All 380 matches will be broadcast on all platforms — TrueVisions, TrueMoveH, TrueOnline and TrueID — a statement from Thailand’s largest pay TV operator said on Wednesday.

The deal came after an agreement between Premier League and Facebook fell through in March this year.

The social media giant had agreed to a deal in May last year to land coverage of English football’s premium event in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia with a £200-million offer.

Birathon Kasemsri, chief content and media officer, True Corporation, said TrueVisions will be the only network in Thailand to show all the action of the English Premier League, with live broadcasts, reruns, and highlights of every match.

They will make available six channels for broadcast of the world’s biggest football league, which will kick off the new season on August 10.

TrueVisions has also been given a live and on-demand digital broadcast licence across all platforms so football fans can enjoy the excitement of the matches according to their own convenience and lifestyle, he added.

“Brace yourselves for the most complete English Premier League experience ever. And we will proudly present it in new and innovative ways that will more deeply engage all fans throughout Thailand,” Birathon said.

Further details including its format, how to watch and promotions for both new and existing customers will be announced soon, the company said.

TrueVisions has acquired the broadcast rights directly from the Premier League but the firm refused to reveal how much the deal cost.

TrueVisions in the past had won the rights to broadcast the EPL for several years before Cable Thai Holding snapped up the rights for the 2013 to 2015 seasons with a Bt10-billion bid.

In the last three seasons, Truevisions has sublicensed the broadcast rights from beIN Sports.

Premier League director of broadcasting Paul Molnar said they were very pleased to welcome TrueVisions back as a broadcast partner for the next three years.

“They have exciting plans to make our competition available on multiple platforms, and we look forward to seeing fans in Thailand enjoy the best Premier League action,” said Molnar.

Meanwhile, TrueVisions is trying to acquire the broadcast rights for Champions League games in the rest of the two seasons after Thailand’s vast army of football fans were left bitterly disappointed at not being able to watch last season’s games.

The rights to broadcast the Champions League from 2019-21 seasons were awarded to DAZN, the parent company of goal.com.But the website failed to deliver the broadcast in Thailand throughout the last season. It remained unclear if the fans will be able to watch games in the rest of the seasons.

Global end-to-end travel platform Airbnb, is creating new revenue streams for Phuket through connecting global travellers with a broad range of accommodation offerings and unique experiences on the island.

Airbnb travellers seek out local and authentic experiences, and choose to spend their money in the local neighbourhoods they visit.

Airbnb guests are voting with their feet with guest arrivals to Phuket reaching 320,000 in the past 12 months – a growth of 61 per cent year over year – with guests staying in boutique hotels, vacation rentals and local homes. With guest experience a top priority, 80 per cent of hosts in Phuket have received the highest 5-star rating on Airbnb. Airbnb’s top guest origin markets to Phuket include China, the United States, Russia, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

With Phuket’s future intertwined with the health of the island’s tourism, Airbnb is attracting a different kind of traveller who seeks local, authentic and sustainable travel accommodation and experiences. This new generation of traveller is actively finding ways to make impactful and meaningful travel a key part of its lifestyle.

Mike Orgill, General Manager for Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Airbnb shared, “Airbnb’s proposition is diverse and complements Phuket’s current offerings. Airbnb travellers are not your average tourist, they are looking for something different and unique, whether it’s a modern villa, a creative boutique hotel or a traditional homestay.

“Seventy-nine per cent of our guests book with us because they want to live like a local, and when they travel they spend in the local neighbourhoods and communities they visit.

“It’s this type of guest that is adding a new and positive dimension to Phuket, and is being welcomed by a large part of the island’s tourism economy,” he said.

Currently, the company has some 2 million customers in Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippine, Hong Kong, Australia, the US, and Europe.

The business expansion will focus on Asian countries like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, and Hong Kong, he said.

“We will invest on average about Bt20 million at each of our new branches, which will combine flagship shop and Pomelo’s pick-up shop,” Jou said yesterday, before the opening ceremony of its flagship store in Singapore today.

To pursue its aggressive investment plan, the company intends to raise capital, he said.

Its branch in Singapore is the first one outside Thailand; Bangkok has seven branches. The company has invested Bt60 million in its Singapore flagship store, located in Somerset.

The company also plans to open a flagship store in Phuket in the third quarter of this year with an investment of about Bt60 million, Jou said.

The company will open five new branches in Thailand this year, spending on average Bt20 million to Bt30 million per branch, depending on the size of branch, he said.

Jou, 33, and his friends decided to establish Pomelo in Bangkok in 2014 when he saw the potential for omni-channel fashion style for women in the country.

“Thailand has the most number of people on Facebook, the highest in the region and among the highest in the world. E-commerce through business-to-business and business-to-customers is also higher than other countries in the region. That is the reason why we set up the business in Thailand,” Jou said.

According to the latest reports by the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA), Thai eCommerce grew the most in the Asean region last year, due to changes in consumer behaviour, and its value is expected to hit Bt3.2 trillion.

ETDA has been collecting these statistics since 2014. When comparing the number of internet users over the past 10 years, there were only 16.1 million internet users in 2008; latest information revealed that in 2017, there were 45.2 million users.

Jou estimates the value of the fashion market in Thailand – both online and offline – to be worth up to Bt150 billion in 2018, with up to 15 per cent from the online market. With double digit growth annually, he expects the fashion online market to achieve up to 40 per cent growth in 2023.

“Although the fashion market has high competition, most of them are in the traditional system.

We are combining digital technology and platform to do this business with our business growing on average 200 per cent a year since we started this business in Thailand,” Jou said.

The company has employed 500 staff in Thailand, Indonesia, and China, with up to 70 per cent of them in Thailand. The company is also collaborating with more than 1,000 firms in the supply chain, including manufacturers of its products, warehouse and logistics system.

“We have more than 3,000 women’s fashion products. We will expand our production to include men. This is the way to increase our customers and drive our business growth for the long term,” Jou said.

Technological disruption will be a challenge for everybody, said Candelino, not just for one industry or sector.

“All of us need to recognise the inevitability of a digital future, and as such we all have to figure out how to evolve from our legacy models to future-proofed models.

“At Unilever, we are approaching this evolution similar to how we have done for all major changes throughout our long history – by focusing on being the best partner to all our |customers, by having great products that are purposeful and add value to people’s lives, and by remaining the most preferred employer in Thailand by attracting leaders who want to help shape the future in a positive way,” he said.

“We remain very excited about the dynamism and opportunity of the Thai market,” said Candelino.

“Unilever has been in operation here for 87 years and today our |products are enjoyed by every Thai three times a day.”

The company is proud of its local history, particularly its relationship with retailers of all types – who it calls “partners”.

“We must and we will continue to prepare ourselves for the inevitable changes that we foresee,” said Candelino. “Principal among them is the opportunity that the digital |revolution offers in terms of how we can better serve our |customers and consumers. Clearly, digitisation will affect every aspect of human life, including how we all will shop in the future. This will likely mean that all retailers will have a digital or e-commerce capability, because it is our expectation that consumers will continue to seek the convenience and efficiency of shopping wherever, whenever they want. As always, we are ready for this change and working with all our retail partners to harness the opportunity.”

Candelino said that Unilever has a very clear purpose as a company – “to make sustainable living commonplace”. This purpose is underpinned by its three core beliefs – that brands with purpose grow, companies with purpose last and people with purpose thrive.

That central focus on purpose is key. “Purposeful organisations, led by the most purposeful people, often |generate the best performance over the long term,” he said.

“Our operational strategy, therefore, is rather simple. We will continue to lead our industry by delivering superior products that are preferred by people and contribute to make our societies better for the long term. We will increase our commitment to sustainability, including and especially in reducing plastic waste. We have already made clear our commitment to be 100 per cent recyclable, recycled or compostable by 2025 on all our plastics worldwide.

“Lastly, we will continue to recruit, train and develop the very best talent available.”

Delivering consistent growth ahead of the markets remains the company’s goal, he said, adding, it was reflected in its commitment to remain a leader in the current segments while creating new products, services and partnerships to accelerate growth. “As leader, we are constantly pioneering new models for our business. In retail we are supporting small-hold mum and pop shops through our Ran Tid Dao programme, which provides mentoring and coaching for small retailers on how to help their business grow.

“We have a direct-selling business for ice cream through our ‘I’m Wall’s’ programme, which was invented in Thailand 30 years ago and provides employment opportunities for salesmen across the country to deliver ice cream direct to consumers. Equally we are working with all of our retail partners, new and existing, on how we can better serve them as they evolve on their own journey

In short, says Candelino, Unilever has enjoyed success “because we have always been on the leading edge of all major changes in our industry and this will indeed remain our goal into the future”.

 The company’s top management and invited guests welcomed Her Royal Highness on her arrival at SM Tower in Bangkok.

The Princess received a donation for her charity from Thai Union chairman Kraisorn Chansiri and chairman of the executive board Cheng Niruttinanon, while president and CEO Thiraphong Chansiri gave an introduction about Thai Union and the GIC.

The Princess then officially opened the Global Innovation Centre, followed by Dr Tunyawat Kasemsuwan, Thai Union’s Global innovation director, presenting an exhibition about the work of the GIC.

The Princess also visited the global food operation room of the centre and demonstrated her own recipe of Som Tam Tuna.