Plan to develop Asean TV as Thailand's first international channel

Chairman Sorajak Kasemsuvan said that tomorrow new directors would hold their first board meeting to approve a new strategic plan to strengthen news programmes in Modernine TV and a programming revamp for its satellite TVs-MCOT1 and Asean TV.
Sorajak added that the change in Modernine TV must increase its viewer base as well as ratings so the company should invest more to support technology and equipment as well as employ new staff. Additionally, Asean TV would be developed into an international television channel to export Thai culture, music and entertainment content.
Meanwhile, vice chairman Chakraphan Yomchinda, who is also head of the news strategic planning team, said that under this plan, Modernine TV would have a new virtual studio equipped with the most advanced technology video wall by its partner Vizrt. New technology will allow news anchors to control graphic presentation from their iPads.
Chakraphan added that the new virtual studio would be used in April after a leasing agreement with Vizrt as the contract for current virtual studio used by Modernine TV expires by March.
“Though a new setting will cost about Bt60 million yearly, which is double the previous version, MCOT will seek four to five sponsors to cover the rising cost,” he added.
Apart from the new presentation, the company is planning to hire helicopters for news-gathering.
He believes that with this development, the company would achieve Bt2 billion profit this year, up from Bt1.6 billion last year.
In addition to the programming revamp at Asean TV, he said that this satellite TV channel would be developed into international channel, aiming to follow the model of public broadcasters abroad like China’s CCTV, Qatar’s al-Jazeera and the British Broadcasting Corporation. Its programming would span news, information, culture, music and entertainment.
MCOT is now discussing with leading political science faculties from Chulalongkorn and Thammasat University to design TV content to increase Thai people’s awareness and understanding of their neighbouring countries.
Currently, Asean TV is co-produced by MCOT and Nation Broadcasting Corporation to provide news and information regarding Southeast Asian countries. MCOT is responsible for providing transmission equipment, production and management as well as professional staff from modernine TV and the Thai News Agency. NBC has highly experienced and professional editors and reporters from The Nation newspaper on the news team.
Meanwhile MCOT 1 channel, which also screens re-run and special programmes via satellite TV, will be changed to public live broadcasting services similar to the model of Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN) in America.