Thai TV gives up on digital, wants to return licences

Thai TV submitted its written request yesterday – the deadline for payment of the second instalment of licence fees.
The firm’s news channel is called Thai TV while the other station is named Loca family channel.
The NBTC had received Bt8.4 billion from 22 of the 24 digital TV licensees as of yesterday.
Natee Sukonrat, chairman of the NBTC’s broadcasting committee, said his panel’s legal experts would be asked to look into the Thai TV request.
An NBTC source said it would call a meeting with Thai TV tomorrow to inform the company of the consequences if it insisted on surrendering the licences.
According to the rules set up before the auction of digital TV licences in late 2013, the bid winners have to continue paying the licence up-front fees in instalments until the full amount is settled, otherwise the regulator will exercise its right to cash in the bank guarantees deposited at the time.
Thai TV claimed in its written notice to the NBTC that the commission had failed to conduct a smooth transition from analog to digital TV in accordance with rules and regulations. This had resulted in the inability of many viewers to access terrestrial based digital channels, causing a serious revenue impact on TV stations.
The company wants to stop broadcasting its digital TV channels within 15 days from the date the NBTC receives the written notice.
Thai TV also informed the NBTC that the company did not need any remedial measure, but reserved the right to claim compensation from the commission.
The letter was signed by Pantipa Sakulchai, chairwoman of Thai TV.
Thai TV had insisted all along that it refused to pay this year’s instalment, as the regulator should be held responsible for damages because of its inability to implement the transition properly.
Thai TV bid Bt1.33 billion at the auction and paid the first instalment of Bt220 million for the news channel. It bid Bt648 million and paid Bt120 million for the children’s channel. The second instalments due yesterday were for Bt176 million and Bt92 million.
According to the NBTC’s rules, failure to pay the fees on schedule results in 7.5-per-cent interest on the unpaid amount.
Tawatchai Jitpanan, a member of the broadcasting committee, said Thai TV should have resorted to other methods to solve its financial problems, such as leasing up to 40 per cent of total airtime to other content providers.
Industry sources said the firm had also attempted to sell the Loca channel to investors, but no deal had been reached yet.