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okto’s refreshed lineup to include first original local sitcom for children

Upside Down (2)

Mediacorp has announced a fresh lineup of programmes on okto for 2018 to appeal to its target audience of young people and those who lead active lifestyles and pursue active learning.

In the pipeline are:

•  okto’s first original local sitcom for children, Upside Down, which debuts in January 2018
•  A rugby drama, Hullet Tigers, that draws its inspiration from Singapore’s 200-year-old sporting heritage, debuting in late 2018
•  An interactive studio-based, history-focused game show for Primary school children, The Museum, which debuts in mid-2019

Upside Down is a 24-episode comedy series laced with Singapore-style humour that local kids can identify and are familiar with. The story revolves around Antoine, a single parent, his vain and cheeky 60-year-old mother and his 11-year-old spunky daughter. Together they run an ice-cream parlour, which doubles up as a second home to a group of lovable children who are sadly misfits in society. Through its witty dialogue, the importance of family values and ‘being yourself’ shine through, as well as the promotion of dancing as a lifestyle and healthy art form.

Upside Down debuts on 10 January 2018 and is shown every Wednesday and Thursday on okto at 6.30pm. In an effort to engage the younger generation and new audiences, Upside Down will have webisodes of 3 - 5minute specially created for Toggle. These online clips will be repurposed for social media platforms as well.

Michelle Chang, Lead, English Audience, Mediacorp, said, “One of Mediacorp’s key priorities is to encourage active learning and lifestyle in young people through content that is made available everywhere; on okto, on Toggle and through on-ground events such as the upcoming okto Kids Fiesta in Jan 2018, where families can come and experience their favourite okto cast, characters and sets.”

Added Ms Chang, “okto was repositioned as a dedicated channel for children and premium sports content in April 2017. From then to September 2017, viewership on okto saw a year-on-year increase of 12 per cent. We’ve also received encouraging feedback to the channel’s main objective to promote an active lifestyle and learning among Singaporeans.”
Details of the upcoming okto Kids Fiesta happening on 20th - 21st January next year will be announced in the later part of this year.

In the local content pipeline are 12 new titles that have been given the green light under Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA)’s PSB Contestable Funds Scheme (PCFS). These 12 titles – five info-tainment, four drama and three short series – will air on okto over the next two years, starting March 2018, providing more than 60 hours of original local children’s content. As part of continuous efforts to create transmedia content, all the programmes will come with online clips to further engage audiences.

Ms Dorothy Lai, Director, Public Service Media and Assessment at the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said, “IMDA is happy to support Mediacorp to produce more children’s programmes on okto that reflect Singapore’s culture and values, and resonate with our younger viewers. These stories will also be made available online through Toggle to better reach out to the younger generation, to keep them engaged as well as promote interest and learning.”

Okto is the #1 Kids TV Channel in Singapore, and these 12 new titles will provide multiple opportunities for strong brand association while effectively reaching out to 185,000 children aged 4 - 14 weekly and 167,000 parents with children under 15 years old. Call your Mediacorp Sales Representative or Mediacorp Advertising Enquiries hotline: 6333 9888 to find out more.

View below table for details on okto’s PCFS programmes. For okto’s full programme guide, please visit toggle.sg/okto.

Title Genre Synopsis Eps x Duration Transmedia Clips
Totally Totto Drama Totally Totto is a live action drama starring all human main cast - Isaac, Abby, Robert, Sir Fong and Dr Ng. Totto, the bunny rabbit, is a figment of Isaac’s imagination. He will be depicted through a human-size puppet and will pop up when Issac requires help with science. However, when Totto begins his “Adventures in Science” with Issac, the duo zooms into an animated world where Isaac, Abby and Totto will become animated versions of themselves like the version seen in Sir Fong’s Adventures in Science. 16 x 30 mins 16 x 3 mins
Hullet Tigers Drama Hullet High appoints a maverick Coach in a desperate bid to win the National Junior Rugby League Cup, to end a ten-year dry spell. Terry Cub, the Coach, recruits four delinquents as his core rugby talent team. But when these boys prove to be a disenchanted, quarrelsome bunch, and become an embarrassment to the school’s reputation, the school board threatens to kick them out. Will these kids learn to overcome their differences to put team above self and prove their worth? 14 x 30 mins 7 x 3 mins
Mount Emily Drama Patsy Goh and Elena Tan get mysteriously whisked back in time to 1987 while digging around their school’s backyard. Trapped in their mothers’ Primary School bodies, the girls find themselves unprepared for life without gadgets, technology and the comforts they have been accustomed to. With the help of unexpected allies, the duo learns about real communication, how to be resilient with handy survival skills and that the grass isn’t greener on the other side. They race against the clock to find the Magical Time Crystal to get them back home and stopping the evil Midnight Warriors from destroying all of existence. 12 x 30 mins 12 x 3 mins
SNOOP Drama Mallory Han, also known as “Snoops” works for her private investigator father. While working on a case, Mallory discovers Eliana Kang, the world’s greatest detective and is taken on as an apprentice. She takes on a variety of crimes big and small, while trying to get to the bottom of the one case that truly matters to her – the mysterious disappearance of her best friend Anjali, and it leads her to take on the biggest villain of all the criminal genius known only as M. 12 x 30 mins 6 x 3 mins
Basic Mini-tary Training Info-tainment Four teams of children are enlisted together with their parents to survive in a back-to-basic field camp. Racing against the clock, relationship between parents and children crumble as the kids are thrown to the frontline to compete in a series of challenges while their parents can only stay on the side and instruct. The parent can use an ultimate lifeline – the Red Alarm Siren. The siren authorize the parent to step in and attempts a rescue effort. However, the clock will count down even faster and punishment will be meted out to those who fail to complete the missions. 10 x 30 mins 10 x 3 mins
Make it Count Info-tainment Make It Count is a programme that takes Math and applies it to the everyday and help children (as well as their parents) discover the joys of Math. This show will prove that there is more to Math than formulae and rote learning, and that not only are we living Math principles all the time without realizing it, when we become aware of it we can manipulate Math to improve our lives. If you have ever hated Math, ever been baffled by it, ever wanted to make sense of it, Make It Count is the programme for you. 12 x 30 mins 12 x 3 mins
The World According to Marie and Argo Info-tainment Set in Singapore and at 11 years old, Marie is your average primary school student, she struggles with finishing homework and figuring out why her broadband signal is so weak in her bedroom. Her trusty partner-in-crime, ARGO is an alien robot with a mission. He seems to be asking the same question but from a different perspective - what is broadband? Together they investigate the principles of S.T.E.M. and learn a thing or two about Singapore along the way. 13 x 30 mins 7 x 3 mins
Word Whiz or Slime Pit Info-tainment A gameshow designed to educate while leveraging on children’s natural inclination to play, love for puzzles or games and sense of competition as a motivator. We designed the Slime Pit as a means of elimination. This wacky exit will appeal to their still immature and somewhat gross sense of humour. In the bonus round, the tables are turned. The child is the one with the power and control – the Word Whiz gets an opportunity to send the Host, an adult, to the Hot Seat and dump him into the Slime Pit! 11 x 30 mins 11 x 3 mins
The Museum Info-tainment The Museum is an interactive studio-based, history focused, game show for Primary school children. The show is set in a quirky fictional museum, where 2 teams of 2 will compete each week to answer questions and discover just how cool Singapore’s history is! 11 x 30 mins 11 x 3 mins
Stickers Together Shorts In each five minute episode, Stick, Paste and Digi explore the magical world of Sticker World and solve the problems of other sticker characters along the way. While there is plenty of action, humour, and unpredictability, the trio’s adventures is always rooted in “finding a family”. Each character makes mistakes and learns important values that children can relate to. These include experimenting with ideas/concepts, embarking on an active lifestyle, and exploring themes of respect, resilience, responsibility, integrity and harmony. 20 x 5 mins 5 x 1 min
Cartoon Buddies Shorts Two kids from different backgrounds come together and share their love for art, drawing and cartoons. They develop a story and create their own characters, before an animation studio takes over and turns them into a 1-minute animated film. Through this little journey of storytelling and discovery, the kids learn about each other and grow a little together as a creative team. Friendship is a theme in all the stories – mirroring a young and new friendship formed behind the scenes by the creators. 11 x 5 mins 10 x 1 min
Epic vloggers of history Shorts From Marie Antoinette doing cake-decorating tutorials, to Marie Curie doing radioactive DIYs, to Sang Nila Utama making a pet lion vlog, each episode features different YouTubers playing famous historical characters, in a show that is a hilarious exploration of the past and the present. Each episode focuses on a single historical figure, speaking directly to camera. It is as if the episode is being recorded in that time period – so we could be in a tent with Napoleon as the Battle of Austerlitz rages outside. Characters are shot on green screen to allow the use of computer generated backgrounds and animation. 18 x 5 mins 18 x 1 min

 

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