Workpoint delighted with results as popular game show 'comes home'

Vichanee Srisawat, chief marketing officer of Workpoint Entertainment, admitted ratings of the first episode of the show after the move were not quite as high at it had been getting on Channel 3.
“But the benefit was that our TV shows lined up before and after the flagship game show gained higher ratings than previously.”
The 25-year-old “Ching Roi Ching Lan” is one of the country’s longest-running TV shows. It premiered as a prime-time programme on Channel 7 on January 17, 1990. After that the show moved to TV5, which is run by the Army, and then Channel 3 before landing home at Workpoint TV.
“The rescheduling of the game show from Wednesday nights on TV5 to become a Sunday afternoon show at Channel 3 in 2012 was a remarkable change, expanding its viewer base, particularly the family audience,” Vichanee said.
In addition to the productive time-slot change, she said, the show kept improving in quality through consistent research and development to appeal to targeted audiences.
The fact that the drop in ratings was small after the switch from Channel 3 reflected the loyalty of its strong fan base, she added. And not only did viewers follow the show to its new home, long-time advertisers and clients did the same.
“We have maintained advertising rates for the show at Bt400,000 per minute, the same as we had at the previous TV outlet. Including discounts, the average advertising rate should be about Bt300,000 per minute.”
Seeing this positive momentum, Workpoint TV decided to increase its average advertising rate by 30 per cent to Bt40,000 per minute, from Bt30,000. The new rate is effective this month. The current rate of advertising utilisation is also satisfactory, at about 70-80 per cent of available airtime.
The advertising rate for a prime-time slot is now about Bt100,000 per minute. Vichanee believes the station still has room to increase the ad rates.
Workpoint Entertainment has estimated that its digital-TV business will generate more than Bt1.8 billion in revenue this year, driven by higher advertising rates and new programme line-ups. The company has prepared about 10 new drama series for the current second half and next year.
Apart from its own digital-TV business, Workpoint Entertainment provides TV-production support for “Thailand’s Got Talent” on Channel 3 and sells its own TV formats and dramas to broadcasters in Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar.
KGI Research has said that compared with its key rivals in the digital terrestrial TV business, Workpoint TV’s cost per rating point – that is, the value of advertising investment, based on estimated ad rates and audience ratings – is the lowest.