iTV's takeover by state seen as a setback

The Straits Times, March 5, 2007
By Nirmal Ghosh, THAILAND CORRESPONDENT



iTV's takeover by state seen as a setback
Thai reform activists see heavy govt hand in vital medium

BANGKOK - THE return of the iTV channel to the government this week will bring all six major national TV stations under state control.

That is a bitter blow for pro-democracy media reform activists who have been lobbying for years to free radio and television from government control.

iTV is due to pay 102 billion baht (S$4.6 billion) in unpaid concession fees and fines to the government by tomorrow, failing which it will revert to the state.

That the station cannot pay is a foregone conclusion: the government has already delegated the management of the takeover to Khunying Dhipavadee Meksawan, a minister with the Prime Minister's Office.

The iTV saga is an emotional one for Thais involved in the fight for democracy.

Set up in 1995, with a 30-year concession, as Thailand's first privately- owned, independent TV network, it made a name for its quality reporting.

iTV was supposed to be the forerunner of the new media environment, mandated in Article 40 of the 1997 Constitution, which was specifically written to free the media structure from total state ownership.

But it was a lonely beacon, and was very quickly co-opted.

'The intent (of the 1997 Constitution) was to end the Thai state's seven decade-long legal monopoly over the broadcast media. However...private concessions were given to a limited number of operators on a privileged patronage relationship,' noted media expert professor Ubonrat Siriyuvasak.

iTV is part of the former telecommunications empire of deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Its majority shareholder is Shin Corp, in which Temasek Holdings of Singapore has a controlling stake.

The latest fines arose because iTV was granted reduced concession fees and a cut in the number of hours it had to devote to news and educational programmes by an arbitration panel in 2005.

The courts later overturned the panel's decision and ordered iTV to pay 102 billion baht in penalties - a sum which exceeded its net worth, making bankruptcy certain and its takeover inevitable.

Media reform activist Supinya Klangnarong of the non-government organisation Campaign for Popular Media Reform (CPMR), told The Straits Times last week: 'It is disappointing. The military is back, and they are everywhere now; even the head of the National Telecommunications Commission is a general.

'This is going backward; we do not want state-controlled media.'

The CPMR, in a statement last week, said it was 'seriously concerned' that transferring iTV to state control will take Thailand's media situation back to square one - total state domination except for a tiny handful of cable TV channels with limited viewership.

TV is Thailand's most powerful communication medium, with a 94 per cent penetration rate in a country of over 60 million.

In contrast, the total circulation of all newspapers is estimated at three million copies per day, with a readership of 10 million at most.

In its statement, the CPMR said the government's imposition of the huge financial demand on iTV, and its subsequent takeover, showed a 'hidden agenda' and reflected no desire to promote media reform.

The implications of state control erupted into the open last week when the government-owned Communications Authority of Thailand did not allow new satellite TV station PTV to access the Internet to send its content to Hong Kong, from where it was to uplink to a satellite. PTV was started by supporters of Thai Rak Thai, Mr Thaksin's former political party.

Meanwhile, the France- based independent media monitoring agency Reporters Without Borders said in a statement last week: 'It is regrettable that the Council for National Security has not begun a policy of media liberalisation and is repeating the mistakes made by Thaksin, who tried to suppress dissident media.'