After years of losses, Voice TV to pull the plug on its operations in May
Voice TV has decided to cease operations, the company running the station said in a statement released on Facebook on Friday.
Titled “Announcement of Farewell to Viewers from the Voice Team”, the statement highlighted that over the past 15 years, Voice TV had served as a professional media outlet, “pioneering new presentation approaches, encouraging societal introspection, and fostering awareness, hope, and the pursuit of a quality life in support of human dignity and democracy”.
After enduring numerous crises and pivotal events, the management and shareholders conducted a thorough assessment of the business landscape and industry crises and decided to cease operations, the statement said. It attributed the decision to market dynamics and the presence of numerous technology platforms and producers capable of furthering various societal missions.
Operations will gradually wind down both on television and online throughout May. The company said it was committed to providing fair compensation to all employees in accordance with legal requirements.
Voice TV, operating under Voice TV Limited, was founded on October 9, 2003, initially registered as "How Come Entertainment" before rebranding to "Voice Station Limited" in 2008, and later to "Voice TV Limited" on June 19, 2009.
The company began with a registered capital of 5 million baht before increasing it to 577 million baht to support the making of television programmes.
Voice TV began as a satellite TV station before bidding for a digital TV broadcasting licence in the news and information category.
In 2019, it was among seven channels that returned the licence and ceased digital TV broadcasting on September 1, 2019, receiving compensation of over 378 million baht. Subsequently, the company announced its intent to focus on content production, online media, and satellite broadcasting.
Voice TV has consistently reported losses for the past five years:
2018: more than 352 million baht
2019: more than 157 million baht
2020: more than 110 million baht
2021: more than 92 million baht
2022: more than 106 million baht
Over the five-year period, Voice TV has accumulated losses totalling over 800 million baht.
Rumours of the company's TV network closure have been circulating for some time.
