Channels' political ties clear
Shareholdings reveal red, yellow links to Asia Update, Blue Sky TV stations
Both Asia Update and Blue Sky channels deny violating the Constitution, but the available information about the companies – including the history of their shareholding structures – shows clear links to the two major parties.
Asia Update, the red-shirt TV channel with links to the Pheu Thai Party, is involved with two companies: D Station Co and Democracy News Network Co (DNN).
An official at Asia Update said he was an employee of D Station, which currently produces programmes for Asia Update under the name of DNN.
Asia Update channel was established after the Centre for Resolution of the Emergency Situation ordered D Station off the air in 2009 and People Channel in 2010, during the red-shirt protest movement.
D Station Co and DNN share the same address: No 2539 on the fifth floor of the Imperial World Building, Wang Thonglang district, Bangkok. It is deemed a main base for the red shirts.
D Station was registered on October 3, 2008, during the later period of the People Power Party government, when the yellow-shirt People’s Alliance for Democracy was pushing hard to oust Somchai Wongsawat as prime minister.
Democracy News Network was registered on May 15, 2009.
In the beginning, there were four DNN shareholders. Jarupong Ruangsuwan, who is currently transport minister and secretary-general of Pheu Thai, held 15,000 shares, while his son Charuwong held 10,000 shares. Jarupan Kuldiloke, a Pheu Thai party-list MP and the daughter of Deputy Transport Minister Chatt, held 10,000 shares. The other shareholder was Wimon Janjirawutthikul, currently a vice minister of finance, who held 15,000 shares.
On April 20 last year, Varut Tanhasukont became the major shareholder, buying 49,998 of 50,000 shares. The initial four shareholders no longer hold shares.
Besides holding shares in DNN, Varut is also the major shareholder in D Station Co.
Varut originally held 200,000 shares of D Station, while Suppakhun Surataveekhun and Prapai Yangyuen held 150,000 each.
Within five months, D Station’s capital increased from Bt5 million to Bt20 million. Three new shareholders came along: Adisorn Piengket, a former Thai Rak Thai member whose voting right was revoked at that time; Noppadon Pattama, a legal adviser to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra who had just resigned as foreign minister after the Constitution Court ruled that the government had failed to follow the legal steps outlined in Article 190 of the Constitution in relation to the Preah Vihear Temple case; and Chaithawat Saowapon.
On May 7, 2009, Noppadon’s 20,000 shares were transferred to red-shirt leader Arisman Pongruang-rong.
On June 30 last year, Adisorn’s shares became Varut’s, making Varut the major shareholder in D Station as of the latest records (April 30, 2012), with 800,000 shares in hand.
For Blue Sky Channel, although no “big names” in the Democrat Party hold shares, as in the case of Asia Update, this channel’s executives are still closely linked with the party.
Blue Sky Channel Co was registered last October 20 with Bt5 million capital.
Three of the four executive members of Blue Sky Channel used to be part of the production team for the programme “Confident in Thailand with Prime Minister Abhisit”, the then-prime minister’s weekly show. They are former Democrat MP candidate Vittayen Muttamara (who used to work as a secretary to Democrat MP Satit Wongnongtaey when he was PM’s Office minister); Takerng Somsup (who had been seen as a media professional who was close to the Democrat Party for a long time); and Phusit Thumchan.
Vittayen is currently the managing director, while Takerng is the station director of Blue Sky Channel.
The other executive is Burarit Sirivichai, a member of the Young Democrats and an officer at the PM’s Office during the Abhisit Vejjajiva government. He also once worked for Korn Chatikavanij, the finance minister at the time.
All of the executives except Vittayen have shares in the company.
The biggest shareholder in Blue Sky Channel is Telecast Media, which owned up to 300,000 of 500,000 shares initially. It currently owns 245,000 shares and is still the biggest shareholder.
Telecast Media was registered last September 8 with Bt30 million capital. The major shareholder is Taweesak Na Takuathung, holding 150,000 of the total 300,000 shares. He still holds the shares.
Taweesak is a lawyer close to former Democrat secretary-general Suthep Thaugsuban. Recently, he served as the lawyer for Suthep’s son in a land-encroachment case in Koh Samui. Besides a Bt3-million investment in Blue Sky, Telecast Media invested Bt11 million in T News.
