January 2011

Keeping Thailand in View

CASBAA kicked-off the New Year by keeping Thailand in View! With estimated cable and satellite ad billings to be worth over US$110million (nearly 3.5 billion baht) at the close of 2010, Thailand’s broadcasting industry deserves a closer look.

On January 20th, CASBAA, in association with the Satellite Television Association of Thailand (STAT), presented the Thailand in View seminar in Bangkok with a full roster of influential speakers, including the Prime Minister of Thailand, discussing the country’s broadcasting business today and what lies ahead for its future. The forum, attracting some 200 delegates, speakers and media, offered valuable insights across a variety of subjects including the widening reach of cable and satellite TV, rising ad spend and the exponential growth of free-to-air satellite TV.

For more of the tools you need to do business in Thailand, please visit ourATAC site.

The full Thailand in View country report is available soon.  For a sneak peek of the report, click here.

Regulatory

Vietnam on the spot
CASBAA takes aim

Controversy has continued to swirl over sports rights in Vietnam. Recent weeks have been marked by a major petition campaign against the migration of soccer games from free-TV to pay-TV, and the announcement of signature of a 20-year exclusive broadcasting deal for Vietnam’s domestic football V-League with pay-TV newcomer AVG. Meanwhile, CASBAA has been active in conveying to the Vietnam government the pay-TV industry’s view that exclusive content is an important part of the business model for a growing industry. The most recent set of CASBAA letters and papers can be downloaded from the CASBAA website Member Zone.

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The dangers of A La Carte

Singapore’s Straits Times newspaper published an Op-Ed column talking about the perils of mandating by regulation the break-up of pay-TV bundles and market-determined commercial offerings. The article is an unusually clear discussion of some of the key issues affecting the pay-TV industry.Read more.

Market News

Traditional media need to be on their toes amid shift to digital, social networking and cable TV. Read more.

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With the Cricket World Cup in the offing, authorities in the UAE have threatened fines against individuals using smuggled set-top boxes and smartcards to view Indian DTH services. Read more.

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A research group has come out with the list of 10 key technologies that will greatly impact the technology world in 2011. Read more.

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Taiwan’s National Communications Commission is proposing legislation to bring about more competition in the cable-TV industry and eliminate the current monopoly enjoyed within service areas by individual cable providers.Read more.

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The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is preparing to publish a consultation paper on 4G, even as the service providers have still not fulfilled their obligations relating to 3G and 2G which have run into controversies.Read more.