Satellite TV broadcasters want freedom to choose digital
Major satellite TV stations are calling for the "must carry rule" to be revoked so that they can select which popular digital terrestrial TV channels they want to show.
They claim that the rule is unfair and costs them each at least Bt15 million a month to carry all of the new digital channels.
"Our members, namely IMPTV, PSI Holdings, Infosat Intertrade, IdeaSat, Thai Sat and Leo Sat, have come to an agreement on this issue. We will also discuss this with the broadcasting committee by next month," Manop Tokarnka, president of the Satellite TV Network Provider Club, told The Nation yesterday.
Satellite TV networks have been investing on developing their platforms for many years. However, after the implementation of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission’s must-carry rule, they had to shoulder extra costs to add those 27 new channels.
They also claimed that the rule was market intervention.
"Without the rule, each satellite TV network would have the right to negotiate with some commercial digital TV channels that their customers are interested in," he said.
However, the leading satellite TV stations will continue airing all 12 public digital channels including Thai PBS, TV5 and NBT, he said.
The Satellite TV Network Providers Club also expressed support for the recent decision of the NBTC to give them the freedom to assign the first 10 channels, to be followed by the 36 digital channels.
Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the NBTC, said on Wednesday that the new broadcasting rule to rearrange the numbering of digital terrestrial channels on cable and satellite TV would be postponed.
The broadcasting committee had wanted to implement the controversial channel-numbering rule to make channel numbers on cable/sat TV similar to those on other broadcast platforms. This would make it easier for everyone to remember channel numbers, as 1-36 would have had to be reserved for digital TV on all platforms.
Channels 1-12 would be allocated to public-service programmes, channels 13-15 to children’s and family programmes, channels 16-22 to news, channels 23-29 to standard-definition variety programmes and channels 30-36 to high-definition variety content.
Suphab Kleekachai, president of the Digital Terrestrial TV Business Club, said he would discuss this issue with other terrestrial-based digital TV broadcasters and what impact the postponement of the new rule would have.
"After meeting with our members, we will soon meet with the broadcasting regulator on the possibility of implementing the new rule," he said.
