Chunghwa Telecom is putting capital behind Taiwanese original IP, not just carrying it. At the Taiwan Creative Content Fest, the operator unveiled 10 new investments spanning scripted series, films, a music tour and two production-company stakes.
The company pitched the slate as a way to back local intellectual property and connect Taiwanese creators with partners abroad. It has sponsored TCCF for five consecutive years, and the showcase drew Taiwan Minister of Culture Li Yuan alongside senior Chunghwa executives.
What the money is going into
- Gunshot — a police crime drama made with PTS Taigi TV and S11 Partners.
- Yesterday’s Daughter, Tomorrow’s Mother — a family fantasy from producer Phoebe Ma and director Hung Tzu-peng.
- Guides to the World Below — a fantasy adventure adapted from a Taiwanese comic.
- C’est la Vie — an urban drama about food and women’s growth, with Esther Liu as executive producer.
Unscripted gets a bet too: Next Z Chef is billed as Taiwan’s first cooking competition show for young people.
Film commitments include Demon of the East: Black Condo, a horror title tied to a four-country Asian cinematic universe, and Call of Lobster, which won the Chunghwa Telecom Award at TCCF’s 2024 pitch sessions and later joined the Culture Ministry’s Great Voyage Project international cohort.
The music investment, Speak in Silence, is an Asian tour by indie band Shallow Levée covering about 50 shows across Taiwan and eight other countries.
Owning the pipeline, not just the platform
Alongside project financing, Chunghwa and Chunghwa Digital Cultural and Creative took equity positions in DaMou Entertainment and Horiza Creations. DaMou has produced series including The World Between Us II and Wave Makers. Horiza uses community engagement and crowdfunding to gauge what audiences want.
“Chunghwa Telecom is like a pyramid,” Li Yuan said. Lin Wen-chiyh, Chunghwa chief business officer and senior executive VP, said the operator is “more than just a platform operator” and would keep connecting funding, creative talent and domestic and international partners.
Why this matters for screen businesses
Chunghwa runs the MOD IPTV service and Hami Video streaming platform, which together hold more than 3 million subscribers. Original IP is a retention and differentiation lever against global streamers, especially when the operator can cross-promote titles across broadband, mobile and video services.
There is already an awards signal: Chunghwa-backed films Arrested Memory and The Photo From 1977 picked up a combined 12 nominations at the 63rd Golden Horse Awards.
For media planners and entertainment marketers, a telco-backed slate means more predictable local-language inventory, earlier visibility of titles and potential brand-integration windows before completion. Watch Asia-Pacific telcos as they shift from licensing catalogues to co-owning IP.
What to do about it
- Track TCCF pitch winners and telco slates as early indicators of bankable local titles.
- Plan brand partnerships before production ends, when integration costs are lower.
- Treat production-house equity as a signal of long-term pipeline, not one-off commissioning.
Source: Variety
