Euro 2012 revitalises demand for TV antennas

This is thanks to the Euro 2012 soccer season from June 8 to July 1, when fans will only be able to view the matches with conventional antennas or GMM Z’s set-top boxes. That satellite-TV subsidiary of GMM Grammy and its partner TV3 will broadcast the event.

This has presented a good business opportunity to Samart Engineering, a major manufacturer and distributor of antennas and satellite receivers. Managing director Thawee Udomkitchote said that so far this year the company had received orders from its dealers for about a million rooftop and TV-top antennas for those who want to watch the Uefa European Football Championship.

Last year the company made Bt1 billion in revenue, mostly from producing 600,000 GMM Z satellite TV set-top boxes.

GMM has raised its sales target for the boxes this year to about 2 million units, up from the previous target of 1.5 million. About 60,000 boxes were sold early this year.

Samart Engineering targets Bt500 million in revenue this year, of which Bt200 million would be from the television antennas, and about Bt200 million from producing automatic meter readers for the Provincial Electricity Authority.