RS aims for winner with live La Liga
Major music-entertainment company RS has set an ambitious target of Bt2 billion in accumulated revenue over three years from the new RS Sport La Liga pay-TV channel, which will commence live coverage of Spanish soccer this coming August.
nder the new service, RS has earmarked more than Bt1 million for acquiring the broadcasting rights of La Liga matches for the 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons, and for the development of transmission facilities, broadcasting production and marketing activities across the country.
Chief executive officer Surachai Chetchotisak said yesterday that to create a greater impact, the company had joined with BBTV’s Channel 7 and Total Access Communication (DTAC) for the transmission of all 380 Spanish league matches per season.
Twelve live La Liga games will be aired on Channel 7, while RS will offer weekly live coverage of the bulk of the games via its satellite-TV channel, 8 Infinity. DTAC will offer a live online broadcasting service of the matches on mobile devices.
RS chief operating officer Pornpan Techarungchaikul said subscribers must sign up for prepaid packages, priced at Bt100 a month, to access the service via satellite-TV-enabled sets and receivers of DTV and PSI Holding for the first of the three seasons.
“We are beginning with DTV and PSI Holding as initial strategic partners as their combined 3.5 million set-top boxes are already equipped with conditioned access [CA] to encrypted content,” Pornpan said. With this CA module, RS strongly believes it can get at least 350,000 subscribers in the first year of pay-TV operations.
Meanwhile, the company will discuss with other leading traders and distributors of satellite-TV sets and receivers – namely, Info-sat, iDeaSat, Thai Sat and Leo Sat, which represent about 50 per cent of the satellite-TV industry – to persuade them to sell CA receivers. This would also boost the number of new subscribers in the following years, she said.
RS expects to have 500,000 subscribers during the second season’s coverage, rising to 800,000 for the 2014-15 La Liga season.
The company targets an accumulated Bt2 billion in revenue from the La Liga venture, with 70 per cent coming from subscription fees, 20 per cent from sponsorship and the rest from broadcasting rights management with local operators.
Pornpan said the company expected to achieve this year’s target of Bt3.2 billion in overall revenue, up 20 per cent from last year, and to generate Bt5 billion next year.
Of this year’s revenue, 40-45 per cent will be driven by satellite-TV business.
