Thepchai returns to NMG with big plans in digital broadcast
Veteran print and broadcast journalist Thepchai Yong has returned to the Nation Multimedia Group with a brand-new mission - to build a full-scale English-language digital broadcasting system focusing on Myanmar, the Mekong region and the rest of Asean.
NMG chairman Suthichai Yoon said Thepchai, former editor of The Nation and NMG’s editor-in-chief, would spearhead this huge project, which will have “our convergence newsroom as one of the key foundations”.
Thepchai will be working closely with another key NMG executive, Pana Janviroj, who is in charge of the group’s plan to expand outside Thailand via different platforms and content.
“Our plan for Asean, apart from English-language digital broadcasting, is to launch an English-language newspaper in Myanmar as well as train staff there in the language,” Thepchai said. “We also have plans to enter other neighbouring countries over the next few years, which I think will be the most exciting period for broadcasters.
“It’s a great challenge for me and my team to put the NMG brand on the regional map.”
Thepchai added that he had great confidence in NMG’s new breed of broadcast journalists, especially after having watched their language skills and professionalism while he was at the Thai Public Broadcasting Service. He has just completed his term as director of Thai PBS.
A respected journalist, Thepchai took over as editor of The Nation after Suthichai stepped down. He also served as NMG’s editor-in-chief before taking up the challenge at
Thai PBS, once it was fully inaugurated as Thailand’s “public television channel”.
He said he hoped his long experience in print and broadcast journalism would be useful for NMG’s push to expand its regional boundaries, adding that his ambition was to get the group associated with the Asean Economic Community, which goes into effect in 2015.
Suthichai said Thepchai was returning to NMG at a time when the group’s performance was very satisfactory, buoyed by the successful launch of Krungthep Turakij TV and continued growth of Nation University.
The group’s president Duangkamol Chotana said all NMG publications – The Nation, Krungthep Turakij and Kom Chad Luek – were doing very well this year and that the group should meet its financial target for 2012, providing a great stepping-stone for efforts to find a foothold in the regional broadcasting arena.
Nation Broadcasting Corp president Adisak Limprungpatanakij said this was the perfect time for NMG to expand regionally, especially since NBC’s Nation Channel, Mango TV and Ranwangpai – which together provide comprehensive news and entertainment – helped establish NMG as a key player in the local broadcasting industry.
“As for NBC, the immense success of ‘Reya the Musical’ has given us strong motivation to invest in more stage productions next year. We are already in the process of deciding what shows we will put on in 2013,” Adisak said.
Sivaporn Chomsuwan, president of NINE, said his business unit had also stepped into the digital broadcasting industry with the introduction of KidZone channel on the heels of the great success of publishing the Thai edition of Steve Jobs’ biography.
