TV production houses may require licences
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Independent firms can fill up to 40% of digital channels' airtime
Under the licence-based regime, not only will television stations be governed by the broadcasting regulator, but production houses may also have to apply for licences as content providers.
“Each digital TV channel operator can allow independent houses to produce up to 40 per cent of total airtime slots,” Natee Sukonrat, chairman of the broadcast committee of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, said yesterday.
The committee is studying this issue as part of its attempt to regulate every aspect of the broadcasting industry, he said.
To ensure fairness across the board, next year the committee will draft a rule to govern local companies that want to produce programmes for digital TV channels. They would also come under the licence-based regime.
These producers would have to pay a licence fee of about 2 per cent of revenue plus 2 per cent for the NBTC’s research and development fund.
The panel sees that it will be important for the NBTC to be able to regulate this segment of the industry.
Topless painter
There have been many complaints in the past about content provided by production houses, such as the appearance of a topless painter in a “Thailand’s Got Talent” episode on Channel 3 last year.
That show was produced by Workpoint Entertainment, which was a content co-provider for the station.
In that case, Bangkok Entertainment Company, the operator of Channel 3, was fined Bt500,000 by the NBTC for showing a contestant painting on a canvas with her bare breasts and its failure to self-censor inappropriate content that was screened on a prime-time programme. The station had violated Article 37 of the Broadcasting Act.
The transition from analog to digital will present a huge opportunity for local content providers because there will be 48 new channels.
Besides production houses, the broadcasting watchdog will also regulate the Bt10-billion TV home-shopping industry next year through new licensing rules.
The industry directly involves product demonstrations, direct sales and electronic commercials. This is considerably different from normal formats such as news, documentaries, drama, and game and variety shows, so this type of TV channel must be categorised separately and regulated by separate rules.
