TV operators aim to grow high-definition market

HD services are expected to play a key role in the satellite TV industry in a couple of years as customer demand for high-definition content and TV sets continues to grow, an official from TrueVisions said. So far, up to 5 million households own HD TV sets.

"We are focusing our strategy on HD services for the next couple of years," Suphachai Chearavanont, chief executive officer of TrueVisions, said at the recent launching of the new HD Plus Smart set-top box.

With this technology, TrueVisions is also hoping to increase the number of premium subscribers, which has been stagnant at 450,000 to 500,000 for several years. It hopes that this will attract additional revenue from value-added services, like e-commerce, interactive content and advertising. Another key objective is to lure free-view customers to upgrade to premium packages.

TrueVisions currently provides 11 HD channels - Reality, HBO, TrueSport 1 and 2, National Geographic, Discovery, Star Movies, Fox Family Movies, AXN, KMTV and IConcerts - to customers who pay for Platinum, Gold and Silver packages.

TrueVisions managing director Thiti Nantapastsri said the company had already enhanced its existing satellite transponders on the Thaicom 5 satellite and would provide HD services via this platform next year. He added that Thaicom 5's transponder slots, so far, were insufficient for operators who wanted to use the available ones for HD services.

"So the hope of using a new Thaicom satellite seems to be the key focus of all players, including us," he said.

Thaicom reported that an HD system was needed by local broadcasters because satellite TV operators were focusing more on quality and efficiency in order to prepare its HD viewers base for Thaicom 6, which will be launched in 2013.

In the fourth quarter, DTV will launch its first HD TV programming and will develop and deploy an HD satellite receiver by introducing three or four new standard-definition TV programmes on its platform.

Thailand's leading music and entertainment company GMM Grammy is also seizing this opportunity by setting up 1 Sky Multimedia to provide satellite broadcasting services via its "1 Sky" set-top box, which will be launched in November.

Paiboon Damrongchaitham, chairman of GMM Grammy, said high-definition broadcasting was a pillar of the 1 Sky platform and the company aims to sell its Genius HD set-top box for Bt2,500 next year and launch six HD channels in 2013.

Pornpan Techarungchaikul, chief operating officer for RS, told The Nation that the company has ready met the HD standard of production. RS currently runs four satellite-television stations: Sabaidee TV, You Channel, Channel 8 Infinity and YAAK TV.

She added that once the Thaicom 6 satellite is launched, HD technology would allow satellite TV operators to provide more HD content at affordable prices.

However, Niphon Naksompop, chairman of Satellite Television Association (Thailand), said it was too early to tell if HD TV would play a key role in satellite and cable TV business because limitations like small audiences, low penetration of HD compatible receptors, higher transponder service fees and high production costs still existed.

He said HD TV might end up being maintained as a niche market for premium customers if advertising revenue in satellite television remained low.