Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), said his administration had invited all 24 holders of digital-TV licences and four providers of digital-TV transmission service to attend the meeting. Also invited were representatives of the Finance Ministry, the Office of the Attorney-General, the Council of State and the banks that guaranteed the 24 operators.

He said this meeting aimed to seek remedies for troubled broadcasters including Thai TV Co, which has said it wants to leave the digital-TV business.

Speaking as a representative of digital-TV broadcasters, Kematat Paladesh, president of Bangkok Media and Broadcasting, the operator of PPTV channel, said the group still wanted to receive remedies from the NBTC.

“We will raise all relevant issues in the meeting at the NBTC tomorrow. And we hope all our requests will receive a good response,” he said.

In another development, the Central Administrative Court invited executives from seven digital terrestrial TV channels and their legal representatives to hear a second round of testimony after those media powerhouses last year sued the broadcasting committee of the NBTC but no conclusion had been reached.

Nation TV, Now 26, One, PPTV, Thairath TV, GMM 25 and Bright TV had petitioned the court for Bt12.55 billion in compensation with interest of 7.5 per cent per annum, in separate cases against the NBTC for alleged inattention and delayed execution of the transition from analog to digital technology.

Nation Multimedia Grouup, which operates two terrestrial-based digital channels, the Nation TV news station and Now 26 variety channel, appealed to the court for Bt2.96 billion in compensation, comprising Bt1.958 billion for Now 26 and Bt1.003 billion for Nation TV.

Meanwhile, the remaining compensation of Bt9.55 billion was urged by five other major TV operators – One, PPTV, Thairath TV, GMM 25 and Bright TV. They also sought additional compensation of Bt21 million per day.

Apart from the compensation, those digital TV broadcasters also called for both financial and non-financial support for the whole industry, such as postponement of the third instalment of upfront licence fees scheduled for May 25, and assistance with the cost of cable and satellite TV transmission and new TV audience ratings.

They also submitted a proposal to reduce the transmission-network leasing fees for broadcasters.