TrueVisions to offer options in lieu of EPL
Pay-TV operator TrueVisions would provide customers with many options to choose from to make up for the loss of the English Premier League (EPL), True Corp chief executive officer Suphachai Chearavanont has said.
"TrueVisions customers can still enjoy the EPL matches until next May and after that we’ll have many options for our customers to choose from as substitute for EPL," he told The Nation. However, he declined to elaborate, adding that he had to wait for the dust to settle.
"As a business, we’ll try our best to satisfy and retain our customers," Suphachai said.
According to Krungthep Turakij Television, Dhanin Chearavanont, chairman of Charoen Pokphand group, which is True Corp’s parent, said it was sad TrueVisions failed to clinch the EPL rights but TrueVisions would do its best to find other content to satisfy subscribers.
Last week, Cable Thai Holding (CTH) surprised EPL market observers by beating its rivals, including the existing EPL rights holder TrueVisions, to snatch the broadcasting rights for the EPL in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos for three seasons starting from 2013-14 to 2015-16.
TrueVisions’ three-year right to broadcast the Premier League matches will end next May. TrueVisions is estimated to have spent about Bt7 billion a year on purchasing all programmes. It is estimated to gain advertising revenue of Bt200 million from the EPL telecast this year and made Bt100 million last year.
According to some brokerage houses, TrueVisions faced the risk of losing high-end subscribers to local rivals after losing the EPL rights, which could affect True group’s revenue performance next year.
Last week, TrueVisions said that it would allocate more budget to acquire more sports and entertainment content to serve subscribers. It would adjust its strategy to maintain business stability in the short term and long term and develop other programmes to replace the EPL matches.
According to True Corp’s filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, TrueVisions’ service revenue in the third quarter increased by 6.3 per cent year-on-year to Bt2.6 billion, driven by a warm response to Academy Fantasia Season 9, The Voice Thailand, and advertising revenue growth supported by the EPL matches and Academy Fantasia. TrueVisions subscribers rose to 1.79 million during the quarter.
The EPL has been TrueVision’s "magnet" for many years that has drawn subscribers. The company still has the broadcasting rights for the Uefa Champions League from 2012 to 2015. But RS has secured rights to broadcast the Spanish La Liga 2012-2014 seasons, while GMM Grammy has acquired the broadcasting rights for major soccer matches, such as Germany’s Bundesliga in a three-year deal covering the 2012 to 2015 seasons.
