Channel 8 began broadcasting on a satellite platform in December 2010. It officially launched as a 24-hour free-to-air television channel on 5 January 2011.[1] On 17 August 2013, Channel 8 upgraded its production and broadcast equipment to high-definition.[citation needed] Its HD stream was broadcast on the Thaicom 6 satellite.[1][2] In December 2013, RS won a license to broadcast Channel 8 on the digital terrestrial television platform in the Variety SD category.[3] Channel 8 officially launched its digital TV channel on 25 April 2014.