Half of household TVs use antennas
Of 22 million households with a television set in Thailand, 49 per cent are watching terrestrial programmes (via traditional TV antennas), whilst 6.8 million (31 per cent) are equipped with satellite dishes.
About 2.3 million households (11 per cent) subscribe to local cable television networks, while 1.8 million (9 per cent) subscribe to TrueVisions, according to a Nielsen survey.
"The penetration of satellite and cable television in Thailand has grown from less than 10 per cent five years ago to a staggering 50 per cent," said Suresh Ramalingam, managing director of Nielsen Thailand.
"With more than 11 million households subscribed to either satellite or cable television, reaching the eyes of 44 per cent of Thai consumers, this media segment is no doubt a force to be reckoned with. And the ability to understand consumers’ television-viewing habits in this climate where there are more and more key players is increasingly critical for advertisers to plan their media buying."
The survey found that advertising spending on cable/satellite television has been growing in line with rising household penetration of this medium.
Advertising expenditure on cable/satellite television, one of the most lucrative media platforms, reached Bt715 million in May (excluding spending on TrueVisions). That was an increase of Bt21 million from the previous month, earning the medium the fourth-biggest share (4 per cent) of Thailand’s advertising baht behind radio (6 per cent). The biggest chunk still belongs to free-to-air television at Bt11.4 billion (70 per cent), followed by print at Bt3.2 billion (19 per cent).
Social-media analysis undertaken by Nielsen also highlighted an increase in online discussion forums related to the Uefa Euro 2012 in the lead-up to the soccer tournament. The massive volume of social-media posts related to Euro 2012 (26,675) in one month unquestionably dominates many other topical issues, including the French Open tennis tournament, the final episode of Thailand’s ghost soap opera, Lady Gaga’s concert in Bangkok, and the government’s reconciliation plans.
The Nielsen analysis revealed that many Thais were turning to social media to share their thoughts on the teams competing in this year’s Uefa event. From June 1- 12, England generated the most online discussion of the Euro 2012 teams (726 posts), followed by Spain (515) and Germany (421).
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