Network of Educational Television

The Network of Educational Television (, abbreviated as NETV) was the first television station in Taiwan under the National Education Archives of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of China. It is also a member of Taiwan Public Radio and Television Group China Television Corporation (China Television)'s predecessor. Educational Television is an experimental television station, and its viewing area was not wide, so it is not considered to be Taiwan's first television station by most books on the history of Taiwanese television. Strictly speaking, NETV is Taiwan's first non-commercial, purely educational experimental television station. CTS took its place, under the current CTS Main Channel.

Build-up
In 1956, during his tenure as Minister of Education, Zhang Qiyun, initiated the establishment of an educational television station.

By 1958, a significant development occurred when Liu Xianyun, Director of the National Educational Archives, envisioned using the seventh and eighth floors of a building in Taipei City to house the television station.

In August 1961, Minister of Education Huang Jilu proposed the establishment of an educational television station to the Yangmingshan Education Conference. The Yangmingshan Education Conference recommended it be established as soon as possible and requested the Executive Yuan to approve the plan to build it.

November 1961 marked a crucial turning point. The Ministry of Education partnered with the Institute of Electronic Engineering at National Chiao Tung University to create the television station. In the same month, as part of the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Society of Engineers, Taiwan's first experimental TV station was completed. However, it wasn't without its challenges. During the installation phase in Hsinchu, an incident led to a delay. Despite this, on November 6, 1961, preparations for installation and trial broadcasts were successfully completed.

In December 1961, the Ministry of Education meticulously outlined a phased development plan for the educational television station. Once granted approval by the Executive Yuan, the National Education Archives embarked on preparations for its establishment.

1960s
On January 1, 1962, the Educational Television Preparatory Office was inaugurated. Key figures involved in this crucial phase included  Liu Xianyun, Yu Runsheng, Wang Zhiheng, Li Hengyue, Li Baohe, Shen Xubu, Song Naihan, Yu Zuzhen, Yuan Jinxian, Zhang Naiwei, Fu Minzhong, Zhao Guanxian, Deng Changguo, and Liu Haochun . Consultants also played a vital role, including  Liu Jiajun, Lai Shunsheng, Long Mingdeng, Bu Lihui, Yin Zhiqiang, Wang Fuzhou, Li Jie, Li Ximou, Shen Jianhong, Zhou Tiangu, Zhou Hongtao, and Xu Nai . During this period, the Institute of Electronic Engineering at National Chiao Tung University and the private China Television Engineering Research Institute managed the engineering and program departments, respectively. Technical support was provided by the Kuang-Chi Cultural and Educational Audiovisual Program Service Company. Funding was allocated by the Executive Yuan US Aid Utilization Committee and the National Science Committee for Long-term Development.

As a significant step, on February 14, 1962, the Fourth National Education Conference was convened at the National Museum of Art. It marked the launch of the educational television and radio experimental station, utilizing a 100-watt television transmitter fabricated by teachers and students at the Institute of Electronic Engineering of National Chiao Tung University. This experimental station covered approximately 10 kilometers and operated on channel 3. Its program schedule emphasized comprehensiveness and enjoyment, with a primary objective of delivering social education, while experimental teaching programs constituted only 30%.

Fast-forward to December 1, 1963, when the Educational Television and Broadcasting Experimental Station underwent a significant transformation. It was renamed the Network of Educational Television and transitioned to a 1000-watt television transmitter, again crafted by the Institute of Electronic Engineering of National Chiao Tung University. The transmitting station found its perch atop Yuanshan Mountain in Taipei City, extending its coverage to approximately 50 kilometers. Viewing areas included Yingge Town, Tamsui Town, Yangmingshan, Xizhi Town, Xindian Town, and Muzha, all in a bid to enhance audio and video clarity. Plans were underway to establish eight additional relay stations across Taiwan, along with one branch station each in Hualien County and Taitung County. Each relay station would be equipped with relay equipment to broadcast main station programs, and each branch station would employ video equipment to relay these programs.

From February 14, 1962, to June 30, 1962, the Educational Television and Radio Experimental Station aired a two-hour program daily, commencing at 19:30 and concluding at 21:30. On July 1, 1962, it expanded its daily program duration to three hours, with broadcasts beginning at 19:00 and concluding at 22:00. Later on, it introduced changes to accommodate increased school teaching experimental programs. As a result, NETV started broadcasting teaching experimental programs from 13:30 to 14:30 daily and general programs from 19:00 to 21:00.

The spring of 1963 brought further advancements when NETV received subsidies from the National Science Committee for Long-term Development. It embarked on an experimental research project on television teaching in collaboration with National Chengchi University. Six Taipei City elementary schools were selected for the experiment, including Dongmen Elementary School, Fuxing Elementary School, Beijing Normal University Affiliated Elementary School, Girls' Elementary School, the primary school affiliated with the Normal University, the National Language Elementary School, and the Political Science University Elementary School. As a result, the educational television broadcast experimental station commenced broadcasting every Monday to Saturday at 12:50. In addition, broadcasts were scheduled for 10:00 p.m. and at 12:50 and 16:40 every Sunday due to the introduction of additional TV series.

Later years and replacement by CTS
Moving into the late 1960s, precisely in 1968, a proposal from Wang Sheng, Deputy Director of the General Political Operations Department of the Ministry of National Defense, paved the way for the creation of a third TV station. This proposition led to negotiations between the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Education, ultimately resulting in an agreement. On December 6, 1968, Minister of Defense Chiang Ching-kuo and Minister of Education Yan Zhenxing jointly approved the expansion of the educational television station into China Television. This decision was driven by several key needs:


 * 1) The extension of the Republic of China's national education to nine years highlighted the pressing issue of out-of-school youth. The Ministry of Education believed that by establishing a third TV station and creating a television network, it could conduct an air school to educate out-of-school youth effectively.
 * 2) The Republic of China's National Army had successfully implemented various educational and recreational initiatives over the years, such as patriotic education, in-camp remedial education, reserve soldier education, employment guidance and education for retired officers and soldiers. However, due to the dispersed locations of military units, finding teachers posed challenges. Thus, using television to unify teaching was seen as a means to achieve better results with less effort.
 * 3) The limited equipment and funds of the educational television and radio stations made it imperative to adapt and change to fulfill their cause effectively.

On February 16, 1970, the Executive Yuan made the momentous decision to invest NT$100 million in expanding the educational television and radio station into the China Culture Television Corporation, later renamed Chinese Television System (CTS). In May 1970, during the 117th Executive Yuan meeting, the establishment of China Television Station received official approval. Finally, on January 31, 1971, CTS was officially born. With the conclusion of the fifty-ninth school year on June 30, 1971, the educational television and radio station entered the annals of history.

Schedule example
A typical NETV schedule from Monday to Saturday since October 1, 1968:

The Sunday schedule went as follows: