THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Host of challenges facing TV broadcasters 

Host of challenges facing TV broadcasters 

THEY MUST ADJUST TO A CHANGING  MEDIA LANDSCAPE, NEW REGULATIONS, RATING SYSTEMS 

FORGET ABOUT whether last year's results were good or bad - the television broadcasting industry is expected to experience multiple sets of challenges throughout 2017, ranging from the changed media landscape and the revision of regulations to a dilemma in regard to TV rating systems.
Good news for the early part of the year might come, however, in the form of some advertising budgets that were postponed from the final quarter of last year, perhaps being activated during the current quarter. 
Triluj Navamarat, chairman of the Media Agency Association of Thailand, said the prospects for the sector looked better this year, mainly thanks to government stimulus packages and a less tense political situation. 
Pornpan Techarungchaikul, chief operating officer of entertainment giant RS, holds a similar view, believing that there will be a gradual recovery in the economic situation in the current quarter, resulting in brands and corporates gaining confidence and spending more on advertising. 
The growth of ad expenditure normally reflects the country's economic expansion, and the Bank of Thailand has forecast 3.2-per-cent growth in gross domestic product for 2017. 
Malee Kittipongpisal, chief executive officer of Initiative - the media buying and planning arm of IPG Mediabrands - said the advertising industry expected to see growth of around 3-4 per cent this year. 
With the TV industry representing more than 60 per cent of overall advertising expenditure, TV broadcasters and content providers agreed that "content is always king", the CEO said.

Quality content rules 
amid rapid change
Despite rapid change in the media landscape, quality content is still able to travel effectively through different media platforms, ranging from traditional TV screens to online channels such as YouTube, Facebook and other video-streaming services.
Workpoint TV station is a good example in this regard, as it is able to create high-quality content that draws high-traffic viewership to its TV screen and other digital platforms. 
"I Can See Your Voice Thailand" and "The Mask Singer" are the best-rated output from Workpoint Entertainment - operator of the channel - with the former gaining a highest rating of 6.49 points and the latter achieving its highest rating at 6.024 points, during prime-time evening viewing from 8pm to 10pm. 
Chalakorn Panyashom, chief operating officer of Workpoint TV, said the two game shows offered a unique viewing experience suited to local audience tastes. 
"Another key success factor is that we dare to try new things, like providing that content via Facebook Live to remind the audience to get updates about which TV shows are live." 
He added that this approach was able to bring more viewers back to the TV screen, thus increasing the channel's ratings. 
One31 digital-TV channel, the country's fifth-ranked station, also believes content quality must always come first, so that shows can make money via different windows. 
However, Dew Waratangtragoon, deputy CEO of One31, said revenue from live programmes via main screens (TV screens) should represent 80 per cent of total income at One31, with the rest coming from revenue-sharing with online media platforms like YouTube and Line TV. 
MCOT chief operating officer Soonthorn Areerak said his company was putting more emphasis on creating its own content, particularly documentaries, for broadcast via its own TV network and distribution to overseas markets through leading providers of video-on-demand service.

Regulatory changes
Changes in the laws and regulations related to broadcasting represent another challenge for the health of the TV industry. 
Last year, the military's ruling National Council for Peace and Order issued an order under Article 44 of the interim charter on relief measures for 22 commercial digital-TV broadcasters that had been affected by the sluggish economy and a major unexpected event in October. 
Under the order, the broadcasters are permitted to extend the payment period from three to six years for remaining instalments on their upfront licence fees. 
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission also introduced new sliding-scale schemes for annual licence-fee payments and another payment to contribute to the NBTC's research and development fund. 
Most important, however, the roles of the broadcasting regulator and related regulations are still unclear, particularly after the establishment of the Digital Economy and Society Ministry.

Dilemma over dual 
TV-rating systems 
Backed by Channel 7, Channel 8 and some media agencies, Nielsen Thailand is committed to expanding its media-research business to cover digital-content ratings across multiple platforms, on top of its existing service via traditional TV panels. 
Somwalee Limrachtamorn, managing director of the media-research giant's Thai unit, said the company expected a full set of data to be delivered to the industry by the end of this year. 
In the meantime, 14 TV broadcasters and 21 media agencies want another option and have given their support to the Media Research Development Association (MRDA) to hire UK-based Kantar Media to establish a new multi-platform TV-ratings measurement system. 
Wannee Ruttanaphon, vice president of the MRDA, said data distribution under Kantar's system would be ready for use in the third quarter. 
She also promised that the media-research results would be totally different from the data provided by the current system. 
Unfortunately, however, local advertising agencies and TV broadcasters will be still be required to subscribe to data both from Nielsen and the MRDA for a while, until a decision can be made on which system to use as "a single currency". 

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