With view to facilitating an exchange of opinions among industrial, governmental and academic circles in regard to the development of cable television, and relevant regulation, the National Communications Commission (NCC) held the Cable Radio and Television Development Seminar on November 17 and 18, 2022 in Yilan. Those in attendance included representatives of cable radio and television system operators, MSO, industry associations/guilds, experts and scholars, NCC Chairperson Chen Yaw-shyang and Commissioners Lin Lih-yun, Wang Wei-ching, Wang Jiang-Jia and Wang Yi-hui.

Five keynote speeches and one general session took place exploring how the industry could develop more value-added services and multiple applications while facing the challenges of digital convergence and OTT (Over-the-Top) content platforms. Recent developments in the video platform industry from other countries were also highlighted.

The objective of the seminar was that the exchange of experiences and information could benefit the domestic cable television industry satisfy consumers’ demands and help the industry accelerate digital convergence in order to create new economic value for the entire industry.

In order to promote and preserve local culture, enhance domestic content, encourage operators to employ local manpower and enrich the content of self-produced content, NCC initiated the subsidy plan “Facilitation of the Penetration and Development of Cable Radio and Television – System Operators’ Production and Promotion of Programs with Local and Cultural Contents.” Applications from ten system operators’ have been accepted by NCC and the top three system operators also shared their feedback on promoting local culture in the cable television industry at this event to encourage industry players to produce and broadcast high-quality programs with domestic characteristics.

During the general session, NCC commissioners and more than 100 representatives from the country’s cable television industry carried out a discussion on the industry development and changes to the business environment. The suggestions made by industry players have facilitated the bi-directional communication between the government and system operators in regard to the cable television industry’s policy. The exchange of opinions not only aids the domestic cable television industry to catch up with international trends in terms of thinking, policy and implementation, but also enhances a spirit of innovation.