The Nation Group has launched Southeast Asia's first local
language, 24-hour news channel, signaling a new era in regional
broadcasting.
Initially The Nation Channel will be available only on cable operator
United Broadcasting Corporation's (UBC) channel 8 to customers who opt
for its premium service.
English news service editor Laurent Malespine said programming was meant
to serve both local Thais and the expatriate community living in
Thailand.
"The short term objective is to build a reliable 24-hour news channel in
the local language.
"Most of the sponsors are foreign companies and we need to serve their
needs as well."
Because of a law banning advertising on Thai cable television, UBC can
only seek corporate sponsorship.
This means that Thai television news presenters are regularly submerged
in a sea of logos with many analysts arguing that commercials would be
better.
"For reasons of credibility, we will have to be more refined than that,
such as showing sponsors' logos discretely in the corner of the screen,"
Malespine said.
Fees of annual sponsorship packages will be as high as five million baht
(US$128,205).
The break even point for the Nation Channel has been set at 120 million
baht, and 30 per cent of that total has been pledged for the first
year.
Malespine said start up costs have exceeded 100 million baht and over
200 new staff have been added, 100 for news alone.
The Nation Channel will broadcast news in Thai every hour on the hour
and in English on the half-hour. It will try to keep costs in line by
relying heavily on news teams from the company's two flagship
newspapers, The Nation and Krungthep Thurkij.
The Nation group will also launch Thailand.com, with an eye on paving
the way for the convergence of Internet with television.
"The plan for the long term could be merging television with the
Internet, that will lead to digital television or webcast programming
over the Internet," Malespine said.
The Nation Group is also trying to sell its 16 per cent stake in the
country's first independent station, iTV, to the powerful Shin
Group.
The move has been heavily criticised in local media because Shin Group
is majority-owned by political heavyweight Thaksin Shinawatra, leader of
the Thai Rak Thai Party, who is sparring to become prime minister in the
next parliamentary election.
Analysts are concerned the party will use the station to promote
political ambitions or edit out content critical of Thai Rak Thai.
Recently Thailand's other English language daily, The Bangkok Post, said
it was interested in taking a stake in iTV.
Shin Group had been expected to take up to an 80 per cent share in iTV,
but instead joined Siam commercial Bank in a debt-restructuring plan for
a smaller ownership percentage.
