Court urges Thai TV, NBTC to solve their dispute
Thai TV Co and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) should solve their dispute after the company sought an injunction against administrative orders from the watchdog, the Central Administrative Court suggested yesterday.
On June 30, Thai TV sued the broadcast regulator for Bt700 million in compensation for its alleged failures in overseeing the transition to digital terrestrial television.
Facing failure over the transition, the company refused to pay the remaining instalments of its up-front digital TV licence fees, amounting Bt1.6 billion, and the annual fees for its two digital licences because it wants to relinquish the licences for operating the Thai TV news channel and the Loca family channel.
Supinya Klangnarong, a commissioner of the NBTC’s Broadcasting Committee, said yesterday that the court suggested that negotiating would be a better way to attempt to solve this conflict after hearing from both sides.
Supinya said that Thai TV relinquishing its digital licences was not the solution to it unlocking the problem while her panel was pushing all digital TV network operators to expand their coverage as planned to make sure everyone would have access to digital TV broadcasting services.
She said the NBTC was also supporting and promoting public awareness of digital TV service.
Under existing broadcasting rules, she said a digital terrestrial TV operator was allowed to have content partners supply programmes for up to 40 per cent of their total content or about nine hours a day.
When seeking new business partner, operators could welcome new shareholders but mergers and acquisitions must comply with broadcasting regulations and be approved by the five-member Broadcasting Committee.
Suchat Chomkul, a legal representative for Thai TV, admitted that he was not aware of the partner-supply content and merger-and-acquisition options so he would discuss this with Pantipa Sakulchai, president of Thai TV.
Supinya added that her panel would invite Pantipa and her legal team to open a dialogue next week.
“However, in order to avoid a temporary suspension of the digital TV licences, Thai TV must submit a notice letter requesting an extension of the current deadline of the payments for the second instalment of the up-front licence and annual licence fees as soon as possible,” Supinya said.
The deadline is July 22.
