Rule on channel numbering approved
Play
The broadcasting regulator yesterday approved a draft rule for re-sequencing digital terrestrial TV channel numbers on cable and satellite TV despite opposition from leading cable-sat operators.
The rule will go into effect if approved by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission at its December 17 meeting.
Sombat Leetapata, acting deputy secretary-general of the NBTC, said yesterday that this move would make it easier for everyone to remember channel numbers, as 1-36 must be reserved for digital TV on all cable and satellite platforms, similar to terrestrial-TV set-top boxes.
According to the rule approved yesterday by the NBTC’s broadcasting committee, the first 12 numbers will be set aside for public service channels and 13-36 for the 24 commercial channels.
However, major cable-sat providers such as TrueVisions, CTH, PSI Holdings and IPM TV have claimed that the rule is unfair to them.
During last month’s public hearing on this draft rule, those cable-sat firms insisted that the current arrangement was good enough, as they could choose which channels to show on the first 10 slots, while 10-46 were used by the free digital channels.
Carrying all digital terrestrial TV channels on their platforms was also expensive for them, they said.
Last month, Suphasorn Honchaiya, legal manager for TrueVisions Group, said this rule would be unfair to companies running pay-TV services, as they already had to spend a lot of money on broadcasting systems and software to include the digital channels in their programming.
TrueVisions had estimated the primary cost for carrying these channels at more than Bt1 billion a year, she said.
TrueVisions, the country’s largest subscription-based TV broadcaster, says this rule appears to be based on a double standard favouring free rather than pay TV.
The regulator should be promoting and supporting the free market without interfering or taking sides, Suphasorn said.
Supinya Klangnarong, chairwoman of the NBTC committee for consumer-rights protection, said that if this channel-numbering rule were in place along with the existing “must carry” rule, it would make it simpler for consumers to remember the channels.
