Broadcasters plead for payment delay

The association, which represents 20 licence holders, also asked the NBTC to consider waiving the annual licence fees, which account for 2 per cent of their gross annual revenue. Moreover, it asked the commission to consider exempting them from the annual contribution to its research-and-development fund, which is also 2 per cent of gross revenue.

The ADTB said the delay in ushering the country into the digital TV era had affected its members’ operations. After spending massively on bidding for the licences, they could not go full-steam into generating revenue, facing many problems including the delay in issuance of coupons to help households buy digital receivers, the slow expansion of the digital transmission networks, and the political turmoil.

The NBTC awarded 24 terrestrial digital TV licences last year and the licence holders started operations in April this year. According to the original schedule, the regulator was to give away the subsidy coupons in June or July, but it was not until October that the first round of coupon distribution was made.

NBTC broadcasting committee member Thawatchai Jittrapanun said the panel would hold a meeting to consider these requests on Monday.

Last month the NBTC board approved in principle allowing the licence holders to delay the payment of the second instalment by one year and asked all of them to make a joint request on this issue to NBTC chairman Thares Punsri. Then the NBTC would forward the joint statement to be considered by the Finance Ministry.