Yu-Li Liu

This chapter discusses the development of technology and its impact on media economics research. In the media and telecom industry, technology has a great impact on the content, marketing and distribution, value chain, business model, business strategy, services, advertising and management. Audience behavior has also changed because of these technological developments. By providing a brief overview of technology and media, this chapter covers the important paradigm shifts in technologies such as from analog to digital, from broadband to internet, from media to the distribution platforms, and from physical to cloud-based media. It also discusses consumer options and mobile services driven by mobile and reception technologies, time and money spent on media content and technology, business models and disruptive innovation. It concludes by presenting a research agenda related to technology and media economics research.

Convergence has been identified since the 1970s as a force that would reshape media and telecommunications industries. The notion is often used in ambiguous ways, confounding technological, economic, social, cultural, and global aspects. Moreover, the focus is often on the homogenizing and integrative aspects whereas the equally present diversifying and differentiating aspects are often overlooked. A main effect in the media industries is the blurring of lines between formerly separate media platforms such as over-the-air broadcasting, cable TV, and streamed media. Consequently, content that previously was only available on television can be delivered seamlessly to consumers via personal computers, smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. Moreover, content that was once delivered via different, specialized technologies (e.g., broadcasting, cable TV) can now be distributed through multiple platforms, allowing easier viewer access independently of time and space. Convergence also provides consumers with new means of accessing entertainment and audiovisual content. Many converged video services such as Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) and mobile TV have appeared in the market. This chapter analyzes business strategies for converged video services, with a focus on IPTV, mobile TV, and OTT video services.

This chapter describes media ownership and concentration in Taiwan. Following an overview of the Taiwanese media landscape, the rest of the chapter focuses on print media (newspapers, book publishing, magazine publishing), audiovisual media (radio, broadcast television, multichannel TV platforms, video channels, film, music), telecommunications media (wireline and wireless telecom), and Internet media (Internet Service Providers, search engines, online news market). Major telecom firms are CHT, Taiwan Mobile, and FET. Main newspaper firms are China Times group, Liberty Times News group, and Apple Daily. The largest TV firms are Formosa TV, Chinese TV Systems, and Chian TV Corp.

With the development of digital convergence, new media platforms have rapidly emerged. The first was IPTV, which was followed by mobile TV. The most recent platform is the OTT video service which appeared in Taiwan in 2010. The impact of IPTV on the existing media platforms such as terrestrial TV and cable TV is different. For terrestrial TV stations, IPTV is considered to be a new media distribution platform. Although there is no “must carry” obligation for IPTV, the terrestrial TV stations are willing to be carried by IPTV. Cable operators regard CHT’s MOD service as a threat to their business. They have thus urged the government to relax the requirements of the Cable Radio and TV Act in order to compete with IPTV on a level playing field. In Taiwan, the traditional media platforms have to pay attention to the development of newly emerging media, because the ratings and revenues of the former might decrease because of the latter. Since cable TV penetration exceeds 80%, the content providers are afraid of being boycotted by the cable operators if they sell their content to other platforms such as IPTV or OTT. Therefore the IPTV and OTT video services might have difficulty acquiring good content for their viewers. In order to reach larger audiences, the content providers need to re-package their content so as to be suitable for different platforms and to avoid the implicit threat from the cable operators. This chapter discusses the competition among the players in the related TV market. It also analyses the impact of the newly emerging media on the traditional media platforms.