TAIPEI: Taiwan’s largest telecom, Chunghwa Telecom Co., said it aims to improve its Internet TV service within two years after a rule change that would allow it to offer more competitive content.
According to details, the National Communications Commission last month approved a rule granting Chunghwa Telecom equal status with its local cable TV competitors in sourcing content and TV channels. Chunghwa’s Internet TV service, or multimedia-on-demand (MOD) service, has been in the red since its launch 13 years ago due to a rather limited offering of TV networks and programs.
To enrich our offerings, we will soon approach TV channel operators and encourage them to cooperate with us,” Chunghwa Telecom chairman and chief executive David Cheng said.
“We hope to add news, TV shopping, drama and sports channels to our existing portfolio.”
The MOD business has not reached economies of scale and needs to expand subscriber numbers to 2 million to break even, Cheng said. He did not set a timetable for reaching that goal.
Chunghwa Telecom had 1.33 million MOD subscribers as of Dec. 31 last year. With subscribers paying a minimum fee of NT$59 a month, MOD business contributed NT$236 million (US$7.59 million) in revenue last year.
The Chinese-language Commercial Times reported that the MOD business booked a NT$1.6 billion loss last year, bringing accumulated losses from the Internet TV business to NT$31.5 billion over the past 13 years. Chunghwa Telecom did not disclose an earnings breakdown for each business group.
As a state-run company, Chunghwa Telecom was restricted from investing in digital content, but allowed to provide its MOD platform for content providers and TV channel operators to broadcast their programs for a fee.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications owns a 35.29 percent stake in Chunghwa Telecom.
