Thai Television Channel Sees No Threat to Dominance.

Byline: Nondhanada Intarakomalyasut

Sep. 6--BEC World Plc, the operator of Channel 3 television, hopes to maintain its dominant role in the local industry, as it sees no threat from newcomers, such as World Star TV.

Although arch-rival Channel 7 had pulled even with Channel 3 in viewer ratings, BEC generated more advertising revenue than Bangkok Television and Radio, operator of Channel 7, a BEC World executive said yesterday.

Market research company ACNielsen said that while the two stations were tied for the first place, Channel 3 had 30 percent of all television ad spending, compared with 27 percent for Channel 7 in the first eight months of this year.

The newcomer, World Star TV, might find it hard to obtain advertisements, said Pravit Maleenont, senior executive vice-president of BEC World.

"How long can it present viewers with programmes that are different from those on UBC (United Broadcasting Corp)? Besides, having too many channels without any really strong programmes doesn't attract advertisers," said Mr Pravit.

This year, BEC World is aiming for a 20 percent increase in advertising revenue from five billion baht last year. Commercial revenue represents 90 percent of the station's income. On Oct 1 it will increase its advertising rate by 10 percent , bringing its prime-time rate to 390,000 per minute from 360,000 currently.