Opinions split on transfer of digital TV licences

"I totally disagree with this idea. It is not a part of the solution, but is going to create another problem. For example, a licence-holder might decide to transfer its licence to another party, but what about those companies that failed [to win a licence] in the digital-TV auction in late 2013?" said Surachai Chetchotisak, chief executive officer of leading music and entertainment company RS, the operator of Channel 8.

Channel 8 is currently ranked fourth in the broadcasting industry.

Moreover, instability in the broadcasting regulations would affect the accountability and credibility of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), he added.

Surin Krittiyaphonphun, executive vice president of Bangkok Entertainmant Co – the operator of Channel 3 – said the watchdog was supposed to prioritise its work, including building public awareness about digital-TV broadcasting service.

The NBTC should focus on regulating digital-TV operators with a view to providing a high-quality network, he said.

"It is impossible for all 24 digital terrestrial-TV operators to anticipate healthy growth in this flat-growth industry. There must be winners and losers, as this is a business," he added.

However, NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said yesterday that he would continue to press his idea about an amendment to the broadcasting regulations to allow a digital terrestrial-TV broadcaster facing business difficulty to transfer its rights to another potential operator.

He said that after discussions with the Bank of Thailand and other financial institutions, he was quite concerned about the possibility of rising non-performing loans among digital-TV operators.

The NBTC is now ready to propose to the head of the National Council for Peace and Order that it issue an order under Article 44 of the provisional constitution to amend Article 9 of the Radio and Television Broadcasting Business Act, and Article 43 of the Act on Organisation to Assign Radio Frequency and to Regulate the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Service, he explained.

At a seminar yesterday about the future of digital terrestrial-TV business in 2015 and 2016, a media federation and legal experts called for amendment of broadcasting regulations at large in order to help digital-TV operators stay healthy in business while the media sector was being reformed.

Jamnan Siritan Nunbhadi, president of the Radio and Television Broadcasting Professional Federation, acknowledged that problems would be faced during the national transition from analogue television to the digital terrestrial-TV broadcasting era.

She agreed with the idea to ease some of the broadcasting regulations to allow those TV broadcasters who faced financial difficulties in running their business to exit the sector by transferring their ownership to new potential broadcasters.

"Good broadcasting regulations must provide a chance for potential players to enter the industry. Thai TV Co might not be the last operator that decides to exit this business," Jamnan added.

Lawyer Taweedej Sengkaew suggested that all broadcasting-related laws should be amended to facilitate the survival of TV broadcasters in the current tough situation.

For example, broadcasters should be allowed to welcome more foreign investors, as in the telecommunications sector, where foreign interests are allowed to hold 49 per cent of a company’s shares.

Under the current law, foreign investors can hold no more than 25 per cent of a broadcaster’s stock.

"With this change, the TV broadcasting industry would possibly lure new investment for content development and further partnership," Taweedej suggested.

However, Kematat Paladesh, president of Bangkok Media and Broadcasting – operator of the PPTV digital-TV channel – said all new players in digital-TV business appeared to acknowledge that they would suffer losses in the first three to five years, before realising profits in later years.

Insufficient support

But he blamed insufficient backing from the NBTC as a key factor affecting the overall industry, citing what he said was a weak public-relations campaign on the regulator’s part in helping people gain a better understanding of digital-TV broadcasting service.

The establishment of a new national TV-audience meter also needs financial support from the NBTC, he added.

Torpong Selanon, a member of the digital transition subcommittee at the watchdog, acknowledged that the ongoing transition process was not progressing as had been planned.

Moreover, apart from a number of problems in the transition to digital broadcasting, there is the issue of a slowdown in advertising spending, said Wannee Ruttanaphon, chairman of IPG Mediabrands Thailand.

The industry expects to see a roughly 4-per-cent increase to Bt140 billion in advertising spending this year, she said.