, engage and entertain, offering some of the best local and international programmes to the Singapore viewers. The channel has a special focus on the kids and arts communities and on User Generated Content (UGC) enabling them to participate, grow and be an integral part of the channel. It is also the first channel to use the old Premiere 12 structure.

oktoDAY
oktoDAY replaces Kids Central and generally has children's programmes.

Transmission Hours:
 * Mon to Fri: 9:00 am to 9:00 pm
 * Sat to Sun: 7:00 am to 9:00 pm

Website - oktoDAY

New shows
Found inside other MediaCorp TV Channel. (Example like MediaCorp Channel 5's The Adventures of Merlin on This Saturday & Sunday 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm)

Original productions

 * Sketch
 * Robbie and the Book of Tales
 * Groom my Room
 * Moon Face
 * Magic Garden
 * Before I was Awesome
 * We are R.E.M/R.E.M:the Next Generation
 * Schoolhouse Rockz
 * Wushu Warriors
 * Jobs for Juniors
 * Record Breakers: Singapore Edition
 * The Tales of Alex and Weero
 * Ubin Boy
 * Growing Up
 * Whizzes of the Void Deck
 * Bring Your Toothbrush
 * Kids United
 * Double Chin
 * Art Factory
 * Einstein's Tingkat
 * The Adventures of Super Einstein
 * Hobby TV
 * Looking for Natheniel
 * Sherlock Yack
 * Sports On
 * Little Coach
 * Why didn't I Think of That?
 * Trick And Treats!
 * Groom My School/Groom My Room

oktoNITE
oktoNITE replaces Arts Central and has more programmes for adults.

Transmission Hours:
 * Mon to Sun: 9:00 pm to 12:00 midnight

Website - oktoNITE

New shows
Found inside other MediaCorp TV Channel.

New programming
On 1 April 2011, the programming on okto was revamped. The channel is no longer divided into oktoday and oktonite. Instead, it is divided into okto and a~ok (Arts on Okto). However, the transition clip to oktonite (where the background changes from white to blue) is still played.

Transmission Hours: oktots: 9:00 am to 12:00 midnight (weekeday), 8:00 am to 12:00 midnight (weekeend)
 * okto: 9:00 am to 9:00 pm (weekeday), 8:00 am to 12:00 midnight (weekeend)
 * Oktonite: 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm (daily)
 * a~ok: 10:00 pm to 12:00 midnight (Monday to Saturday), 1:00 am (Sunday)

Shortest Show - done by Lego Group

 * Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu (3 seasons, 17 episodes)
 * Lego City Police (3 episodes)
 * Lego friends (latest - ongoing)