Operators back NBTC option to defer upfront licence fee payments

The latest move by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission was in response to a request from the Office of the Permanent Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office that its broadcasting committee seek ways to help ailing digital-TV operators.
Kematat Paladesh, president of Bangkok Media and Broadcasting – the operator of PPTV – said yesterday that he supported the fee-postponement option put forward by the NBTC’s broadcasting panel, as all digital-TV channel operators, ranging from small to large companies, would benefit equally amid the ongoing economic slowdown.
“We welcome this constructive move in supporting the media and content industry to grow,” he added.
PPTV channel was among eight digital-TV broadcasters that had jointly lodged a letter to the Office of the Permanent Secretary of the PM’s Office seeking financial assistance for a revision of the licence-payment regime, the other seven being One 31, GMM 25, Bright TV, Nation TV, Now 26, Thairath TV and Springnews TV.
According to the NBTC’s broadcasting panel, under the first option, the committee would postpone outstanding payment schedules for upfront licence fees, as long as the government believed that this would not affect state finances significantly.
Under its current rules, the NBTC must transfer all of the fees it collects from this source to the state.
If the Cabinet agreed to this option, it would need to grant official permission to the regulatory body to amend its rules – and should do so before the fourth fee instalment is due next May. The holders of licences to broadcast on digital-TV channels are currently required to pay the upfront fee in six instalments.
Kematat said it seemed that this option would have a greater beneficial impact on the whole industry than the second one, under which the payment schedules would remain unchanged.
However, under the second option, after the broadcasting committee transferred each payment to the state, the government would instruct its agencies to allocate sums from their public-relations budgets for the 22 digital-TV channels, with the total amount spent on each channel being equal to its licence-fee instalment.
Adisak Limparungpatanakij, chief executive officer of Nation Broadcasting Corp – the operator of Nation TV digital news channel – said he disagreed with the second approach because the budget allocation by government agencies was quite complicated when it came to spending for PR and communications purposes.
Surin Krittayaphonphun, vice president of Bangkok Entertainment Company – the operator of Channel 3 – said advertising expenditure allocated by the government sector for this purpose might be questioned by the public on fairness and transparency grounds, as it would be difficult for the government agencies to ensure that the amount spent on each channel would be on a par with the licence-fee instalments the broadcasters were required to pay.
Both Adisak and Surin expressed their support for the first option.
In another development, local cable- and satellite-TV operators are also seeking financial assistance from the NBTC.