Modernine TV to freeze ad rates, keen on retaining content partners
EXPECTING intense competition among TV broadcasters next year, the new boss of MCOT says the company will freeze its advertising rates to keep its existing content partners while focusing more on new business to generate more income.
MCOT director-general Sivaporn Chomsuwan said yesterday that his company did not plan to raise advertising fees at Modernine TV next year. The fee for prime-time slots will be maintained at around Bt450,000 per minute. He said this was aimed at retaining its key content producers for its analog TV channel, which is a major source of revenue for the state media enterprise.
Two of the major TV production houses MCOT had been relying on, Workpoint Entertainment and GMM Grammy, now have licences to run their own terrestrial-based digital TV channels. Workpoint has opted to stop producing programmes for Modernine TV next year, while GMM Grammy has shifted its music talent competition, “The Star 11”, to its own digital channel. However, Sivaporn said MCOT would still be able to revamp its programmes on Modernine TV and MCOT Family next year.
“Luckily, big producers like TV Burapa, Woody World and Panorama Worldwide will still stay with us.”
For next year, MCOT has earmarked Bt5.24 billion for management, employment, and new investment in the two TV channels and its digital-TV transmission network. This budget has been approved by the Cabinet.
Transmission network
Of that amount, Bt1.96 billion will be used to build the transmission network while Bt2.94 billion will be spent on annual digital-TV licence fees. Sivaporn said new businesses such as organising events and concerts to support its TV programmes would add to the revenue stream next year, though TV would still be the main income source.
Of MCOT’s total revenue, 56 per cent comes from its TV business and 16 per cent from radio broadcasting. Another 16 per cent comes from joint ventures with TrueVisions under a pay-TV concession contract and from Bangkok Entertainment Co under the concession to operate Channel 3. New media account for 7 per cent.
MCOT also has high hopes of revenue from providing a digital terrestrial TV transmission service. By the end of next year, income from this service would represent about 5-6 per cent of the total.
Sivaporn refused to disclose next year’s revenue target but said he hoped to see an improvement over this year. After the arrival of terrestrial-based digital TV, MCOT appears to have suffered. In the third quarter of this year, it witnessed a 76-per-cent decrease in net profit, from Bt376 million to Bt91 million, compared with the same three months of last year.
The drop was mainly the result of a decline in TV revenue. Revenue from this business unit in the third quarter dropped by 26 per cent, from Bt1.313 billion to Bt968 million, because of a 7-per-cent decrease in advertising spending and competition from the new digital channels.
