NBTC’s must-have rule ‘a hurdle for market mechanism in securing broadcast rights’
A former manager of the Thailand national under-23 football team has called for a review of the NBTC’s “must have” rule, which has created difficulties for Thailand in secure the broadcasting rights for the 2022 World Cup.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Watanya Bunnag said that with only 11 days left, it remains unclear if Thai football fans will be able to watch the World Cup.
She also raised the issue of propriety if the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has to spend 1.6 billion baht to acquire the rights for the broadcast when not everyone in society is interested in football.
Watanya explained that the NBTC had instituted the “must have” rule after the auctions for digital television licences so that people from all sections of society will be able to watch important programmes without restriction, as happened during the 2014 World Cup.
She said that the objective of the rule was to prevent people from getting exploited or placing unnecessary burdens on operators.
However, the rule was twisted as it interfered with the market mechanism, because the cost of broadcasting rights depends on the viewership. Therefore, the cost will be extremely high when compared to other programmes, as the football World Cup is held every four years.
She said that buying the broadcast rights would create no problems if it were worth investing in. However, the “must have” rule was discouraging investors as they do not get exclusive broadcasting rights, which are required to generate revenue and profits.
In the past, the Television Pool of Thailand (TPT) was formed with channels 3, 5, 7, and 9. They invested together for broadcasting rights and spread the broadcast and revenue equally depending on the investment ratio.
TV operators or programme owners must pay the TPT if they want to use the footage or content, including advertisers.
Watanya suggested reviewing this rule, as it would solve the root cause of the problem, even though it might be too late for this World Cup. She said that the government should find a source for the budget otherwise people would question the use of taxpayers' money for something not beneficial to them.
She said the market mechanism could solve the problem without burdening the government or the people.
Watanya also explained the reason why Thailand’s broadcasting rights were more expensive than other countries.
She said that the Fifa licensee knew that the government must secure the broadcast rights no matter how expensive it is, and that is the reason Thailand pays more than other countries in the region.
She summarised the “must have” rule, which was used to protect the people, is costing tax money and allowing foreigners to extort easily.
Related stories
