NBTC suspends two satellite TV stations
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TWO POLITICS-ORIENTED satellite TV stations - 24TV and Peace TV - were suspended by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) for allegedly breaching an agreement with the regulator as well as orders issued by the junta.
NBTC acting deputy secretary-general Sombat Leelapata said yesterday that NBTC’s Broadcasting Committee voted for both TV stations to be suspended for seven days for allegedly violating a pact with the NBTC and the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)’s announcements No 97/2557 and No 103/2557.
The NCPO notified NBTC to look into the matter. Upon checking, NBTC’s subcommittee overseeing broadcasting content and programming, led by Lt-General Peerapong Manakit, found that certain shows such as “Awakened”, “News Room” and “The Clear” on 24TV and “Mong Klai” on Peace TV caused confusion and misled people, thus creat?ing conflicts in society.
Sombat said his office would also send a notice to Thaicom, the provider of satellite TV network, to comply with the NBTC’s order.
Peace TV was previously known as the UDD channel, while 24TV was Asia Update. Both were among the 12 satellite TV stations that were suspended after the coup.
Separately, Sombat said the NBTC’s Broadcasting Committee had also given the green-light to three national providers of digital terrestrial network service, including the Royal Army, the MCOT and Thai Public Broadcasting Service (ThaiPBS), to install gap fillers in 45 sites across the country. Gap fillers or re-emitters help provide total access of digital terrestrial TV services to areas with poor reception conditions.
Installation of the TV gap fillers will begin next month and run until June next year, providing coverage to 90 per cent of all households in the country. Currently, terrestrial-based digital TV network service coverage is about 80 per cent.
