NBTC to ensure pay-TV|deals fair to customers
TO DEAL with the rapid growth of the pay-TV business, the broadcasting regulator will scrutinise the subscription contract formats of each operator before they can be used by customers. The rule aims to protect consumers from unfair terms and conditions
Takorn Tanthasit, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, said yesterday that it had approved in principle the draft rules governing pay-TV programming and scheduling. The draft will go for a public hearing soon.
Under the draft rules, a subscription-based TV operator must propose each of its contract formats to the NBTC for approval 60 days in advance. The NBTC can order the operators to revise any terms or conditions that it deems treat customers unfairly, and the operators must obey.
An operator offering a pre-paid service to access its exclusive TV programmes such as pay-per-view and video-on-demand must also make its service fees clear to customers.
Proposed by Supinya Klangnarong, the NBTC member who chairs the committee for consumer rights protection, the rules aim to regulate the Bt12.21-billion pay-TV industry and ensure consumer benefits.
Last year, the NBTC received complaints of unfair treatment by pay-TV operators, including those from some 200 TrueVisions subscribers over the blank screen shown by the operator instead of the Euro 2012 soccer games.
The NBTC also approved the allocation of Bt49 million from revenue generated by the sale of bid packages to cover expenses from the auction of 24 commercial digital terrestrial TV licences at year-end.
Early this month, the NBTC sold 49 packages to 33 companies for Bt1.07 million per package.
