Far EasTone Telecommunications unveiled two entertainment investment funds totaling more than NT$1.5 billion ($48.5 million) at Taiwan’s Creative Content Festival, partnering with South Korean media giant CJ ENM and local broadcasters to bankroll film and television productions.
The larger Taiwan-Korea Entertainment & Cultural Content Fund will commit NT$960 million ($31 million) over five years to co-productions between the two countries, while the Far EasTone-Enjoy Entertainment Fund plans to deploy NT$600 million ($19.4 million) on local content. Taiwan’s National Development Fund is backing both initiatives with nearly NT$764 million ($24.5 million).
Far EasTone President Chee Ching said the company moved into content investment because Netflix’s dominance has made traditional content acquisition more challenging. The telecom operator has operated its friDay video platform for a decade but trails domestic competitors in market share.
The funds follow a 2023 memorandum between the partners and arrive as Taiwan seeks to replicate South Korea’s entertainment export success. Far EasTone previously backed the Taiwan-Japan co-production “18×2 Beyond Youthful Days,” which generated NT$560 million ($18.1 million) at the box office last year.
Whether the capital injection can elevate Taiwan’s content industry to compete with established Korean and Japanese studios remains uncertain. The funds face the challenge of developing commercially viable projects that resonate beyond regional audiences.
