State-funded English-language streaming service TaiwanPlus is to start broadcasting on terrestrial television and through Chunghwa Telecom’s multimedia-on-demand service on Oct. 10 after its broadcast application was yesterday approved by the National Communications Commission (NCC).
The NCC assigned TaiwanPlus to use the frequency block between 542 megahertz (MHz) and 548MHz — designated for use by the Public Television Service’s (PTS) Channel 26.
NCC Department of Broadcasting and Content Affairs Director Huang Wen-che (黃文哲) said the PTS is negotiating with cable service operators about airing TaiwanPlus on cable.
The Ministry of Culture-funded streaming service was run by the Central News Agency before the PTS in June took over its management.
The application submitted to the NCC showed TaiwanPlus would operate based on the PTS’ management guidelines, the commission said.
“The English-language streaming service will feature news and documentaries, and aims to show the world that Taiwan, a country formed by immigrants, has a diverse, rich and unique culture,” the commission said.
The PTS hopes to expand Taiwan’s international news coverage, offer diverse programs and cultivate reporting talent.
The commission also approved the PTS’ proposed changes to the operations of Channel 26.
“The Public Television Service pledged to have a full-time executive director for the streaming service, recruit additional staff, offer training to employees and procure new equipment,” the NCC said.
The changes would not interfere with the broadcast of the PTS’ main channel and PTS Haklo.
Chen Chin-shuan (陳金霜), a senior specialist at the Department of Broadcasting and Content, said that the PTS plans to recruit 45 more staff for TaiwanPlus’ production team.
The network has pledged that at least 25 percent of TaiwanPlus programs would not have been aired before on another domestic terrestrial television channel, Chen said.
Content on TaiwanPlus would be created by the production team itself, Chen said, adding that the streaming service has an operational budget of NT$800 million (US$26.7 million) per year.
The operation of the streaming service came under scrutiny after lawmakers in March said that its app had only been downloaded 36,000 times after it was launched on Aug. 30 last year, reaching only 3 percent of its download target.
Monthly downloads have since March increased by about 2,000 per month, with 60 percent of new viewers being based in Taiwan.
More than half of TaiwanPlus Web site views were from Taiwan, the lawmakers said, adding that this limits the platform’s intended global reach.
The Ministry of Culture defended the streaming service.
Six months after its launch, TaiwanPlus reached 30 million people, drawing an average number of 136,000 visitors per day, it said.
The service is part of the ministry’s International Digital Communication project, which has a total funding of more than NT$5.8 billion over four years.
People from 129 countries watch TaiwanPlus, and its coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was quoted by Fox News.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
REWRITING HISTORY: China has been advocating a ‘correct’ interpretation of the victory over Japan that brings the CCP’s contributions to the forefront, an expert said An elderly Chinese war veteran’s shin still bears the mark of a bullet wound he sustained when fighting the Japanese as a teenager, a year before the end of World War II. Eighty years on, Li Jinshui’s scar remains as testimony to the bravery of Chinese troops in a conflict that killed millions of their people. However, the story behind China’s overthrow of the brutal Japanese occupation is deeply contested. Historians broadly agree that credit for victory lies primarily with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-led Republic of China (ROC) Army. Its leader, Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a
RSS