Mass media in Thailand

Thailand has a well-developed media sector, especially by Southeast Asian standards. Compared to other countries in the region, the Thai media is considered relatively free, although the government continues to exercise considerable control, especially over broadcast media.

Television

See also: List of television stations in Thailand

Television is by far the most popular medium in Thailand. More than 80% of Thais are estimated to rely on television as their primary source of news.

The old Thai constitution of 1997 provides for an independent authority, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), to regulate the broadcasting industry. However, owing to legal disputes surrounding the selection process for NBC commissioners, the NBC still has not yet been established. The Military junta group wrote in the current Constitution of 2007 requiring for a new agency which would combine the broadcasting regulator (NBC) with the telecommunications regulator (NTC). Article 47 of the 2007 Constitution demands the merger of the regulators to form a convergence agency. Its main functions are to handle spectrum allocation and to regulate both broadcast and telecom sectors. By March 2008, the King signed in the new Broadcast Act which was passed by the Military junta Parliament on the last day of the last Parliamentary session in December 2007, just one day before the general election of December 23, 2007. It took more than two months for the bill to become law the delay was due to the concern by the public that the Broadcast Act was not constitutional and it created a barrier to entry to the new comers as well as its controversial provision which guarantees people the right to provide community broadcast service. The new Broadcast Act requires that all radio and TV stations be subject to license. However, in the "provisional measures" section, the law gives ex officio license to all existing stations to operate until the new Broadcast Master Plan is adopted by the new regulator. For the time-being, Thai television channels remain under the tight control of various government agencies. The last television station which offers service was the Thai Public Broadcast Station or TPBS. TPBS was established by a special law adopted by the Military junta Parliament following the Administrative Court decision which revoked amendment to concession done by the ousted Thaksin government. The selection process for the broadcast regulator has been stopped since 1997 and the new law required by Article 47 of the Constitution is being drafted by many agencies of the Thai government.

The largest players in the Thai television industry are MCOT, a former state enterprise of which the government still owns 77%, and the Royal Thai Army, which retained ownership of numerous broadcast frequencies even after the end of military rule in Thailand. The only commercial station not subject to the control of MCOT or the army was iTV, which was taken over by Shin Corporation, a communications conglomerate controlled by Temasek Holdings of Singapore. ITV ceased to exist In 2007 when the Administrative Court ruled that the concession agreement held by ITV was in violation of the Joint Venture Act of 1992. As a result the concession agreement became null and void and the station was automatically returned to Prime Minister Office. Later in 2007, the military junta Parliament introduced a legislature creating Thai Public Broadcasting Service (TPBS) and transferred all the assets and rights to radio frequency to the new TPBS. The TPBS law also exempt TPBS from past liability or debt incurred by ITV prior to cancellation of the concession agreement. TPBS is now an independent TV station with its own Charter under the sui generis law. TPBS is free from government control or influence with its guaranteed annual budget of two billion bahts carved out from "sin" tax (tax on liquor). Thailand's public service broadcaster, (NBT)Channel 11, is on the contrary funded by government budget and is operated by the Government Public Relations Department (PRD) of the Prime Minister's Office.

Terrestrial TV

Thailand's six terrestrial TV stations are based in Bangkok and are relayed to all parts of the country through repeaters. Although Thailand has experimented with digital terrestrial television on a trial basis, the delays in establishing the NBC will likely slow the conversion from analogue to digital broadcasting technology.

List of terrestrial TV stations

• Channel 3 [1] - Owned by MCOT and operated by Bangkok Entertainment Co. Ltd. (owned by BEC World Public Co. Ltd., parent company of BEC-TERO) under contract.
• Channel 5 (Royal Thai Army Radio and Television) [2] - Owned and operated by the Royal Thai Army
• BBTV Channel 7 [3] - Owned by the Royal Thai Army and operated by the Bangkok Broadcasting & Television Company (BBTV) under contract
• Modernine (Channel 9) [4] - Owned and operated by MCOT.
• National Broadcasting Services of Thailand - Formerly Television of Thailand [5] -National Public service broadcaster; owned and operated by the government's Public Relations Department (PRD).
• Thai Public Broadcasting Service - Formerly iTV (Thailand) owned and operated by Shin Corporation under concession from the Prime Minister's Office. The concession was cancelled in 2007 and the station was taken over by the Public Relations Department, which renamed it Thai Independent Television (TITV). In 2008, TITV ceased operations and was transformed into TPBS. TPBS is UHF-BAND TV Station

Cable and satellite broadcasting

Aside from terrestrial television, Thailand has several CATV, MMDS and Satellite television providers. The largest player in the market is the TrueVisions UBC, which is controlled by the Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group, the massive Thai business conglomerate. TrueVisions owns concessions from MCOT to operate CATV services in greater Bangkok and encrypted digital satellite TV (DSTV) services throughout the country. It began offering digital cable in 2003. At end of 2003, TrueVisions had approximately 140,000 subscribers for its CATV service and nearly 300,000 subscribers for its DSTV service. True Visions programming is also carried in Cambodia and Vietnam.

Outside Bangkok, hundreds of independent CATV providers offer services in the provinces. The PRD is technically in charge of regulating provincial cable operators, but only 78 providers have been licensed so far. More than 200 CATV operators are awaiting approval from the PRD, while another 200 operate illegally. The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia estimates that the provincial cable operators reach a total of 1.1 million subscribers.

Thai TV (TTV) holds a concession from the PRD to operate an MMDS service in the Bangkok Metropolitan Area. TTV currently operates a free-to-air analogue MMDS service with three channels and an encrypted digital MMDS service that offers 16 channels. Nation Multimedia Group, a Thai media conglomerate,Channel NewsAsia from Singapore by MediaCorp currently owns a 12% stake in TTV. Thus, content produced by the Nation Group's Nation Channel features prominently on TTV's programming line-up.

ASTV, owned by news operation holding Manager Media Group, is a free-to-air satellite television network that offers eight channels via Ku band NSS6. Many provincial CATV providers also carry ASTV channels on their line-up.

People's Television (PTV), owned by several former executives of the Thai Rak Thai party operates using a similar strategy to ASTV, transmitting their programs via satellite from earth stations outside of Thailand to cable TV operators inside the kingdom. Several of the station's broadcasts were censored by the military junta.

The Broadcasting Act of 2008 provides that all the TV and radio concessions shall cease to exist upon the adoption of the Broadcast Masterplan. The concession thus revoked will be replaced by various types of license. The arduous task of drafting and adopting Broadcast Masterplan is bestowed upon the yet-to-be established National Broadcast Commission (NBC).

Radio

Thailand has 204 AM stations, 334 FM stations and six shortwave broadcasters (as of 1999). As is the case with television, radio broadcasting is supposed to be regulated by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). However, because of delays in establishing the NBC, radio frequencies remain in the hands of a plethora of government agencies, including the military, state universities, the Posts and Telegraph Department, the Public Relations Department (PRD) (National Broadcasting Services of Thailand) and MCOT. These agencies operate several stations directly, while the remainder are leased out to private content providers.

Community radio stations operated with low-power transmitters have proliferated in the last few years, offering listeners an alternative to the government-controlled stations. However, the government has recently shut down many community radio stations on the grounds that they operated stronger transmitters than permitted, interfering with existing frequencies. On the other hand, critics of the government allege that the stations that were shut down were targeted because they featured programs that were critical of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's policies. In Nakhonratchasima province as well as in other locations, several community radio stations were shut down, after several warnings from government agencies, when it was proven that their signals were interfering with air traffic control and overlapping signals of other stations.

The military junta Parliament passed a new Broadcasting Act of 2008 in December 2007 and became effective in March 2008. The new law revokes the old one which reserved monopoly right in broadcast sector to the government and government agency. The new law requires that all broadcasters, stations and operators must have license from the broadcasting regulator to be appointed by the Senate.

In July 2008, the Juridical Council decided that by enactment of the new Broadcasting Act of 2008, all the regulation, decision and administrative guidelines issued by virtue of the repealed Radio and Television Act ceased to exist as they are not recognized by the new Broadcasting Act of 2008. The Juridical Council also ruled that, pending the establishment of NBC, TPBS is not subject to provisional authority of the Broadcasting Act 2008.

Newspapers

In contrast to television, print media in Thailand are not subject to close government supervision. Readers have a choice of numerous papers, ranging from sensationalist mass-circulation dailies to newspapers that specialize in coverage of political and business news. Thailand's so-called "business newspapers" also include substantial coverage of politics and culture. Almost all newspapers are printed in broadsheet format, although there are several exceptions to this. So, even though the popular mass-circulation newspapers are often referred to as "tabloids", labeling them as such would be a misnomer.

With the exception of one newspaper in Chiang Mai, all daily papers are published in Bangkok and distributed in all parts of the country.

The political leanings of Thai newspapers can be categorized according to how they relate to the democracy movement of the 1970s. The mainstream print media are represented by Thai Rath and Daily News, which together account for one-half of Thailand's newspaper sales. Because both papers were founded before the democracy movement while the country was still under military rule, by necessity, they had to cultivate good relationships with the army and elite bureaucracy. This has led them to develop an editorial outlook that tends to lean in favor of the status-quo. Thus, these publications are viewed as "conservative" within the Thai political context. On the other hand, newspapers that grew out of the student movement of the 1970s such as Matichon, The Nation and Thai Post tend to adopt an anti-establishment outlook. Therefore, within the Thai political spectrum, their political line can be loosely characterized as "progressive."

As Thai newspapers do not have their circulation figures audited, precise circulation figures are not available. The circulation figures provided below are based on the newspapers' claimed average daily circulation figures, which are likely to be exaggerated.

Mass-circulation dailies

Note that Thailand's Public Relations Department publishes a detailed directory of all media in Thailand, listing latest registration information. The directory includes radio, TV and printed media. Note that all of the printed media are tightly owned by a single family or small groups of investors who share familial relationship. None of the media is a true publicly held company where the media owes fiduciary duty to the public.

• Thai Rath - Claiming a circulation of approximately 1 million, this is Thailand's most influential newspaper. Prominently features sensationalist stories on crime and accidents. Its political stance is moderately populist. High circulation is due to its stance on populistic stance and hence its acceptance with the public opinion of the general population, in particular, the majority rural market.
• Daily News - Circulation was claimed to be as high as 900,000 for 2005 . Very similar in style and substance to Thai Rath, somewhat less successful than Thai Rath, usually due to content of the news are generally less than that of Thai Rath.
• Khao Sod - The third circulation among Thai newspapers behind Thai Rath and Daily News. . Khaosod is a part of Matichon Pcl, a publishing group. Editorial line is moderate to liberal. Keen on crime news, and also concentrate on environment and ordinary people rights.

• Kom Chad Luek - Claimed a circulation of approximately 850,000 in 2005. Owned by the Nation Multimedia Group. Political stance is a conservative, non-populist, and moderately anti-government. Hence most of its sales are concentrated toward the business and upper to middle income group, who generally support non-populistic conservative stance, but are well educated.

Quality dailies

• Matichon - Claims circulation of approximately 600,000 . The flagship publication of Matichon Pcl, this paper is considered essential reading for Thailand's educated classes. Editorial line is moderate to progressive.
• Thai Post - Estimated circulation in 2000 was estimated to average approximately 30,000. Its political stance is considered the most progressive of all Thai dailies.
• Naew Na - Estimated daily circulation was claimed to average 300,000 in 2002. Editorial line is progressive.

Business dailies

• Krungthep Turakij - Circulation is in the 80,000-100,000 range. Owned by the Nation Multimedia Group. This paper is also popular with Thai intellectuals. Political stance is progressive.
• Post Today - Has circulation of approximately 100,000. Owned by Post Publishing Pcl, publishers of the Bangkok Post.
• Phoojadkarn Daily - Circulation is around 100,000. This is the core asset of Sondhi Limthongkul's media empire, Manager Media Group. The online edition of the paper is Thailand's most popular news website.

English-language dailies

• Bangkok Post - Circulation is approximately 75,000. Its major shareholders include the Chirathivat family (owners of Central Group), the South China Morning Post of Hong Kong and GMM Grammy Pcl, a local media and entertainment firm.
• The Nation - Circulation is in the 60,000-80,000 range. It is the flagship publication of the Nation Multimedia Group. Maintains a progressive editorial line.
• International Herald Tribune - Circulation is somewhere in the 5,000-10,000 range. In 2005-06, editions printed in Bangkok carried an insert of local news called ThaiDay in a partnership with Sondhi Limthongkul's Manager Media Group; however, ThaiDay folded due to financial difficulties.

Semi-weekly business newspapers

• Prachachart Turakij - Owned by Matichon Pcl.
• Siam Turakij
• Than Settakij

Weekly business newspapers

• Krungthep Turakij Biz Week - Part of Nation Multimedia Group.
• Phujatkarn Weekly - Owned by the Manager Media Group.

Weekly newsmagazines

• Matichon Weekly - Part of Matichon Pcl. Average circulation in 2003-2004 according to the International Federation of the Periodical Press (FIPP) was 300,000.
• Nation Weekend - Owned by Nation Multimedia Group. According to FIPP, circulation in 2003-2004 was 150,000.

Monthly and other Newspapers

NE Thailand

Each of the 19 provinces in the region has its own newspapers, and quality varies considerably.

Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat)

The Korat Daily

Weekly Thai language newspaper owned by Mr. Soontorn Janrungsee, the paper has the largest circulation in the region of some 22 million inhabitants. It maintains strong international links with various news organizations and provides in-depth coverage of local, regional and international affairs. It also publishes the English-language Korat Post.

The Korat Post

NE Thailand's first, and as of 8/18/06, only local English language newspaper, is published monthly by Mrs. Tongmuan Anderson, wife of former Thailand US Peace Corps volunteer Frank G Anderson. The paper derives its news from local and visiting sources, from village events to national occurrences. This monthly tabloid paper, begun in April 1999, is independent and has even indicated its opposition, editorially, to government policies. It also provides translations of other local Thai language papers for English readers.

Internet

The Internet in Thailand is among the most free of media in the country, though it still comes under government scrutiny. The Ministry of Information and Communications Technology actively blocks Thai ISPs from accessing websites it deems offensive, mainly pornography sites, but political sites, particularly those having to do with the South Thailand insurgency are also blocked.

One of the largest Internet forums in Thailand is Pantip.com, which often contains political discussions and criticism of the government, is currently shut down due to latest ICT Ministry consideration. It was allowed to freely operate. However, users were required to register their identities using their national identification number. The website of Midnight University was ordered shut down by the military junta after the 2006 Thailand coup.

YouTube controversy

On April 4th, 2007, the Thai government blocked access to YouTube as a result of a video clip which showed "graffiti-like elements crudely painted over a photograph slideshow of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. One part of that video juxtaposed pictures of feet over the King's image — a major taboo in a culture where feet are considered extremely dirty and offensive and the King is not to be disrespected by anyone according to the Thai constitution. The soundtrack was the Thai national anthem." The ban has led to more YouTube videos mocking the Thai King. Proponents cite the case of Oliver Jufer to paint Thailand as an undemocratic nation. Opponents claim freedom of speech is not an absolute right and that this act of vandalism is abuse of freedom of speech akin to verbal harassment and hate speech (an insult of Thai values and sensitivities).

See also

• Cinema of Thailand
• Communications in Thailand
• Current events in Southeast Asia
• Politics of Thailand
• Censorship in Thailand
• Censorship of radio and film (Thailand)

The YouTube event led to the adoption of the Computer Crime law by the 2007 Parliament (such Parliament was created by the Military junta group) which allows government to monitor any website or require any providers who own network equipment to record or monitor communications which pass through their facilities. Hundreds of thousands url are currently on the 'watch list', many are 'blocked' because they contain "inappropriate content" .

External links

• Broadcasting Museum Bangkok, website includes history of Thai broadcasting
• Newspapers in Thailand - NewspaperIndex' selection of the most important Thai news sources
• First Social Bookmarking in Thai - Tigg
• MCOT News and Entertainment - Home Page
• [6]
• Thai Media Project - 2Bangkok.com
• World Association of Newspapers - World's 100 Largest Newspapers
• Free press report by Freedom House
• 2005 report by Reporters Without Borders
• Radio stations in Thailand
• TV stations in Thailand
• Thailand News and Information