It was initially poised to be a serious alternative to its competition—MediaCorp's Channel 5—by placing an emphasis on local productions rather than imported programming.

[4] In January 2001, TVWorks revealed that much of the output carried by the new service would be local, as a counterweight to its future competitor Channel 5, promising that it wouldn't flood its airtime with foreign celebrities.

[6] TVWorks secured the broadcast rights to the three matches of Manchester United's tour in Singapore, scheduled for July 2001, in a decision that was considered to be a "fatal blow" for Sportscity.

[7] Weeks ahead of launch, TVWorks' primetime schedule would consist largely of local content on Monday through Thursday nights.

[8] In May, Russell Koh (played by Adrian Pang) was selected by the company to become the film reviewer for The Big Buffet.

[10] The channel was set to broadcast TV Land The Musical (named after a roadshow event SPH MediaWorks held on 29 April) on launch night.

[22] Its coverage of the 2001 general election had 169,000 viewers, a number that paled to 1.721 million over the combined total of MediaCorp's channels.

Under the new name, Channel i would put a strong emphasis on action entertainment and coverage of the S.League, as well as offering movies every evening.

[37] In July, the channel secured the rights to air the qualifying rounds for Euro 2004, in a package of thirteen matches.

[46] A new local sitcom, Durian King, was announced in May 2004, starring Kym Ng and Adrian Pang.

[48][49] Days later, a letter sent to The Straits Times suggested that Channel i should continue operating, as MediaWorks' shows had "more substance" than MediaCorp's.