NBTC panel votes in favour of Ch 3 simulcast
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The five-member national broadcasting committee yesterday voted 3:2 in favour of terrestrial digital-TV operator BEC-Multimedia being able to air full analogue programming of Channel 3 on its digital channel, and that it would still be regarded as operati
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission panel also asked BEC-Multimedia to submit new programming for its consideration when Channel 3 operator Bangkok Entertainment Co (BEC) simulcasts content on the channel.
Broadcasting commissioner Supinya Klangnarong, who voted in favour, said the committee would then consider whether BEC-Multimedia’s new programming complied with the NBTC’s conditions for granting a digital-TV broadcasting licence.
If the company proposed buying all BEC’s analogue programmes for simulcasting on its channel, the committee would still consider that BEC-Multimedia had full control over its channel, she said.
However, broadcasting committee chairman Natee Sukonrat, who voted against the move, raised concern that if BEC-Multimedia’s entire content were 100 per cent produced by BEC, it could risk violating Article 43 of 2010 Frequency Allocation Act, which states that the spectrum licence holder cannot transfer its spectrum ownership to other parties.
It might also risk breaching the NBTC rule, which obliges the licence holder to produce at least 60 per cent of TV programming on its own, he said.
Natee added that he had been told of these potential issues after consulting with his legal adviser, Sawat Chotpanich, a former president of the Supreme Court.
Supinya said the committee had focused on whether BEC-Multimedia would have full control over its own channel, instead of on whether the company and its sister business were the same entity.
The broadcasting committee has explored several options in trying to convince BEC to simulcast its analogue programmes on BEC-Multimedia’s digital Channel 33.
