Cable, satellite TVs can continue CH3 analog programmes
On Monday, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission will clarify details of the junta's edict to allow cable and satellite TV operators to continue carrying Channel 3's analog programmes after the deadline to drop the channel on Septemb
This clarification is expected to authorise cable and satellite TV operators to continue broadcasting Channel 3 programmes.
Under the NBTC’s “must carry” rule, Channel 3, a terrestrial-based analog channel run by Bangkok Entertainment Company (BEC), was no longer included in the definition of “free TV”, which now covered only terrestrial-based digital channels, not analog stations. As a result, cable and satellite TV operators had no obligation to carry Channel 3’s programmes any more.
If analog operators wanted to provide their content via cable or satellite, they were allowed to simulcast their analog programmes over their digital channels. Channel 7 and MCOT’s Modernine TV now do such simulcasts, but Channel 3 has not done so.
Early this month, BEC petitioned the military’s ruling National Council for Peace and Order, calling for permission for cable and satellite TV operators to continue carrying Channel 3 programmes after September 1 to avoid denying the channel to the 70 per cent of households who watch free TV via cable or satellite.
In May, BEC had also petitioned the Central Administrative Court to ban the new definition of “free TV” and issue a temporary injunction against it. The court accepted the case for consideration but rejected the request for the injunction.
Though the junta’s intervention will ensure audiences can still access Channel 3 via cable or satellite, they might have difficulty finding it, because of the NBTC’s new regulations governing channel-numbering arrangement.
Under the new rules, cable and satellite TV operators must reserve Channels 1 to 36 for digital stations, the first 12 for public channels, followed by 24 commercial stations. Channels higher than 36 can be arranged as the operators see fit.
“This means that if they want to add analog Channel 3, they must place it after all the digital channels. It will be inconvenient for customers to find Channel 3 on different platforms,” the source said.
