Media JV gears up for expansion
Aust-Thai broadcasting operator to cash in on liberalisation
Australian media company Austrar International Media Group (AIMG) has formed a joint venture with a Thai investor to operate a local broadcasting business and cash in on liberalisation of the sector after the appointment of members of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission.
China Austrar Media Group (Thailand), or CAMG (Thailand), is a 59:41 joint venture established last year by integrated media company AIMG, which is based in Melbourne and owned by media tycoon Tommy Jiang.
The Thai partner is Kobsak Chinawongwattana, executive director of President Country Club, a Thai golf-course operator, and Fibre to the Home, a fibre-optics-connection company.
AIMG operates several media platforms, from radio stations, weekly newspapers, lifestyle magazines, events, Internet radio and television to other Web-based services in many countries, including Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Brazil and Chile.
AIMG is also a business partner of China Radio International (CRI), a state-owned media operation in China.
CAMG (Thailand) chief executive officer Sakon Chiembangchong said yesterday that the company had budgeted Bt250 million for broadcasting-business expansion in the Kingdom.
In the first phase, after winning a two-year concession for the FM103 band, which is owned by the Army's radio communications department, the company spent Bt70 million on properties and office renovation to house the 103Likefm station, while another Bt50 million was for concession fees and research-and-development costs. Radio station 103Likefm is positioned as social-network radio, targeting 18-to-40-year-old listeners. It was officially launched in June.
Sakon said the company had al-ready realised about Bt20 million from key sponsors, including Advanced Info Service, Lion Corporation (Thailand) and Scotch bird's-nest beverages.
It expects to break even within the next two years, he added.
CAMG (Thailand) also plans to add more radio stations over the next year, with at least Bt60 million to be invested for concession-fee and operating costs.
Meanwhile, the company is preparing another Bt70 million for television production and Internet television business before launching its own satellite-TV station in 2013.
He said CRI was focusing on expansion in Southeast Asia and using Thailand as a strategic media hub for China to export entertainment and news content as well as other kinds of media platforms to the region.
