NBTC hears ideas on aiding digital TV industry
At a meeting with key stakeholders in the terrestrial-based digital-TV industry yesterday, the broadcasting regulator heard that it should seek permission from the junta to issue 8 million more vouchers for digital receivers, so as to cover all 22.3 milli
Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), chaired the meeting as the head of a panel aiming to support struggling digital-TV broadcasters.
Apart from this initiative, Takorn said his administration would consider revising fee collections, primarily those for the NBTC’s research and development fund, ranging from 0.2 per cent to 2 per cent of total gross revenue.
He said that even though the NBTC did not collect such fee from all 24 holders of digital terrestrial TV licenses, the fee collection will not retroactive.
All 24 digital-TV licence holders sent representatives to yesterday’s meeting, along with other involved parties, to brainstorm with the broadcasting regulator to seek remedies for troubled broadcasters and come up with proposals to submit for the junta’s consideration by the end of February.
The NBTC had invited all 24 licence holders, the four providers of digital-TV transmission services, and representatives of the Finance Ministry, the Office of the Attorney-General, the Council of State and the banks that guaranteed the 24 broadcasters.
Adisak Limprungpatanakit, chief executive officer of Nation Broadcasting Corporation, operator of the Nation TV digital news station, said he welcomed the response from the NBTC and hoped that all of the suggestions raised by the broadcasters would be taken into consideration.
Kematat Paladesh, president of Bangkok Media and Broadcasting, the operator of PPTV, said the broadcasters had called for both financial and non-financial support for the whole industry. These included postponement of the third instalment of upfront licence fees scheduled for May 25, and assistance with the cost of cable and satellite TV transmission and new TV audience ratings.
They also want the reduction of the transmission-network leasing fees for broadcasters along with speeding up public relations activities to raise awareness about the new digital system.
The group also wants the deadline for redemption of digital-receiver subsidy coupons extended.
The NBTC has distributed the vouchers to 13.8 million households, and 8.6 million have been redeemed so far. But most of the distributed coupons have expired, so the NBTC should extend the opportunity for those who have coupons to use them until analog broadcasting comes to an end, the broadcasters said.
"The regulator should also issue about 8 million more vouchers so as to cover all 22.3 million households, including underprivileged and disabled people, with the subsidy programme," Kematat said.
One topic raised by Takorn was related to the desire of some operators to exit from the licence-based regime. For instance, Thai TV Co, operator of Thai TV digital news channel and MVTV Family channel, has said it wanted to leave the digital-TV business.
Suchat Chomkul, who appeared yesterday at the meeting as legal representative of Thai TV Co, reaffirmed that company president Pantipa Sakulchai wished to exit from this intensely competitive business to shift her focus to being a content provider for digital-TV channels.
