The media in Taiwan is considered to be one of the freest and most competitive in Asia. Cable TV usage is high (around 80%) and there is also a wide selection of newspapers available covering most political viewpoints.
Cable television is prevalent in Taiwan, as a result of cheap subscription rates (typically around NT$550, or USD$15 a month) and the paucity of free-to-air television, which comprises four channels. Programming is mostly in Mandarin, Taiwanese and Japanese, with some English, Korean and other foreign language channels Miniseries, called Taiwan drama, are popular. There is a dedicated station for Taiwan's Hakka minority as well as the arrival in 2005 of an aboriginal channel. Almost all programs are in the original language with traditional Chinese subtitles.
The cable television system comprises around one hundred different channels, ranging from news, sport, variety, game, music, children's, foreign, movie and documentary channels.
Digital television launched terrestrially throughout Taiwan on July 2nd, 2004. Currently, there are simulcasts of analogue and digital television. Taiwan plans to replace analogue broadcasting with a digital system by 2013. The Republic of Taiwan Cabinet approved a measure mandating that all new televisions are to be equipped with a digital television tuner from 2006. The rule will apply to TVs measuring between 21 and 29 inches in 2007, and to sets of all sizes in 2008, the Cabinet said in a statement. To assist lower-income families with the switch to digital television, the government plans to provide 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.
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