BANGKOK (The Nation/ANN) - The industry desperately needs brave producers and more creative ideas – Thailand can do better than endless soaps and celebrity parades.
The honeymoon has ended quickly for some of those involved in Thailand’s switch to digital TV, a change touted as a revolution but falling far short of expectations. Two years after celebrating their victories in the bidding for licences, these operators want to return them. And the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) is about to revoke another outfit’s two licences for failing to pay the required fees.
Amid robust debate, the broadcasting regulator is facing a dilemma: Should the licensees be allowed to renege on the responsibilities they assumed? It’s a question that as yet has no clear answer, since no one anticipated such a scenario, especially after witnessing furious competition for the digital licences.
Everyone in the industry seemed convinced – and the media and public were led to believe – that digital TV would be a lucrative investment.
How could this have gone so wrong?
In theory, the transition from analog to digital broadcasting meant greater opportunities for all, with more players being given equal footing. In reality, however, the established terrestrial-TV operators maintained their edge over the newcomers due to bigger audiences and sheer experience.
Sweeping changes in television fare were expected, surely greater diversity in content at least. That didn’t happen either. The status quo remains unchanged and digital TV has had scant impact on viewing habits. Soap operas are still the most popular offerings, along with game shows featuring celebrities. The newcomers knew this is what Thais watch most and most of them merely copied the format, with dire financial results in some cases.
Inevitably, it is content – not technology – that will determine the success or failure of the TV business. Certainly there is no single formula for success, but content producers and distributors have become trapped by convention. Only a few have dared to be different and experiment with fresh concepts. The high stakes involved in digital programming have rendered the majority shy about taking risks, though, at least as long as viewer numbers and ratings remain the primary determining factors. This is understandable, but so is the outcome: When every channel has similar content, some of them have to end up the losers.
In terms of advertising, again, digital TV has brought little change. Corporations naturally want their ads on the programmes with the highest ratings, so the shows with the most viewers get the most sponsorship spending. Innovation goes financially unrewarded and withers on the vine. The lack of courage among advertisers to back new or niche concepts matches that of the cash-strapped station operators.
Producers perhaps believe that Thai viewing habits will not change, but we see rather a chicken-and-egg situation just waiting for someone to make the first move. They say they’ll air quality shows that are as informative as they are entertaining if sponsors will put up the money. The sponsors say they’ll provide the financing for just such a show if it can pull in the ratings. No one wants to be a pioneer in this wearying stand-off.
The transition to digital TV has thus far been all about technology. The content being aired has changed little. And now we have operators complaining about NBTC “inefficiency” in distributing set-top boxes to enough homes. If all this is to be turned around, it’s going to take a long time.
Moreover, even in the midst of heated competition, the producers have to be thinking about ways to lure younger viewers away from their computer screens and smartphones. The would-be television audience of the future is for now finding greater variety in online content, and it’s often of higher quality. The digital-TV licensees, producers and advertisers can count this among the many factors dictating their success or failure. One coping strategy that’s not being tried is adopting a sense of adventure. Try new ideas, venture beyond the mundane, and we would expect the NBCT to facilitate them.