MCOT to rejig new talk show after ad income drops

Kematat Paladesh, vice president for marketing, said yesterday that the company planned to rejig the programme next month in a bid to boost advertising revenue.
However, the other new news talk show, “Kui Khamong Khao Chao”, the two-hour morning programme hosted by in-house anchors that replaced “Chao Khao Khon Kon Khao Chao”, has received good feedback from advertisers.
The two programmes, which started airing in July, replaced two produced by Nation Broadcasting Corporation.
Kematat said MCOT has no plan to raise its rates for commercials this year but will focus on improving its programmes to attract more viewers and sponsors, Kematat said.
MCOT has left its revenue target this year unchanged at Bt5.6 billion after recording revenue of Bt2.8 billion in the first six months.
The company believes in its second-half profitability even though net profit in the first half dropped by 8 per cent year on year.
“We have to boost revenue from organising activities such as entertainment and sports, while revenue from the radio and new media businesses remains to make an impression on us,” Kematat said.
MCOT plans to bid for two sports broadcasts, with the result expected to come out this month.
The company believes that it can grow faster than the overall TV industry, which is expected to expand by 3-5 per cent, but has to wait and see the situation this quarter because it is now the low season.
Free TV is facing ferocious competition from cable and satellite TV, which can siphon advertising revenue away. The company predicts that its viewer base will move to cable and satellite TV in this half of the year.
MCOT’s stock closed at Bt28.75 yesterday, down 0.86 per cent from last Friday.