Natee Sukonrat, chairman of the NBTC’s broadcasting committee, said his committee yesterday acknowledged the court’s decision.

On March 22, the court rejected the petition for a temporary injunction against the seizure of Thai TV Co’s bank guarantee. The decision was based on the fact that the company and the NBTC were battling each other in another legal case. Sombat Leelapata, acting deputy secretary-general of the NBTC, said the commission would notify Bangkok Bank, Thai TV Co’s guarantor, in writing this week.

Early last month, the broadcasting committee decided to revoke Thai TV Co’s two digital-television licences as it had refused to pay the second instalment of its upfront licence fees since last year.

The committee also ordered Thai TV to pay the remaining five instalments worth Bt1.63 billion plus value-added tax as well as the unpaid annual licence fees and a daily fine of Bt60,000.

The company had been licensed to broadcast the Thai TV news channel 17 and Loca Family channel 15, which was later renamed MVTV Family.

Thai TV Co, led by media veteran Pantipa “Sister Tim” Sakulchai, had petitioned the court for a temporary injunction to protest against the NBTC’s administrative order, but the court did not make a decision at the first hearing on February 23.

After that, the company was given until March 11 to pay its outstanding fees. It failed to do so, Sombat said.

According to a source in the banking industry, Bangkok Bank has reportedly set aside enough reserves to cover the Thai TV case even though it has not yet received a claim from the NBTC for the guarantee.