Thai Public Broadcasting Service
Encyclopedia
The Thai Public Broadcasting Service , or, in brief, TPBS , is a public broadcasting service
in Thailand. It is established by the Thai Public Broadcasting Service Act, BE 2551 (2008), which came into force as from January 15, 2008. Under this Act, the TPBS holds a status of state agency with legal personality
but not being a government agency
or state enterprise.
The TPBS operates Thai PBS , which was formerly known as ITV, TITV and TVThai Television Station respectively. Thai PBS is a public television station broadcasting in UHF Channel 29. The station is broadcasting on a frequency formerly held by the privately-run channel, iTV
. TPBS was Tested Broadcast on a temporary frequency was appropriating by TVT (TV 11 Thailand) on January 15-31, 2008. at Television of Thailand (New-Petchaburi Road Broadcasting Station) where was temporary to Broadcast. and Programming started airing on February 1, same year.
, a privately owned channel run which started broadcasting in 1995 under a 30-year state concession. According to the covenant, iTV had to include news and information no less than 70% of its total airtime. However, this pressing condition made it difficult for iTV to sustain as a for-profit business entity because, with the program structure dominated with news and information, the station hardly met its revenue target. Soon after the 1997 economic crisis
in which Thailand was harshly hit, iTV underwent massive debt restructuring. Nation Multimedia Group, a major news and publishing company and shareholder, pulled out and was replaced by Shin Corporation
, a telecommunications conglomerate owned by the family of Thaksin Shinawatra
, who was elected prime minister
in 2000.
Under Shin Corporation, iTV was granted permission by an arbitration panel to increase the amount of entertainment programming and pay a significantly reduced amount of annual licensing fee in 2004. The case was contested in Thailand's Central Administrative Court, but iTV restructured its programming anyway to include more entertainment programs and less news. This move was criticized as an act against its original spirit of public news station. iTV was also harshly criticized for its biased coverage in favor of Thaksin government, particularly when the government encountered fierce public scrutiny surrounding the sales of Shin Corporation to Temasek Holdings
and its aftermath which eventually led to the 2006 Thai coup d'état.
, which renamed the station TITV, but continued programming provided by the former iTV.
to ensure its financial independence and to protect itself against any possible business links. The organization is designed such that autonomy and immunity to any intervention from politicians or state power are ensured. The required establishment of aViewers Committee would also help guarantee accountability and the quality of programs that reflects demands from viewers.
The creation of Thai PBS was controversial, because it displaced the privately-run iTV
. The announcement that iTV was to be shut down and replaced by the commercial-free TPBS in accordance with the Public Broadcasting Service Act was made with no prior announcement. Approximately 800 employees of the former TITV were uncertain of their jobs.
All of TITV's old programming was pulled from the air and, during a two-week interim period, programming was provided by the Public Relations Department's Television of Thailand, and mainly consisted of tributes to Princess Galyani Vadhana
, who had died on January 2, 2008.
Most of the production staff for TPBS has come from the ranks of former iTV/TITV crew. The status of around 300 for iTV/TITV journalists has been uncertain. Managing Director of Thai PBS is Thepchai Yong
, a former editor of The Nation newspaper and News Director of iTV who in 2009 was awarded a Media Leadership Award by the US-based international media development NGO Internews
.
Before August 2008 it always close at 0:00. And open at 7:00. Then later open at 6:00. Since March 2009 it opens at 5:00.
From August 2009 it close sometimes between 0:30 and 3:30.
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
in Thailand. It is established by the Thai Public Broadcasting Service Act, BE 2551 (2008), which came into force as from January 15, 2008. Under this Act, the TPBS holds a status of state agency with legal personality
Legal personality
Legal personality is the characteristic of a non-human entity regarded by law to have the status of a person....
but not being a government agency
Government agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
or state enterprise.
The TPBS operates Thai PBS , which was formerly known as ITV, TITV and TVThai Television Station respectively. Thai PBS is a public television station broadcasting in UHF Channel 29. The station is broadcasting on a frequency formerly held by the privately-run channel, iTV
ITV (Thailand)
iTV was a television station in Thailand, owned by ITV Public Company Limited , a unit of Shin Corporation. Thailand's first UHF channel, the station was started in 1995 when the company was granted a 30-year concession by the Office of the Permanent Secretary to the Prime Minister's Office to...
. TPBS was Tested Broadcast on a temporary frequency was appropriating by TVT (TV 11 Thailand) on January 15-31, 2008. at Television of Thailand (New-Petchaburi Road Broadcasting Station) where was temporary to Broadcast. and Programming started airing on February 1, same year.
The iTV years
Discussion of a public television station in Thailand began in the aftermath of the "Bloody May" crackdown on anti-government protests in 1992, in which the need was expressed for a TV station that would broadcast news and information free from state intervention. The resulting public debate give rise to iTVITV (Thailand)
iTV was a television station in Thailand, owned by ITV Public Company Limited , a unit of Shin Corporation. Thailand's first UHF channel, the station was started in 1995 when the company was granted a 30-year concession by the Office of the Permanent Secretary to the Prime Minister's Office to...
, a privately owned channel run which started broadcasting in 1995 under a 30-year state concession. According to the covenant, iTV had to include news and information no less than 70% of its total airtime. However, this pressing condition made it difficult for iTV to sustain as a for-profit business entity because, with the program structure dominated with news and information, the station hardly met its revenue target. Soon after the 1997 economic crisis
East Asian financial crisis
The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of Asia beginning in July 1997, and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion....
in which Thailand was harshly hit, iTV underwent massive debt restructuring. Nation Multimedia Group, a major news and publishing company and shareholder, pulled out and was replaced by Shin Corporation
Shin Corporation
Shin Corporation is one of the largest conglomerates in Thailand.- History :It was founded in 1983 as Shinawatra Computer by Thaksin Shinawatra, former Prime Minister of Thailand, and took on its current name in 1999, by using the first four letters of his last name...
, a telecommunications conglomerate owned by the family of Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician, who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was overthrown in a military coup....
, who was elected prime minister
Prime Minister of Thailand
The Prime Minister of Thailand is the head of government of Thailand. The Prime Minister is also the chairman of the Cabinet of Thailand. The post has existed since the Revolution of 1932, when the country became a constitutional monarchy....
in 2000.
Under Shin Corporation, iTV was granted permission by an arbitration panel to increase the amount of entertainment programming and pay a significantly reduced amount of annual licensing fee in 2004. The case was contested in Thailand's Central Administrative Court, but iTV restructured its programming anyway to include more entertainment programs and less news. This move was criticized as an act against its original spirit of public news station. iTV was also harshly criticized for its biased coverage in favor of Thaksin government, particularly when the government encountered fierce public scrutiny surrounding the sales of Shin Corporation to Temasek Holdings
Temasek Holdings
Temasek Holdings is an investment company owned by the government of Singapore. With an international staff of 380 people, it manages a portfolio of about S$193 billion at end of March 2011, focused primarily in Asia...
and its aftermath which eventually led to the 2006 Thai coup d'état.
iTV becomes TITV
In June 2006, the Administrative Court ruled that iTV's move to change its programming structure ran against conditions stated in the covenant and ruled that iTV pay fines and reduced concession fee illegitimately granted by the arbitration panel amounting to 94 billion Baht. The ruling practically put iTV into bankruptcy. The concession was later repealed and iTV and its airwave were returned to state possession during the Surayud administrationSurayud Chulanont
General Surayud Chulanont is a Thai political figure. He was the Prime Minister of Thailand and head of Thailand's Interim Government between 2006 and 2008...
, which renamed the station TITV, but continued programming provided by the former iTV.
Creation of Thai PBS
The Surayud administration formed a task force headed by Somkiat Tangkijvanich to conduct a possibility study to transform iTV into a fully public-financed television station. This effort resulted in the proposal of Public Broadcasting Service Act, in which legal measures were put in place to protect the new TV station against both political and commercial influence. According to the PBS Act, the new public TV station, called TPBS (Thai Public Broadcasting Service), receives financial support derived from sin taxesSin tax
A sin tax is a kind of sumptuary tax: a tax specifically levied on certain generally socially proscribed goods and services. These goods are usually alcohol and tobacco, but also include candies, soft drinks, fat foods and coffee, while services range from prostitution to...
to ensure its financial independence and to protect itself against any possible business links. The organization is designed such that autonomy and immunity to any intervention from politicians or state power are ensured. The required establishment of aViewers Committee would also help guarantee accountability and the quality of programs that reflects demands from viewers.
The creation of Thai PBS was controversial, because it displaced the privately-run iTV
ITV (Thailand)
iTV was a television station in Thailand, owned by ITV Public Company Limited , a unit of Shin Corporation. Thailand's first UHF channel, the station was started in 1995 when the company was granted a 30-year concession by the Office of the Permanent Secretary to the Prime Minister's Office to...
. The announcement that iTV was to be shut down and replaced by the commercial-free TPBS in accordance with the Public Broadcasting Service Act was made with no prior announcement. Approximately 800 employees of the former TITV were uncertain of their jobs.
All of TITV's old programming was pulled from the air and, during a two-week interim period, programming was provided by the Public Relations Department's Television of Thailand, and mainly consisted of tributes to Princess Galyani Vadhana
Galyani Vadhana
Her Royal Highness Princess Galyani Vadhana, the Princess of Naradhiwas , was a princess of Thailand and the elder sister of King Ananda Mahidol and King Bhumibol Adulyadej...
, who had died on January 2, 2008.
Transitions
- At night of 14/1, at 23:40, the program is cut-offed and replace by the live program, for a few minutes, until 23:58, it is replaced by clockClock identA clock ident is a form of television ident that employs a clock displaying the current time with the station logo, typically used before news bulletins and closedown.-Appearance:...
in black-and-white for 2 minutes, later the EBC colorbars with TITV logo and beep. - Later at 4:30, logo is removed. Also the beep is removed. Later played the speech in English about global warming with Thai subtitles played on signal. Then it's fixed at 5:05 and replaced by beep again.
- At 5:56, the temporary version of TPBS is aired to 23:30 until 18/1, and the official version of TPBS starts airing.
Broadcasting commences
New programming by TPBS commenced on February 1, 2008, consisting of documentaries and children's programs, commissioned by the Public Relations Department. Broadcast hours were originally from 4:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily, later 11:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., and later 5:00 a.m. to midnight. with five to six hours of news programs.Most of the production staff for TPBS has come from the ranks of former iTV/TITV crew. The status of around 300 for iTV/TITV journalists has been uncertain. Managing Director of Thai PBS is Thepchai Yong
Thepchai Yong
Thepchai Yong is a Thai newspaper and television journalist known for his reporting on corruption and his criticism of the governments of Suchinda Kraprayoon and Thaksin Shinawatra....
, a former editor of The Nation newspaper and News Director of iTV who in 2009 was awarded a Media Leadership Award by the US-based international media development NGO Internews
Internews
Internews Network is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to empower local media worldwide to give people the news and information they need, the ability to connect, and the means to make their voices heard...
.
Logo History
| Years | Description |
|---|---|
| January 15, 2008 – January 31, 2008 | Similar to NBC logo. Instead of NBC it is PBS |
| February 1, 2008 – April 30, 2008 | Same as the former logo. But instead of PBS it is ไทย |
| May 1, 2008 – January 14, 2009 | Dove in orange with "ไทย" |
| January 15, 2009 – April 8, 2011 | Orange dove with "ทีวีไทย" under the dove. |
| April 9, 2011 – | Orange dove with "Thai PBS" under the dove. |
Clocks
TV clocks in Thailand is only on TV3 and TVT (Now called NBT). This channel may have clock sometimes in the future.Theme song
- February 1, 2008 - January 14, 2009 - Extreme
- January 15, 2009 - May 20, 2010 - Signature
- April 9, 2010 - present - Thai PBS theme song
Closing and Opening times
"Closing time" is 100%. It will choose the time randomly like 0:40. But it announced in the schedule.Before August 2008 it always close at 0:00. And open at 7:00. Then later open at 6:00. Since March 2009 it opens at 5:00.
From August 2009 it close sometimes between 0:30 and 3:30.