Broadcasters get break on TV licence fee rates
THE NATIONAL Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission is expected today to extend a lifeline to struggling TV broadcasters by approving reduced rates for their annual licence fee.
“This is part of the plan to help the broadcasters survive the economic downturn,” Natee Sukonrat, chairman of the Broadcasting Committee under the NBTC, said yesterday.
The new rates will be effective soon, after publication in the Royal Gazette. They will be applicable to all types of broadcasters
The present rate is a fixed 2 per cent of gross revenue.
The new rate will be progressive, stepping up from 0.50 per cent for revenue up to Bt5 million, to 0.75 per cent for revenue between Bt5 million and Bt50 million, 1 per cent for revenue between Bt50 million and Bt500 million, 1.35 per cent for revenue between Bt500 million and Bt1 billion and 2 per cent |for revenue exceeding Bt1 billion.
Natee said the new rate might bite into the NBTC’s revenue, but it should help small and medium stations keep their heads above water amid the gloomy economic situation.
Last year, the NBTC collected about Bt580 million from broadcasters, including digital, satellite, pay and Internet Protocol TV operators.
About 70 per cent of broadcasters posted revenue lower than Bt5 million last year.
