NBTC panel approves lower fee for broadcast licences
The broadcasting committee of the national watchdog yesterday gave the nod to amended draft regulations for radio and TV broadcasting licences that would demand lower fees than originally proposed.
Natee Sukonrat, chairman of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) panel, said broadcasters with annual revenue of less than Bt5 million would pay a fee of 1.5 per cent of gross revenue, while those with higher income would pay 1.5 per cent on the first Bt5 million and 2 per cent on revenue above that amount.
In the original draft, the fee was to be a flat 2 per cent of gross revenue.
Broadcasters will pay the fees once a year, as opposed to twice yearly in the original draft. The amendments, which followed a recent public hearing on the first draft at which telecom firms said the 2-per-cent rate was too high, will soon be submitted for NBTC board approval before being published in the Royal Gazette.
The broadcasting committee has also completed draft regulations obligating terrestrial digital-TV broadcasters, satellite- and cable-TV operators and radio broadcasters to lease airtime to small players. The draft will be put before a public hearing soon.
The draft obliges broadcasters to allow other parties to lease airtime for offering programmes in a ratio of between 10 per cent and 25 per cent of a licence holder’s total airtime.
This is aimed at promoting the growth of small programme developers who cannot afford to bid for spectra to provide programming, Natee said.
The broadcasting panel last week approved a draft plan to divide |available radio spectra into national digital terrestrial broadcasting services for community-based purposes, public services and commercial use.
Under the plan, the NBTC will offer 12 standard-definition (SD) broadcasting channels for community-based service broadcasters per area and 12 SD channels for public-service broadcasters. Meanwhile, commercial broadcasters will be granted at least 24 channels, comprising 20 SD and four high-definition channels.
The licences for community-based, public-service-oriented digital-TV channels will be granted to those who meet the required qualifications by the end of this year, while commercial broadcasters will get to bid for the spectrum at an auction expected to be held next March.
