RS to go ahead with set-top box sales

Thailand’s broadcasting right holders for this summer’s Fifa World Cup were warned by the office of National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) on Monday that they would face a fine of up to Bt 17 million if they fail to allow all 64 matches from Brazil to be shown on free TV. To that, Surachai said he would wait for the court’s ruling before deciding on the company’s next step.

 “Our marketing process would go as planned. We’ll wait for the court’s ruling and until then we would not consider our next move. The matter is sub judice and we don’t want to speculate how the court would rule the case. But, we can’t wait. We have to do our business,” said Surachai.

Meanwhile, RS brought in four big names - Coca-Cola Thailand, Chang, AIS 3G 2100 and PTT Group - to co-sponsor the broadcast of World Cup 2014. The company said it will generate over Bt650 million from broadcasting the major tournament, which is a top attraction of Thai soccer fans, who will be entertained with some exclusive content produced by RS.

In 2010, RS were successful in broadcasting the Fifa World Cup in South Africa and earned the trust of major companies in Thailand who are delighted to be sponsors for this year’s broadcast, Surachai said. 

Surapol Utintu, executive director of Thai Beverage Marketing, said Chang has always been a broadcasting sponsor of the World Cup and would come up with ‘Chang World of Football’ campaign very soon.