The number of cable service subscribers fell to a record low 4.55 million in the third quarter of this year as increasingly more people switched from cable systems to other entertainment platforms, the National Communications Commission (NCC) said in its third quarterly report on the status of the communication service market.
The number was down 2.42 percent from the same quarter last year, the commission said, adding that the downward trend has persisted for 24 consecutive quarters.
The household penetration rate of cable services also slid below 50 percent to 49.42 percent, the data showed.
Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei Times
“Consumers’ viewing habits are indeed changing. However, there are not as many ‘cord cutters’ in Taiwan as in countries in Europe and North America. Cable systems are actively offering cable broadband services to retain customers,” the commission said.
Since the commission began collecting data in 2010, cable service subscriptions have dropped from nearly 5.1 million to 4.97 million in 2013 before surging to a peak of 5.26 million in 2017.
About 82 percent of the nation’s cable service market is owned by six large multiple-system operators: Kbro Co, Homeplus Digital Co, Taiwan Broadband Communications, TFN Media, Taiwan Optical Platform and Dafeng TV. The six collectively have 3.75 million cable service subscribers.
During the third quarter, only Taiwan Optical Platform reported a mild increase in cable service subscribers, up 0.13 percent from the second quarter, NCC data showed.
The other multiple-system operators reported a decline in cable service subscriptions.
Separately, the NCC warned the public not to click on suspicious links delivered to them via text messages, adding that it could cause malware to be implanted on their mobile phones and allow scammers to access their personal data and financial information on the device.
The links generally appear in fraud messages about unpaid freeway toll fees, water fees, fines or parking tickets, the commission said in a news release.
Some might receive messages that their bank is to close their personal accounts for safety reasons, or that they have credit card points that are about to expire, it said.
“We advise users of phones with Android systems to turn off the Rich Communications Service function, while iPhone users should turn off the iMessage function,” the commission said.
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