Television channels in the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...

, commonly known as Taiwan.

Digital television

Digital television launched terrestrially throughout Taiwan on 1 July 2004, using the

DVB-T DVB-T, short for Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial, is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in Singapore in Febr ...

system. After years of simulcasting, Taiwan replaced analogue broadcasting with a digital system by 2014. The Republic of China Cabinet approved a measure mandating that all new televisions are to be equipped with a digital television tuner from 2006. The rule applied to TVs measuring between 21 and 29 inches in 2007, and to sets of all sizes in 2008. To assist lower-income families with the switch to digital television, the government provided NT$300 million in aid to purchase converters or for the purchase of new digital televisions. In February 2009, the National Communications Commission proposed amendments to the Cable Television Act; they include mandating cable companies to provide free set-top boxes.

HDTV

High-definition television broadcast was introduced to Taiwanese audiences with the trial run of HiHD, provided by Public Television Service.

Cable television

Cable television is prevalent in Taiwan, as a result of cheap subscription rates (typically around

NT$ The New Taiwan dollar (code: TWD; symbol: NT$, also abbreviated as NT) is the official currency of Taiwan. The New Taiwan dollar has been the currency of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced the Old Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dollars ...

550, or US$15 a month) and the paucity of free-to-air television, which comprises four channels. Programming is mostly in

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

and

Taiwanese Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, ...

, with some English, Japanese and other foreign-language channels. Miniseries, called Taiwanese drama, are popular and are being exported to markets mainly in East and Southeast Asia, and Latin America, with some dramas available on

OTT Ott, OTT or O.T.T. may refer to: Entertainment * OTT (group), a pop band from the late 1990s * Ott (record producer), British record producer and musician * "O.T.T" (song), a song by Fugative * ''O.T.T.'' (television series), a UK TV programme f ...

platforms such as Netflix, YouTube, or Viki. There is a dedicated station for Taiwan's Hakka minority as well as the arrival in 2005 of an

aboriginal Aborigine, aborigine or aboriginal may refer to: *Aborigines (mythology), in Roman mythology * Indigenous peoples, general term for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area *One of several groups of indigenous peoples, see ...

channel. Almost all programs are in the original language with traditional Chinese subtitles.

List of channels

Free-to-air

In Taiwan, there are six nationwide free-to-air television bouquets, as follows:

Analog television

Taiwan terminated over-the-air analog broadcasting on 30 June 2012, and the remainder of the analog system ended in 2014, when the analog cable television broadcasts were terminated. The first three free-to-air analogue terrestrial television stations, using the American NTSC system, were launched during the 1960s and 1970s: * 10 October 1962 at 19:00 TST: first free-to-air terrestrial television station Taiwan Television (TTV) on Channel 21

UHF Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one tenth of a meter (on ...

was officially launched and initially broadcasting hours were from 19:00 until 23:00 TST a total of four hours daily based in Taipei. * 31 October 1969 at 19:00 TST: second free-to-air terrestrial television station China Television (CTV) on Channel 22

was officially launched and initially broadcasting hours were from 19:00 until 23:00 TST a total of four hours daily based in Taipei. * 31 October 1971 at 19:00 TST: third free-to-air terrestrial television station Chinese Television System (CTS) on Channel 23

was officially launched and initially broadcasting hours were from 19:00 until 23:00 TST a total of four hours daily based in Taipei. In the late 1990s, two new free-to-air television channels were officially launched: * Formosa Television (FTV), on 11 June 1997 at 18:00 TST on VHF Channel 5 (82.250-MHz). * Public Television Service (PTS), on 1 July 1998 at 19:00 TST on

Channel 53 (704.250-MHz).

References

{{Taiwan topics 1962 establishments in Taiwan