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MASS MEDIA

Fact Focus：
  • Taiwan tops Asia in press freedom for the sixth straight year in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders.
  • Smartphone ownership reached 89.48 percent in 2017.
The diversity of Taiwan’s media is reflected in the plethora of outlets and intense competition within the industry. The nation’s press operates in a media environment that is one of the freest in Asia.
Taiwan was ranked the top Asian nation for the sixth consecutive year in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index released April 25 by France-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF). In the survey of 180 countries and territories, Taiwan jumped three places to 42nd, one ahead of South Korea, with Japan, 67th; Hong Kong, 70th; Singapore, 151st; and China, 176th. Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands topped the index, in that order.
Most types of media are engaged in an industrywide transition to digital forms of distribution.
A visitor browses a novel at the Thinkers’ Theater bookstore and performance space in the Dadaocheng area of Taipei City.
A visitor browses a novel at the Thinkers’ Theater bookstore and performance space in the Dadaocheng area of Taipei City. (Chin Hung-hao)
Radio Stations: 171 Terrestrial television station: 5 Cable television operators: 65 Satellite broadcasting program providers: 115(290 channels) TV and radio program production and distribution companies: 988 Audio(compact disc, etc.) production companies: 15,754 Newspaper publishers: 247 Magazine publishers: 1,239 News agencies: 32 Digital TV household pentration rate: From 21.03 percent in 2012 to 99.08 percent in 2017.
Print editions of magazines and newspapers, including the four major dailies, continue to lose ground to internet competitors. Drawing on Taiwan’s strengths in information and communication technologies, e-publishing is injecting fresh vitality into their development as well as that of the local book publishing industry, which released 40,401 new titles last year.
Digitization of cable television has not only significantly improved the visual experience of viewers, but also unleashed more innovative and diverse broadband services. With digitization virtually completed, cable television has become an important platform for various multimedia applications.