MCOT revamps news co-production to draw advertisers

The move is aimed at boosting the confidence of advertisers and marketers to spend more on advertising with the television station.

Yesterday news reporting by helicopter was launched as "Bird’s Eye News". A news studio will be equipped with 20-metre-long video wall. The cost of the makeover will be about Bt10 million a month, but MCOT will seek sponsorships to help defray it.

Chief executive officer Jessada Promjad said businesses had not yet recovered from the devastating flood in the fourth quarter of last year.

The company saw its first-quarter income falling below its target by 3-4 per cent after major advertisers, particularly Japanese companies with plants in flood-hit industrial estates, suspended their advertising until March.

MCOT will revise contracts with local production houses for news and entertainment programmes.

Nation Broadcasting Corporation’s contracts for the co-production of two weekday news programmes – "Chao Khao Khon Kon Khao Chao" (morning news talk) and "Khao Khon Kon Khao" (evening news talk) – will expire in June.

Modernine TV will welcome new partners for joint production. For instance, it is now considering the proposal of GMM Grammy’s production house, called "The News TV", to produce weekly news talk shows.

Kematat Paladesh, vice president for marketing, said the new news programmes would start airing in July, aimed at encouraging more expenditures by advertisers and sponsors.

To mark the 35th anniversary of MCOT and 60th anniversary of the television broadcasting industry, chairman Sorajak Kasensuvan said MCOT was ready to advance into digital TV. The company will take part in an auction for two classes of licences – facilities and services.

Jessada said the company would earmark at least Bt5 billion for those licences but would try to lower the budget by seeking partners to co-invest on network facilities and related equipment.