Market Competition and Programming Diversity: A Study on the TV Market in Taiwan

Abstract

This article investigates the issue of the relation between market competition and programming diversity in Taiwan's TV market. For more than 20 years, Taiwan's TV market had an oligopolistic structure with 3 networks dominating the market. With the popularity of satellite TV during the 1990s, the oligopoly rapidly ended. This study examines how programming diversity was affected by the changing TV market structure in Taiwan. Programming diversity was measured by 3 methods using program data from the 3 networks operating in Taiwan: vertical programming diversity, horizontal programming diversity, and prime-time programming strategies. The results indicate a negative relation between market competition and programming diversity. Although the market competition increased from 1986 to 1996, this study discovered that the degree of programming diversity was reduced year by year.