Taiwan Television Industry History: From the "Big Three" to the Gentle Revolution of Qseries

30-Second Overview: In 1962 TTV launched and Taiwan entered the television age; in 1998 PTS was established as the first non-commercial public media; in 2016 Qseries achieved a 0.5% ratings share yet took Taiwanese drama beyond the idol drama and folk opera mold. From "party-government-military monopoly" to "gentle revolution," Taiwan's television industry across 54 years is a history of who held the power to tell stories.

From 486 Computers to Prime Time

On October 10, 1962, Taiwan's first television station, "TTV" (Taiwan Television), officially launched in Taipei¹. That year, the world was at the height of the Cold War, Taiwan was still under martial law, and televisions were a luxury — a single set cost the equivalent of two years' wages for an ordinary worker.

But the magic of television quickly made Taiwanese people willing to borrow money to buy a "black-and-white iron box."

Three years after TTV's launch, Taiwan had only 30,000 television sets in 1965; by 1969 that number had surpassed one million. On October 31, 1969, the second broadcaster "CTV" (China Television Company) launched; on October 31, 1971, the third, "CTS" (Chinese Television System), followed². These three were known as the "Big Three" (老三台) and monopolized Taiwan's television market for a full thirty years.

The Big Three's ownership structure was summed up as "party-government-military media": TTV was Taiwan Provincial Government (provincial), CTV was the Kuomintang (party), and CTS was the Ministry of National Defense and Ministry of Education (state).

Those three characters later became the slogan of Taiwan's media reform movement — "the party, government, and military must exit the media" (黨政軍退出媒體, plain text, Chinese parenthesis).

Nights of the Joint Broadcast Era

From the 1970s through the 1980s, the Big Three operated under a special arrangement: joint broadcasting (聯播).

During prime time (8 pm), all three stations would simultaneously air the same program. Mandarin drama serials like The Story of a Great Era and Cold Current broadcast simultaneously in Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung. The stations rotated monthly responsibility for joint broadcast operations, creating a coexistence of cooperation and competition³.

This joint broadcast mechanism later became a forerunner to public television programming.

In 1980, then-Premier Sun Yun-suan first advocated establishing a public television station to produce commercial-free programs with social and educational value. In 1984, the "Public Television Program Production Group" was established and used timeslots on the Big Three to air programs⁴.

But from advocacy to realization took 18 years.

The Public Television Act: 18 Years of Waiting

In 1990, the "Public Television Preparatory Working Group" was established to push for creating PTS. In 1993, the draft Public Television Act was submitted to the Legislative Yuan⁵.

Civil society groups such as the "Public Media Catalyst Alliance" played a key role during the legislative process, ensuring PTS's independence and public-service character. In 1996, academics and cultural figures formed an alliance and combined forces from across society to push the Public Television Act through.

On May 31, 1997, the Legislative Yuan passed the Public Television Act on third reading. On July 1, 1998, the Foundation for Public Television Cultural Enterprise was officially established; PTS launched, becoming Taiwan's first non-commercial, non-government-controlled public media⁶.

PTS's founding mission: serve the public interest, provide educational, cultural, and public service programs, and operate programming independently without interference.

The first board chair was Wu Feng-shan; the director-general was Liao Tsang-sung. Programming covered news, documentaries, drama, and children's shows, with an emphasis on public service and cultural depth.

In 2006, PTS merged with CTS (華視, plain text, Chinese parenthesis) to form the "Taiwan Broadcasting System" (TBS)⁷. In 2007, Hakka TV and Indigenous Peoples Television joined the public broadcasting group. In 2019, PTS launched the Taiwanese (Tâi-gí) Channel, becoming Taiwan's first all-Taiwanese-language public television channel.

Wang Shaudi's Math Teacher

In PTS's history, one name appears repeatedly — Wang Shaudi (王小棣, plain text, Chinese parenthesis).

Wang Shaudi felt from a young age that their "soul lived in the wrong gender." As a child, wearing a school uniform was not a problem, but when the family went out to eat and had to wear a skirt, Wang would cry and stomp at home. In high school, after watching a film about gender identity at a cinema near Zhongshan Hall, Wang cried alone at a juice bar: "So there's not just me in the world like this."⁸

Wang smoked, skipped class, and changed elementary schools three times. Scoring single digits in math, tutors were no help. Father shook his head and asked for a transfer. While the adults were in the office discussing, Wang ran from the third floor to the first floor shouting, "Goodbye everyone, I'm transferring!" But after getting in the car, father said the math teacher had told him: Wang was actually very smart — each topic, when the teacher explained it three times, Wang understood the first time, and would then lie down to sleep. No transfer.

After that, the curriculum switched from geometry to algebra, and grades shot from the teens to 95. But when another unit came, grades plunged again. On graduation day, the qipao-wearing math teacher asked what Wang planned to do without taking the university entrance exam. Wang said, play basketball. The teacher said nothing, and Wang thought a smack was coming — but instead, the teacher's tears fell: "Wang Shaudi, what a pity. Go home."⁹

That sentence changed everything. Joining Tamkang High School's basketball team, Wang played up to the provincial games and could have been enrolled in a sports program. But one day Wang suddenly remembered those words and started wondering if life held other possibilities. Entering the university entrance exam, Wang was admitted to Chinese Culture University's drama department.

In 1975, Wang went to Trinity University in Texas to pursue a master's degree in theater. Upon returning to Taiwan, Wang decided to stop talking about gender and stop pretending: "If you're at ease with yourself first, others will be at ease."

From _Home Sweet Home_ to Qseries

From the late 1980s through the 1990s, Wang Shaudi directed a series of "ordinary people" television dramas at CTS (華視, plain text, Chinese parenthesis): Home Sweet Home (1989), Jia Jia Fu (1990), Mother Hen and Ducklings (1992). These works did not chase ratings miracles but pointed the camera at everyday Taiwanese families — the grandma playing mahjong, the quarreling couple, the kid sneaking cigarettes¹⁰.

In an era when Taiwan television was still dominated by eight o'clock dramas and variety shows, these works quietly proved that television drama could have social warmth.

In 1992, Wang and creative partner Huang Li-ming co-founded Greengrass Film Studio, from which point they produced primarily for 公視 (plain text, Chinese parenthesis)¹¹.

In 2000, 王小棣 (plain text, Chinese parenthesis) directed Hospital and Doctor for PTS, starring Blue Lan and Marcus Chang. That year Meteor Garden swept across Asia and idol drama officially became the defining term for Taiwanese television. Hospital and Doctor was discussed alongside Meteor Garden and hailed as "Taiwan's first-generation idol drama" — but it was simultaneously Taiwan's first true workplace drama.

Over the following fifteen years, the Golden Bell Awards roster repeatedly featured the name "Wang Shaudi": 1999's Nine Years Old, 2004's Going to the Banquet, 2008's Sunny Kenting, and 2014's Hedgehog Boy.

In 2014, Wang received the 18th National Cultural Arts Foundation Award, recognizing lifetime contributions to Taiwan's film and television.

Qseries: The Gentle Revolution with 0.5% Ratings

In 2016, Wang Shaudi launched his most ambitious project.

Wang saw a depressed production environment in Taiwan, flat drama genres, and a lack of young actors coming through. So together with Tsai Ming-liang, Chen Yu-hsun, and six other directors, Wang co-founded "植劇場" (Qseries, plain text, Chinese parenthesis) — an experimental platform to nurture new actors and expand genre diversity. Four genres (romance and coming-of-age, thriller and mystery, supernatural horror, adapted from original works), eight productions, spanning an entire year¹².

On August 19, 2016, Love Storm premiered on TTV. Overall ratings hovered between 0.45–0.76%, and while the numbers were not high, its innovative genre approach and high quality earned outstanding internet word-of-mouth and Golden Bell Award recognition¹³.

At the 2017 Golden Bell Awards, 植劇場 (Qseries, plain text, Chinese parenthesis) earned 24 nominations and ultimately won 5 major awards. Works such as Wake Up, Love Storm, Someday or One Day, and Dear Teacher, Are You Still in Love? took Taiwanese drama beyond the idol drama and folk opera frameworks.

"Making television is a form of social movement — once the TV comes on, it enters every household, its impact is immense." — Wang Shaudi¹⁴

This line from an interview explains everything. Wang came from film (Tsai Ming-liang calls Wang a cinematic inspiration), but always chose television over film. Why? Because television's power of penetration is incomparable to film's.

After Qseries, Wang launched "Budding Drama Studio" (茁劇場) again in 2022, carrying forward the same spirit — discovering new talent, exploring genres, and treating every story seriously.

Industry Data: NT$162.5 Billion in Output

In 2021, Taiwan's television industry total revenue reached NT$162.535 billion, with a year-on-year growth rate of 7.71%¹⁵. Digital distribution and broadcasting showed the most significant growth at 26%.

But behind the numbers are structural challenges:

• Limited market scale; difficult to raise production costs
• Impact of OTT streaming platforms compressing advertising revenue
• Talent drain to the Chinese market
• In the era of digital convergence, traditional broadcast subscription revenue-sharing models face challenges

In 2016, television industry export value accounted for only 0.74% of total output, with the main market still domestic¹⁶.

From Analog to Digital: The 2012 Turning Point

On June 30, 2012, Taiwan shut down analog terrestrial television signals and fully entered the digital era¹⁷. This was another key turning point for the Taiwanese television industry.

TTV's main channel upgraded to HD on December 29, 2014; 華視 (plain text, Chinese parenthesis) upgraded to HD on October 1, 2015; CTV upgraded to HD on February 15, 2016. Taiwan currently has 8 free terrestrial television channels (TTV, CTV, 華視, Formosa TV, 公視, Hakka TV, Indigenous Peoples Television, and the Legislative Channel).

But behind digitalization came the rise of OTT platforms. YouTube, Netflix, Hami Video, and other streaming services changed audience viewing behavior. Traditional broadcast subscription revenue-sharing models face challenges; advertising revenue is shrinking.

Who Has the Power to Tell Stories?

From TTV's 1962 launch to PTS's 1998 establishment to Qseries in 2016, Taiwan's 54 years of television industry is a history of who had the power to tell stories.

In the Big Three era, storytellers were "the party, government, and military"; in the PTS era, storytellers were "the public interest"; in the Qseries era, storytellers were "ordinary people."

Wang Shaudi said: "When someone denies you, that is the beginning of your growth."¹⁸

The gentle revolution of Qseries continues to this day. In 2021, Netflix invested NT$1 billion in Taiwan's film and television industry, and many Qseries productions have been seen internationally. New actors like Greg Han Hsu, Sun Ke-fang, and Liu Kuan-ting emerged from Qseries to become mainstays of Taiwan's film and television industry.

If someone in 2050 wants to know what Taiwan's television industry once tried to do, what they read may well be these Markdown files — about how a platform that ran no ads tried to tell a story that everyone loved.

References

References:

• Public Media Alliance: Taiwan PTS
• PTS Q-Series Report