Although first proposed in 1980, it was not until 1984 that the executive-level Government Information Office (GIO), which regulates mass media activities and serves as the government press bureau, attempted to create a separate entity that would produce public interest programs for broadcast on the then-existing three terrestrial networks.

It was not until the early 1990s, following the lifting of martial law, that legislative efforts striving to create a public television station emerged in earnest.

After much political wrangling and outcries over public and private resources used in lobbying and advocacy efforts, the final statutes creating PTS were enacted in 1997.

[1] In 2006, The Legislative Yuan completed the third reading and approved the Statute Regarding the Disposition of Government Shareholdings in the Terrestrial Television Industry, paving the road for Taiwan Broadcasting System (TBS).

[2] In 2020 the Taiwanese Ministry of Culture announced that they would be providing PTS with funding to produce English language programming.