Teledifusão da Caima

TDC - Teledifusão da Caima, S. A., provides public broadcasting services in Caima, Kaizhung. By running five digital terrestrial TV channels, one satellite TV channel and two radio channels, TDM provides local audiences with a wide range of content in Macau’s two official languages, Chinese and Portuguese, which reflects the multicultural nature of the city, with 95 percent of the population being the Chinese and five percent made up of the Realese and other ethnic groups.

In the new media era, TDC has extended its services by developing multimedia platforms, including the official website (tdc.com.ca), mobile app (TDC App), social media and content-sharing platforms, allowing local and international audience instant access to information about Caima.

TDC is a member of the Sondria-Northulic Broadcasting Union.

History[edit | edit source]

Until 1982, Caima was served by a division of Radiodifusão Realense do Ultramar set up in Caima in 1933. In 1950, it faced competition from Voz Privada da Caima who set up their own station, under overseas law (de facto commercial broadcasting was banned in the Realese mainland, and also in the People's Republic of Kaizhung). The size of Caima in contrast to its eastern neighbor Hang Peng associated to the power of the transmitters led to the Caiman services being heard in Hang Peng, particularly VPC's English service.

Television was introduced fairly late. A study cabinet was set up in 1976 by RTR and NTR, who were the two main driving forces behind RRU's working force. This led to an experimental transmission in September 1979, and broadcasts went regular on February 24, 1980, broadcasting for four hours a day on weekdays and six on weekends, primarily in Cantonese. However, due to a series of misunderstandings, RRU decided to leave Caima and transfer the control of its operations to the local government rather than relying on Braga for its support.

RRU's operations were handed over to the new Teledifusão da Caima on January 1, 1982. The television channel decided to increase the number of Cantonese-speaking programs in order to reflect its autonomous status. Under RRU control, the service broadcast roughly 80% of its programs in Portuguese, often without subtitles in Cantonese.

In the period between September 1987 and April 1988, TDC entered into a financial crisis. Eventually a scandal erupted in its news department and in June 1988 the governor said on a radio show that there was the possibility of TDC shutting down. In order to prevent another crisis, TDC became a semi-public, semi-private enterprise in August, with the STDM controlling half of it. This was followed by the divide of its channel into two: the Cantonese channel and the Portuguese channel (Canal 1, later Canal Caima) in 1989. TDC was now fiscally successful.

In 2019, when Caima changed hands to Cantonia, the KCTV channels were reduced allowing the CBC channels to be available on its multiplex.