Workpoint lines up five big shows
WORKPOINT Entertainment is preparing at least five new big-format shows for its digital-TV schedule in the second half of the year, when advertising spending on television channels becomes more stable.
Chalakorn Panyashom, executive vice president for business television 2 and special projects, yesterday said he could disclose only two of the shows at this stage – “The Angel” Season 2 and “Let Me In Thailand”.
Through its subsidiary Flagship Entertainment, and in collaboration with Nok Air, “The Angel” will be back on Workpoint Creative TV in July.
Starting on July 12, the talent show will search for the best flight attendants for the budget airline as part of Workpoint Entertainment’s branded content strategy, he said.
The previous season was aired on Channel 3 last year.
“Let Me In Thailand”, meanwhile, is the local version of a South Korean top-rated reality-show franchise. The show is one of the most controversial offerings on Korea’s Mnet network, because its unique selling point is beauty makeovers via plastic surgery.
The original South Korean version of the show was dubbed into Thai and aired on Channel 5, run by the Army, last year.
“‘Let Me In Thailand’ will also debut in the second half,” Chalakorn said.
According to AGB Nielsen, Workpoint Creative TV is ranked No 3 in the television broadcasting business behind Channel 7 and Channel 3 in terms of audience share and audience ratings.
Phanya Nirunkul, chairman of Workpoint Entertainment, said his company focused on the needs of local audiences.
“Thai audiences prefer local programmes. There is no doubt that our big formats are able to respond to their needs and help our channel gain better TV ratings,” he said.
With its improving TV ratings, Chalakorn said Workpoint Creative TV had taken the opportunity to increase its advertising rate early this year – to about Bt35,000 per minute, from Bt28,000 last year.
After adding new programmes in the second half, he stressed that the channel had no intention to raise ad rates further, although discounting or bargaining might be more limited.
Workpoint Entertainment is also trying to control TV production costs in a bid to keep its profits healthy, said the executive.
He explained that the “Buddha of the World” Indian TV series was, for instance, a part of this strategy for the current quarter, as the cost of acquiring the foreign programme appeared to be lower than for in-house production of a drama series.
Workpoint Creative TV is expected to hit its revenue target of Bt2 billion for the year, he added.
