Cable TV sees market decline in Taiwan

有線電視看到台灣市場下降

Approximately 12,000 Taiwanese households cancel their cable subscription each month


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — With the emergence of the digital convergence era, cable television is experiencing a market decline in Taiwan, with subscriptions from approximately 12,000 households per month being lost over the past year and a half.

According to data provided by the National Communications Commission, 5.2 million households had cable subscriptions in 2017, but fewer than 5 million will remain by the end of this year. With competition from Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), over-the-top services (OTT), multiple system operators, and other media platforms, cable TV has seen 220,000 cancellations since the end of 2017.

According to James Cheng (鄭俊卿), chairman of the Cable Broadband Institute in Taiwan, the government has loosened restrictions on IPTV and OTT, putting cable TV at an unfair disadvantage, reported Liberty Times. Cheng lamented that the overly-strict government regulations in place inhibit growth.

Cheng said that as the public's viewing habits change, the decline of cable TV is inevitable. However, with the introduction of 5G networks, cable companies could still prosper since they also install the WiFi hotspots required by 5G, he added.