The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) is seeking ways to prevent conflicts among its board members from escalating into scandals and widespread criticism.
This is especially true concerning the review of the third draft master plan for broadcasting and television operations (2026–2030), including the creation of a roadmap for Thailand’s television and radio broadcasting over the next five years, which will take effect after the expiration of licenses held by 18 remaining digital TV channels out of the original 24 awarded.
If the review is not completed by 22 June, it must be finalized by the absolute deadline of 30 June, or else lawsuits may be filed in court.
Previously, one NBTC board faction held a public forum to discuss a study on the prototype for a National Streaming Platform, which proposed consolidating all terrestrial digital TV channels into one platform, integrating advertising, revenue, and data under a single system managed and supported by the NBTC through OTT (Over-the-Top) services—digital platforms delivering video, audio, or film content directly over public internet networks—as a new content distribution channel.
However, the master plan and roadmap have stalled because the opposing board members believe each digital TV channel already has its own platform and entered the auction with its own intentions and decision-making processes, especially valuing the strength of independently managing their digital TV operations.
Importantly, the OTT network has not been developed as planned; only grand promises exist about advancing broadcasting and telecommunications toward a highly efficient ecosystem with 4G and 5G networks.
Professor Dr. Soranun Boonbaichayapruk, NBTC chairman, said this is a major issue that must be handled within legal frameworks and that if unfinished, the existing plan can temporarily remain in use.
He added that there is no intention to delay the matter, but the master plan and roadmap involve many details requiring joint discussion, possibly involving mediators or academic institutions for review.
Nevertheless, the new digital TV license auction is scheduled to be completed by 2027 before the current licenses for the 18 digital TV channels expire.
Regarding the new license fees, reports indicate that using the original starting bid—over 10 billion baht for HD digital TV licenses (excluding variety, news, and children’s channels)—would make it difficult for any digital TV channel to participate.
This is because viewership has dropped sharply, with over 70% shifting to foreign and domestic streaming platforms operating over OTT networks, which have the significant advantage of not paying broadcasting licenses to the NBTC.
In contrast, digital TV channels must comply with broadcast regulations while bearing economic risks independently, at a time when consumer behavior favors seeking new program formats from streaming.
Therefore, the new license starting bids should be substantially lowered. Some TV operators feel the NBTC has not sufficiently supported them, especially by failing to expand OTT network infrastructure.
As digital TV faces disruption from streaming, independent journalists, YouTubers, news pages, podcasts, and even viral clips from the public can broadcast online immediately when major events occur, causing many TV channels to become merely"trend followers"on social media rather than"trend creators"themselves.
This issue should make the NBTC board realize how much the new license fees should be reduced. For example, setting fees at 100 million baht per channel (totaling 1.8 billion baht for 18 channels) is still less than the over 2 billion baht annually granted to Thai PBS, meaning the NBTC’s revenue from licenses would remain below expenditures given to Thai PBS.
Some believe digital TV channels might pay high fees to maintain media influence, advertising leverage, and decades-old brand equity to support online expansion or simply to protect existing business bases rather than to invest for growth. However, they must acknowledge that current and future realities have changed: today,"television channels"and"media" are no longer synonymous.
Television is no longer the sole gateway to news or entertainment as it once monopolized distribution, controlled large audience access, and set social agendas, particularly during prime time when many viewers tuned in.
Frequency spectrum is a public resource; if no operator finds it worthwhile to invest, it reflects the changed economic value of terrestrial TV.
The problem thus lies with the government and the NBTC, as regulatory authorities, to seriously reconsider and clearly state whether
1. license fees and conditions will be lowered,
2. the number of required channels in the market should be reduced,
3. frequency roles should be partially reassigned to other uses, such as radio and telecommunications,
4. a new system should be designed to better align with streaming and online eras.
If the NBTC clearly fulfills its roles and responsibilities going forward, television will not disappear but will become one of many platforms, which should be allowed to evolve naturally within the economic system to continue creating jobs and revenue.