Bangkok Bank claims it needs permission from Thai TV to pay licence fees
Thai TV guarantor Bangkok Bank has said it is unable to pay the second instalment of the up-front fees for digital broadcasting licences to the regulator without permission from the customer.
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission has said it will ask the bank to cover the payment as it is Thai TV’s guarantor.
Werasak Sutantawiboon, executive vice president of BBL, said the bank believes the customer, Thai TV Co, will not allow the bank to pay the instalment because that would mean that Thai TV was in breach of the contract with the NBTC.
"So far we do believe the customer did no wrong and Thai TV and the regulator are jointly seeking a solution to the problem. As we know, the regulator is seeking others to operate with the licence from Thai TV and Thai TV will make this up to the audience by broadcasting its content via satellite," he said.
Even though Thai TV Co will stop digital broadcasting, it will still be a going concern, as its core business is magazines and it remains profitable, so the bank is not worrying about this company, he said.
So far, all of BBL’s digital-TV customers have been able to make their debt payments as usual, he said.
The bank believes the NBTC was ill-prepared for the introduction of terrestrial-based digital television, and this has hamstrung the revenue-making ability of digital TV broadcasters. However, it does not think this will result in non-performing loans because these clients’ collateral is adequate.
Before acting as a bank guarantor and giving out loans, BBL studied the digital-TV business. It is not easy to succeed in the first three years and not all of the 24 licensees will be able to survive, but customers that the bank guaranteed can go ahead with their business.
Chartsiri Sophonpanich, president of BBL, said the bank was not anxious about this case because it had assumed that the digital-TV business in the first three years would not be smooth.
"We don’t worry but we have to follow the development of this business," he said.
Meanwhile, Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the NBTC, said his administration would tell Bangkok Bank to honour its obligation to pay the Bt288-million second instalment of the up-front licence fees from Thai TV Co.
That company, which operates the Thai TV digital news channel and Loca family channel, has decided to give up its digital-TV business and has refused to pay the instalment.
After receiving written notice from the NBTC, Bangkok Bank is obligated to pay the instalments within 30 days.
Bangkok Bank agreed to guarantee the fees when Thai TV Co won the licences at auction in 2013.
