RS sees revenue, profit drop

Though overall income in the first three months decreased slightly, the media and broadcasting business, particularly satellite TV units, continued to drive earnings, said chief financial officer Dam Nana.
Dam said media and broadcasting saw a 67.33-per-cent rise in revenue compared with the same period last year. Its four satellite TV channels – Sabaidee TV, YOU Channel, Channel 8 Infinity and YAAK TV– saw a 240-per-cent overall increase in revenue.
Sky High Network, which operates the Cool 93 Fahrenheit radio station in Bangkok and its affiliate in Chiang Mai, also witnessed 27.08-per-cent growth over last year’s level. Dam said the media and broadcasting business, including in-store media, accounted for 30 per cent of total income while the majority was from music content, both physical products and digital format, which is worth about Bt213 million.
In the second half, RS will emphasise sports content with the launch of its first pay-TV channel to broadcast live coverage of Spain’s La Liga soccer matches for the 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. The company has earmarked more than Bt1 billion to acquire the broadcasting rights and for the development of transmission facilities, production and marketing activities across the country.
RS expects 500,000 subscribers for 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 sponsorships and the rest for broadcasting rights for local operators.
Dam said the company expected to achieve this year’s target of Bt3.2 billion in overall revenue, up 20 per cent from last year.