ITV (Thailand)
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ITV was a
television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...
in
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
that was owned by iTV Public Company Limited, a unit of
Shin Corporation Intouch Holdings PCL ( th, บริษัท อินทัช โฮลดิ้งส์ จำกัด (มหาชน); formerly Shin Corporation) is a Thai holding company which focuses on telecommunication industry. It is the parent ...
. As Thailand's first UHF channel, the station was started in 1995 when the company was granted a 30-year concession by the Office of the Permanent Secretary to the Prime Minister's Office to operate a free-to-air
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
station in the
Ultra High Frequency Ultra high frequency (UHF) is the ITU designation for radio frequency, radio frequencies in the range between 300 megahertz (MHz) and 3 gigahertz (GHz), also known as the decimetre band as the wavelengths range from one meter to one ten ...
(UHF) spectrum at 510-790
MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
(from Channel 26 to 60). After a lengthy dispute over unpaid concession fees to the Prime Minister's Office, the government's Public Relations Department took over the station in 2007. Its name was changed to Thailand Independent Television (TITV). Following a previously unannounced order of Thailand's Public Relations Department delivered the same day, the station closed on January 15, 2008. In accordance with the Public Broadcasting Service Act B.E.2551(2008), the channel's frequency was assigned to the
Thai Public Broadcasting Service The Thai Public Broadcasting Service ( th, องค์การกระจายเสียงและแพร่ภาพสาธารณะแห่งประเทศไทย; ), or TPBS ( th, ส.ส.ท.), is a public broadcastin ...
(Thai PBS).


History


Early years

The original name of iTV's holding company was Siam Infotainment Company Limited. Its major shareholders were
Siam Commercial Bank Siam Commercial Bank ( th, ธนาคารไทยพาณิชย์; ) is a Thai bank that was founded on 30 January 1907. History SCB was founded as the "Book Club" on 4 October 1904 by Prince Jayanta Mongkol, a brother of King Ch ...
, the
Crown Property Bureau The Crown Property Bureau (CPB) ( th, สำนักงานทรัพย์สินพระมหากษัตริย์; ) is legally the administrative agency responsible for managing the property of the King of Thailand. It has no ...
(the investment organization of King
Bhumibol Bhumibol Adulyadej ( th, ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช; ; ; (Sanskrit: ''bhūmi·bala atulya·teja'' - "might of the land, unparalleled brilliance"); 5 December 192713 October 2016), conferred with the title King Bhumibol the Great ...
Adulyadej and Through by Sahacinema Company), and the
Nation Multimedia Group Nation Group (Thailand) Public Company Limited (NATION) ( th, บริษัท เนชั่น กรุ๊ป (ไทยแลนด์) จำกัด (มหาชน)) is one of Thailand's largest media companies. The company operates tw ...
. Siam Infotainment won a 30-year concession to run a commercial television station, after offering only approximately US$3.3 million in royalties (a rival company had offered approximately US$17.5 million). This irregularity was subject to a government investigation in 1996, but the results of the investigation were never made public. Established as an independent television station, the company barred any one shareholder from having more than a 10% stake. Free from government control and shareholder liabilities, the station became known for its in-depth coverage of public affairs and
investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...
. During the
East Asian financial crisis The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...
of 1997, the station faced heavy financial loss. In addition, high concession fees (approximately US$708 million to be paid over 25 years) threatened to close the station. In 2000, iTV lost 775 million THB (US$18 million). The
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
government worried that if iTV collapsed, shareholders like
Siam Commercial Bank Siam Commercial Bank ( th, ธนาคารไทยพาณิชย์; ) is a Thai bank that was founded on 30 January 1907. History SCB was founded as the "Book Club" on 4 October 1904 by Prince Jayanta Mongkol, a brother of King Ch ...
and the
Crown Property Bureau The Crown Property Bureau (CPB) ( th, สำนักงานทรัพย์สินพระมหากษัตริย์; ) is legally the administrative agency responsible for managing the property of the King of Thailand. It has no ...
would be adversely affected. So in order to attract outside capital, Prime Minister
Chuan Leekpai Chuan Leekpai ( th, ชวน หลีกภัย, , ; ; born 28 July 1938) is a Thai politician who is the current President of the National Assembly of Thailand as well as the incumbent Speaker of the Thai House of Representatives. Previou ...
lifted the 10% limit on share ownership in the station.
Shin Corporation Intouch Holdings PCL ( th, บริษัท อินทัช โฮลดิ้งส์ จำกัด (มหาชน); formerly Shin Corporation) is a Thai holding company which focuses on telecommunication industry. It is the parent ...
, owned by future Thai Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra ( th, ทักษิณ ชินวัตร; ; ; Chinese: 丘達新; cnr, Taksin Šinavatra; born 26 July 1949), is a Thai businessman, politician and visiting professor. He served in the Thai Police from 1973 to 1987, a ...
, purchased a large portion of the company's shares for US$60 million, considered a high price for the ailing company.


Shin Corporation

Under new ownership, journalists reported being pressured to downplay negative news about Shin Corporation's then-owner,
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Thaksin Shinawatra Thaksin Shinawatra ( th, ทักษิณ ชินวัตร; ; ; Chinese: 丘達新; cnr, Taksin Šinavatra; born 26 July 1949), is a Thai businessman, politician and visiting professor. He served in the Thai Police from 1973 to 1987, a ...
, and his
Thai Rak Thai The Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT; th, พรรคไทยรักไทย, , ; "Thais Love Thais Party") was a Thai political party founded in 1998. From 2001 to 2006, it was the ruling party under its founder, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatr ...
party. Twenty-one
journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
s were fired for speaking out. They later won a court case against iTV and were awarded several years of back pay. Originally, iTV's news-to-entertainment ratio was about 70/30. In the station's latter years, iTV increased its entertainment-based programming so that about half of its shows were entertainment. Among its popular programs was the Thailand version of the '' Big Brother''
reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
show. In 2004, iTV was granted permission by an arbitration panel to increase the amount of entertainment programming. Additionally, iTV was required to pay the government only US$6 million in annual licensing fees, a reduction from the original agreement of US$25 million. In June 2006, as a result of iTV's changes in programming, Thailand's Central Administrative Court invalidated the arbitration panel's ruling, saying the news-to-entertainment ratio must be returned to 70/30 and that the broadcaster must pay 2.1 billion dollars in fines. iTV contested the court's decision. Media-reform activists in Thailand, such as Supinya Klangnarong and Jon Ungpakorn, had suggested that the station model itself as a public broadcaster, similar to the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
,
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
,
NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...
or the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...
. Proponents believed that a public model would allow iTV to achieve its original mission as an independent public network, free from political intervention and business interests. As Jon Ungpakorn told ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'', "The goal of founding iTV back in 1995 was to provide a public service via a truly independent network. That ideal should continue to be supported as we shouldn't forget that this network was set up following the 'dark age' of information which led to the Bloody May events of 1992."


Thailand Independent Television (TITV)

In 2006, Shin Corporation, iTV's majority shareholder, was acquired by
Temasek Holdings Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited, or simply Temasek, is a Singaporean state holding company owned by the Government of Singapore. Incorporated on 25 June 1974, Temasek owns and manages a total of US$496.59 billion (S$671 billion) in assets u ...
, the investment company of the
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
an government. Thai media activists strongly criticized the sale. After the 2006 military coup that ousted Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's interim civilian government voiced intentions to take over iTV if it failed to pay US$2.8 billion in fines. In February 2007, Prime Minister
Surayud Chulanont Surayud Chulanont ( th, สุรยุทธ์ จุลานนท์, , ; born 28 August 1943) is a Thai politician. He was the Prime Minister of Thailand and head of Thailand's interim government between 2006 and 2008. He is a former supr ...
appointed a new executive board consisting exclusively of civil servants. The station was renamed "Thailand Independent Television" (TITV). Prime Minister
Surayud Chulanont Surayud Chulanont ( th, สุรยุทธ์ จุลานนท์, , ; born 28 August 1943) is a Thai politician. He was the Prime Minister of Thailand and head of Thailand's interim government between 2006 and 2008. He is a former supr ...
announced that the government would acquire the station, intending to hand operations to the Public Relations Department, which already ran TVT Channel 11. Surayud promised that the station would not be taken off the air despite the controversy over concession fees. However, in 2007, the Prime Minister's Office announced that the station would be taken off the air at midnight on 6 March 2007, following the Cabinet's revocation of iTV's concession in early March 2007. Surayud apologized for not keeping his word. Then on 7 March 2007, Surayud reversed his decision and ordered that iTV continue broadcasting after the deadline had passed. Other government-controlled television stations like MCOT were expected to reap windfalls if iTV ended.The Nation
Other channel operators may reap ad windfall from iTV fiasco
, 9 March 2007


Transformation into Thai PBS

On 14 January 2008, Thailand's Government Public Relations Department delivered a non-negotiable letter ordering closure of the station. The station complied, ending the TITV broadcast at 00:08 AM the next day. In accordance with the Public Broadcasting Service Act, the station was transformed into the
Thai Public Broadcasting Service The Thai Public Broadcasting Service ( th, องค์การกระจายเสียงและแพร่ภาพสาธารณะแห่งประเทศไทย; ), or TPBS ( th, ส.ส.ท.), is a public broadcastin ...
or Thai PBS.Public TV channel launched
''Bangkok Post'', January 15, 2008; retrieved from cache 2008-01-25
Thailand replaces programmes on private TV channel
, Agence France-Presse, January 14, 2008; retrieved via Google News 2008-01-25


See also

*
List of television stations in Thailand This is a list of television stations in Thailand Broadcast channels All analogue television stations completely switched over to digital since 26 March 2020. Channel 3 was the last station that ceased broadcasting on analogue television. Public ...
*
Media of Thailand Thailand has a well-developed mass media sector, especially by Southeast Asian standards. The Thai government and the military have long exercised considerable control, especially over radio and TV stations. During the governments of Thaksin Shin ...
*
Shin Corporation Intouch Holdings PCL ( th, บริษัท อินทัช โฮลดิ้งส์ จำกัด (มหาชน); formerly Shin Corporation) is a Thai holding company which focuses on telecommunication industry. It is the parent ...
*
Thai Public Broadcasting Service The Thai Public Broadcasting Service ( th, องค์การกระจายเสียงและแพร่ภาพสาธารณะแห่งประเทศไทย; ), or TPBS ( th, ส.ส.ท.), is a public broadcastin ...
(ThaiPBS)


References


External links


Official Website

Big Brother iTV Thailand
* The Nation
The iTV saga timeline
7 November 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Itv (Thailand) Intouch Holdings Companies listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand Television in Thailand Companies based in Bangkok Defunct television networks Television channels and stations established in 1995 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2008 1995 establishments in Thailand 2008 disestablishments in Thailand Defunct mass media in Thailand