GMM Grammy lowers sales target

GMM Grammy, a leading music and entertainment company, is revising its sales and revenue targets for its 1-Sky set-top boxes after the flooding led to the postponement of the formal launch of the satellite TV product from this month to early next year.
Dew Waratangtagoon, managing director of GMM Broadcasting, told The Nation last week that the debut of its 1-Sky platform for satellite channels was originally set for November 11.
Now, GMM would conduct only roadshows to introduce its set-top box to its dealers in unaffected areas as its soft launch during this crisis.
Due to delayed marketing campaigns, the company is considering revising its sales target of 1.5 million set-top boxes and revenue of Bt2.5 billion as projected for the first year of operation.
In a press conference in September, Dew said the company expected that 3 million 1-Sky set-top boxes would be sold this year and 5 million next year, including other set-top boxes upgraded via its over-the-air software.
The 1 Sky set-top box will be offered in three models. The standard model will be available in November, with the platform allowing customers to access pay-per-view services as well as free-to-air channels for Bt1,500 per month per box.
“We believe that this natural disaster will lead to the weakening of purchasing power and consumer confidence in the first to second quarters of next year as the flood victims would need to tighten their belts for repairing their homes and property damaged by the flooding,” he said.
However, the company would still gain Bt700 million in revenues from its satellite TV channels this year, double last year’s result, he said.
GMM Grammy operates eight channels – Fan TV, Bang Channel, Green Channel, ACTS Channel, Play Channel, Money Channel, JKN (Japan Korea Network) and Saranair Channel. Most of them have reached the break-event point already.
Besides this crisis, the 1-Sky platform will face another big challenge after five local satellite dish manufacturers and traders – Infosat, iDeaSat, DynaSat, Thai Sat and Leo Sat – suspended their plan to sell 1-Sky set-top box because the profit-sharing conditions remain unsatisfactory.
Niran Tangpiroontham, managing director of Infosat and president of the Satellite Dish Club, said dish traders needed to revise their agreement with GMM Grammy to find the best solution to this problem.
Those resellers account for almost half of the dishes in the country.