Viewers in suspense as Euro talks drag on

True Group chief executive officer Suphachai Chearavanont and GMM chairman Paiboon Damrongchaitham had yet to finish negotiations via mobile phone, but a source at TrueVisions said they expected “good news” for TrueVisions viewers. The talks included a possible barter deal between the two companies.

The parties were striving to finish the talks before the first match was to kick off at 11pm last night, the source said.  

A statement from TrueVisions later said negotiations are expected to be concluded by Tuesday.

Sources said GMM is worried that its set-top boxes would become redundant and sales would be affected if TrueVisions subscribers can view the Euro matches via their existing TrueVisions set-top boxes.

Major pay-TV operator TrueVisions on May 31 said its subscribers were confused about whether they could view the tournament matches live on channels 3, 5 and 9 via their set-top boxes, through which they can normally view all free-TV channels’ programmes. The tournament started yesterday and ends on July 2.

GMM Grammy’s content provider, GMM Z, holds the rights to broadcast the tournament in Thailand. The broadcast can be accessed only by those who own its set-top boxes, a conventional TV antenna or a satellite dish of its partner, DTV Service. Subscribers of local cable-TV operators that are members of Cable Thai Holding (CTH) can also view the matches. Those who view free TV via other equipment will see their TV screen go blank during the matches.

TrueVisions asked the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to look into the matter. The watchdog then ordered TrueVisions to enable its subscribers to view free-TV programmes carried as part of its paid service on the usual basis.

TrueVisions and GMM had been in talks on a possible collaboration using Grammy’s Euro tournament broadcasting rights in the past month, but they could not reach a deal.

TrueVisions has around 2 million household subscribers out of the total 20 million households in Thailand. Most of its subscribers are medium- to high-income people, which are the target audiences for the Euro tournament. 

The head of the Foundation for Consumers, Saree Ongsomwang, yesterday submitted a letter to the NBTC seeking to protect the rights of satellite TV viewers who are not TrueVisions subscribers, saying they should also be able to view the matches. She said these viewers account for 50 per cent of the total viewership in Thailand. NBTC broadcasting committee chairman Natee Sukonrat said he would forward the case to be considered by his board next week.

While NBTC can call in representatives of TrueVisions and the free-TV operators to seek ways out of the problem, as they fall under its regulations, it cannot call in GMM Z or satellite-dish providers for talks.

The NBTC, which has only been operating for six months, speedily issued regulations to put the broadcasting sector in order. Cable and satellite TV operators flourished in the several years before the NBTC was established. 

 Demand for TV antennas has spiked ahead of Euro 2012. Samart Engineering, a major manufacturer and distributor of antennas and satellite receivers, which has sold 300,000 antennas over the past three months.