Single digital-TV network plan falls through as MCOT 'opts to go it alone'

The other three public digital-TV network providers, meanwhile, have their own individual network plans.

Early this year, MCOT, the Royal Thai Army’s TV5, the Public Relations Department (PRD) and Thai Public Broadcasting Service (ThaiPBS) expressed interest in the establishment of a consortium to run a single national network for digital terrestrial television on the existing facilities of ThaiPBS.

Such a consortium was expected to enable the four state-run media businesses to minimise their additional investment costs, which could reduce the network leasing fees that new digital-TV channel operators would be charged.

However, a source at MCOT told The Nation that its board committee had given the green light for the listed enterprise’s Bt1-billion plan to invest in and install new digital-TV transmitters at its broadcasting towers, which are currently used for analogue transmission.

This forms part of MCOT’s four-year Bt5-billion master plan for migration to the terrestrial digital-TV era. The investment amount was approved by the Cabinet a couple of months ago.

The MCOT source said the company would realise a profit from the investment within six operational years, while the coverage area would reach 95 per cent of 22 million households within two years.

Technically, one multiplexer can serve a maximum of six standard-definition (SD) and two high-definition (HD) channels.

MCOTs clients will have to pay Bt60 million as an annual digital-TV network-leasing fee for an SD channel, and Bt180 million per year for an HD channel.

If its digital-TV network is fully occupied, the company will be able to create income of about Bt720 million per year.

"On top of TV and radio broadcasting service, this revenue stream will be a key pillar for MCOT in the long run," the source added.

ThaiPBS plans

Meanwhile, given the intensely competitive environment, ThaiPBS, which positions itself as a non-profit provider for digital-TV network service, will offer sliding-scale fees to TV channel operators.

Mongkol Leelatham, deputy director-general of ThaiPBS, told The Nation that in the first year, a channel operator using the agency’s digital-TV network would be charged Bt2.6 million per month – totalling Bt31.2 million for the year – for an SD channel. The year’s charge for an HD channel will be Bt93.6 million.

From the second year, each channel operator must be charged Bt48 million a year for an SD channel and Bt144 million for an HD channel.

He said the first year’s fee had been set in accordance with the coverage area that ThaiPBS planned to manage in the period, following the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission’s regulations on the licensing of network providers.

Of its 39 main broadcasting towers, ThaiPBS is committed to installing its digital transmitters at 20 sites in the first year and to reach all sites by the end of the second year, he added.

Though the company has no intention of making a profit from its Bt900-million investment in digital-TV transmitters, it hopes that a return on investment will be witnessed within 15 operational years, said Mongkol, adding that the public organisation had already reserved the budget for this purpose last year.

He insisted that the new investment was not, therefore, a problem for ThaiPBS, which is funded to the tune of Bt2 billion from the government’s excise-duty coffers each year.

Meanwhile, the Army’s TV5 has earmarked about Bt1.7 billion for digital-TV network equipment. It expects a complete roll-out will cover all areas within two to three years.

The PRD has not, however, yet disclosed how much it will be investing in its own digital-TV network.

The network is likely to be used for 12 terrestrial digital channels for community-based service, and not for commercial broadcasting.