How do you access your daily news and essential information? In Taiwan, the most popular news and content service is LINE TODAY, which is a LINE service provided in Taiwan. By offering a diverse range of content in real time from news and entertainment to sports, it has become an indispensable part of users' daily lives.

What is it about LINE TODAY that garners such widespread support? We spoke with Zoe from LINE Taiwan, who leads LINE TODAY, to discuss its appeal, popular content in Taiwan, and operational strategies.

What is LINE TODAY? ― a hub for news and diverse content

――To start, could you please provide an overview of the LINE TODAY service?

LINE TODAY is a news and content service launched in 2016. In collaboration with over 600 major media partners in Taiwan and abroad, it delivers the latest news on topics of users' interest in real time. Users can also enjoy content such as movie and television information, sports broadcasts, horoscopes, and more.

Another significant feature is that LINE TODAY produces its own original programs. Programs on international news, personal finance topics, and Taiwanese culture, as well as original variety shows featuring local celebrities, offer new approaches and content not found in other media.

Currently, LINE TODAY offers 20 categories, enabling users to access a wide range of information tailored to their interests. Each category offers unique features. For example, in the Movies category, users can check showtimes, rate movies, and leave comments. In the Gourmet category, users can not only browse recommended restaurant information, but they can also make reservations by connecting directly to the reservation system.

As you can see, LINE TODAY is committed to offering a mechanism that enables users to experience content in more interactive ways than just viewing.

LINE TODAY service page. Besides the Main, Recommendation, and Subscription tabs, it operates categories such as entertainment, domestic, international, lifestyle, good deals, finance, dramas, movies, anime, music, sports, NBA, Taiwanese professional baseball, video clips, health, horoscope, gourmet, travel, fashion, and trends.

――Indeed, a vast array of information is provided. How many people are using this service?

LINE TODAY currently has 18 million users, which accounts for about 78% of Taiwan's population. Besides LINE TODAY's LINE official account, categories with particularly high traffic have their own dedicated LINE official accounts, delivering a variety of content directly to users. The total number of registered friends across these LINE official accounts exceeds 28 million.

Each category has its own LINE official account. Sports, entertainment, and movies are popular categories.

――In Japan, there is a similar service called LINE NEWS. Why is it called LINE TODAY in Taiwan?

LINE TODAY aims to be a platform that provides users with a wide range of content, not just news. The name "LINE TODAY" reflects our commitment to delivering the news and information that users need today, enriching their daily lives.

As the name suggests, it has become routine for users to check essential daily information and content of their interest, such as earthquake and typhoon alerts and weather updates, on LINE TODAY. The platform has established itself as an indispensable source of information in the lives of people in Taiwan.

Popular content among Taiwanese users

――What kind of content is frequently viewed in Taiwan?

Taiwanese people have a strong interest in sports such as the NBA and Taiwanese professional baseball. As a result, sports news and live game broadcasts are widely viewed. In particular, Shohei Ohtani is extremely popular in Taiwan, and his game results, off-season activities, and even his Instagram posts are frequently featured on LINE TODAY. Articles about him receive a very high number of views and attract significant user attention.

Another example of very popular content on LINE TODAY is the live streaming of Taiwan's three major award ceremonies honoring TV programs and dramas, music, and movies: the Golden Bell Awards, the Golden Melody Awards, and the Golden Horse Awards. In addition to streaming the awards ceremonies, LINE TODAY offers content that can satisfy user needs, including related news, polls, reviews of works, and artist interviews. Every year, many users enjoy the awards ceremonies through LINE TODAY.

――So sports and entertainment are the popular content?

Yes, sports and entertainment are key categories for LINE TODAY. Additionally, news and content related to health and topics that have impact on their day-to-day lives are widely viewed.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, as misinformation about vaccines, treatments, and case numbers spread, traffic to fact-checking articles delivered on LINE TODAY surged by 400%. This demonstrates that people in Taiwan use LINE TODAY as a trusted source of information.

Baseball live streaming on LINE TODAY (left) and the popular Sports news tab (right)

Operational structure for effective content delivery and collaboration with other countries

――How do you manage operations to deliver the large volume of information to users?

LINE TODAY assigns dedicated content producers and editorial teams to each category to effectively deliver the vast amount of daily news and content. They engage in discussions every day on strategies for curating diverse content and providing users with more interactive content leveraging the service's features.

We also actively utilize AI in the Main and Recommendation tabs, as well as in the LINE app, to display customized information for each user. We combine human expertise with technological capabilities to deliver the most relevant information to users in a timely manner.

――LINE TODAY is offered in other countries and regions as well, isn't it?

Yes, LINE TODAY is available not only in Taiwan but also in Thailand and Hong Kong. While the service framework is largely the same, the popular content is different in Thailand and Hong Kong, so information tailored to fit the culture and interests of users is delivered in each region. We regularly exchange opinions with each other across the regions to share market-specific insights, successful initiatives, and challenges.

In particular, for topics that attract significant global attention, such as the U.S. presidential election, we brainstorm ideas on how to cover them in each country. These exchanges offer invaluable opportunities to gain insights for enhancing operations and making improvements in Taiwan.

――Is there anything else you keep in mind regarding operations?

To enhance the user experience, we constantly monitor user behavior closely. Daily active user count, time spent, and page views are all crucial KPIs for measuring the success of the service. Through these analyses and A/B testing, we gain insights into user behavior patterns and preferences in order to continuously optimize features and content management.

We also believe it is important to listen to the actual voices of users. We conduct user surveys especially when we consider new features or need opinions on specific topics. The feedback we receive from users is extremely valuable and serves as a guideline for improving our services.

As this service is used by the majority of people in Taiwan, we believe it is crucial to value user feedback and integrate it thoroughly into the service. Moving forward, we will continue to diligently gather information on what interests our users, aiming to make the service even more user-friendly.

To continue enriching users' daily lives

――Could you tell us about any planned updates or current initiatives?

First, to further develop our current service, we are considering adding more interactive social networking features than we currently offer. We plan to introduce features that allow users not only to view distributed news and content but also to communicate with each other and actively share their thoughts on them.

As a new initiative, we are also working on distributing paid content. In 2023, we collaborated with Taiwan's professional baseball league to offer paid streaming of games. From this year, we plan to expand paid streaming content in other fields. Just recently, we streamed a financial seminar as paid content, and it was a success with many participants.

――Lastly, could you tell us about the vision that LINE TODAY is aiming for?

LINE TODAY has catered to users' diverse needs by offering a wide range of content that spans domestic and international news, along with movie and music rankings, sports broadcasts, food recommendations, and educational articles. To remain a service trusted by users, it is crucial for LINE TODAY and each of its categories to continue delivering unique content and constantly update their features. By doing so, I believe we can grow into a more attractive and competitive service.

Furthermore, in the future, we would like to explore more opportunities for collaboration with LY Corporation in developing services, technologies, and content. I believe there are many areas where LINE Taiwan and LY Corporation can leverage each other's strengths. For instance, since baseball is popular in both Japan and Taiwan, I hope we can create unique features and special content together. It would be fantastic if we could further enrich both services. I'm really looking forward to it!

Interview date: November 11, 2024
*The affiliations and titles in the article are as of the time of the interview.