Malaysia TV Online Streaming
Most broadcasters start with a transmitter and add streaming later. TaiwanPlus did it the other way round – it existed as a streaming service for more than a year before it became a television channel at all.
It is Taiwan’s English-language channel, and one of the youngest broadcasters on any screen. The stream is playing on this page – free, with nothing to install and no account to create.
Streaming First, Television Second
TaiwanPlus went live as an online service on 30 August 2021. The linear television channel followed on 3 October 2022, more than a year afterwards.
That order is worth noticing. Every long-established international broadcaster built a television operation first and bolted streaming on later, usually with some reluctance. TaiwanPlus was designed from the outset for people watching on a phone, and treated the TV channel as an addition rather than a foundation.
For a broadcaster launched in the 2020s, that is probably the sensible way round.
Telling Taiwan’s Stories in English
The channel is run by the Public Television Service, Taiwan’s public broadcaster, under the oversight of the Ministry of Culture. It was established with around NT$775 million of government money – roughly $23 million.
The brief is straightforward: tell Taiwan’s stories to the world, in English. At launch, the reporting around it was fairly blunt about the wider purpose – extending Taiwan’s international reach and putting its own account of itself in front of foreign audiences.
Everything goes out in English. There is no Mandarin service on this channel.
What’s Actually On
TaiwanPlus is not a rolling news channel, and that is where it parts company with most state-backed international broadcasters.
News is part of it, but so are documentaries, travel, technology, food, culture, lifestyle and entertainment. Original series have ranged from Road to Legacy, a documentary on Taiwan’s indie pop scene, to The Jennie Show, a comedy programme.
The mix follows from the brief. A channel trying to interest foreigners in a place they may know little about is better served by food and music than by a twenty-four-hour bulletin cycle.
Blocked in China, Debated in Taiwan
TaiwanPlus has had a more eventful short life than most new channels.
Within weeks of the television launch, in November 2022, China blocked its website and the app was removed from Apple’s Chinese store.
The sharper criticism, though, has come from home. In December 2024, legislators from several parties questioned the channel’s low app adoption – roughly 160,000 downloads against a revised target of 220,000 – and proposed cutting its budget.
There has been an editorial controversy too. In November 2024 the channel pulled a report that had described Donald Trump as a convicted felon, a decision media scholars criticised as self-censorship.
Whatever view one takes of those episodes, together they show a broadcaster still finding its footing in public.
On More Screens Than Most
For a channel this young, the distribution is broad.
It runs a twenty-four-hour livestream on YouTube, has its own website and app, broadcasts on Taiwan’s terrestrial television on DVB-T channel seven, and appears on cable in Taiwan, the United States and Singapore. Inside Taiwan, cable penetration passed ninety per cent within months of the launch.
For viewers elsewhere – Malaysia included – streaming is the way in. It runs in a browser on a phone, tablet, laptop or smart TV, wherever there is an internet connection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who runs TaiwanPlus?
Taiwan's Public Television Service, under the oversight of the Ministry of Culture.
When did it launch?
As a streaming service on 30 August 2021, and as a television channel on 3 October 2022.
What language is it in?
English, across the whole schedule.
Is it a news channel?
Partly. It carries news alongside documentaries, travel, food, technology, culture and entertainment.
How is it funded?
With Taiwanese government money - around NT$775 million was committed to establish it.
Can it be watched in China?
No. China blocked the website in November 2022, and the app was pulled from Apple's Chinese store.
Where can I watch it from Malaysia?
Online. It streams through this page, and also runs a livestream on its own platforms.
Does watching cost anything?
No. The stream is free, with nothing to install and no sign-up.
Conclusion
Most of the broadcasters alongside it have been running for decades and know exactly what they are. TaiwanPlus is a few years old, has already been blocked by one government and had its budget questioned by its own, and is still adjusting what it puts on screen.
That makes it worth watching for a different reason than a settled broadcaster. This is a country working out, in public and in English, how it wants to introduce itself.
