Siam Sport banks on digital TV licence, eyes sports sponsorship, ad spending

“We have been in the Thai sports industry for more than three decades. Sports-related business witnesses strong growth of 20-30 per cent each year, mainly driven by an increase in popularity among Thai sports fans,” said Pongsakdi Polanant, director and chief executive of Siam Sport Syndicate.

The Kingdom’s Bt14-billion business related to sports includes products and services, fitness centres, retail, manufacturing and construction. However, the figure excludes the market value involving international and local broadcasting rights related to key sports tournaments and leagues acquired by local content providers.

Pongsakdi pointed to the rights to broadcast live the English Premier League (EPL) from the current soccer season through to the 2015-16 season that were secured by CTH, a leading pay-TV operator. 

CTH spent more than Bt7 billion for acquiring the Thai rights for three consecutive seasons, while overall the EPL’s revenue from selling the broadcasting rights worldwide was expected to reach Bt53 billion.

Determined to capitalise on this trend, Siam Sport Syndicate has established a 50:50 joint-venture company, I-Sports Media, with Samart Corp, a leading information-technology business, to clinch a licence to operate a commercial digital TV channel in the auction in December.

Having already bought a bid document from the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission early this month, I-Sport Media targets joining the bidding for news channels and becoming the country’s first free-to-air sport-news digital TV station, he said.

“Entering the digital terrestrial TV era is a key turning point in the company’s three decades in business,” Pongsakdi stressed.

He believes that the company’s having won the broadcasting rights for the Thailand Premier League for three consecutive seasons will be the key killer content to attract its target audience to the coming new channel. 

The company will also use these developments to engage with soccer fans by organising a series of sport campaigns throughout the country, he added.

Given his firm’s experience in sports-oriented media, Pongsakdi said the new channel would produce 60-per-cent sports news, while the rest would be general entertainment programmes produced by its subsidiaries that operate entertainment and teen magazines. 

However, the CEO declined to comment on how much would be spent on the new channel. Under the business plan, the company hopes that its digital-TV business will break even within three years.

Last year, the company posted revenue of Bt2.4 billion, of which 60 per cent was from publishing business, 30 per cent from show business and 10 per cent from new business, including satellite TV and online services.

It hopes that thanks to the new digital channel, new business’ contribution will rise to 30 per cent by 2016.

“This would help the company reduce business risk from the decline in publishing and print business in the near future,” said the chief executive.