Major news channels saw their TV viewership ratings sharply increase in the wake of last month's bombing at Ratchaprasong intersection.
The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) said audiences watched live news reports related to the bombing on Aug 17, with the viewership ratings of six news stations peaking from 7pm-midnight on that date.
That night, viewership ratings of Nation TV and Thairath TV more than quadrupled one week before, to 0.481 and 1.111 from 0.113 and 0.276, respectively.
The ratings of the TNN 24 Channel jumped to 0.19 from 0.079, Spring News Channel increased to 0.133 from 0.065, Thai PBS went up to 0.412 from 0.233, and Amarin TV rose to 0.449 from 0.12.
In contrast, digital channels that aired normal programming saw their ratings decline during the prime-time period on Aug 17.
Only Channels 3 and 7 did not see their ratings drop very much even though they aired soap operas, as they have a solid audience base nationwide.
The deadly blast took place a few minutes before 7pm at the Erawan Shrine that night, and the rapid increase in viewership ratings for news channels reflected TV audiences closely monitoring the situation, NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said.
"This has told us viewer behaviour can change at any time whenever a very important incident occurs," he said.
"Live news reports during unusual situations are in high demand among viewers."
The NBTC suggested digital TV channel operators adjust their content to suit the changing situation so they can survive the heavy competition.
Mr Takorn said viewers today did not stick to just one or two channels like in the past but instead switched to others if they considered them to have attractive programmes.
Weeks after the explosion, TV viewers continue to watch news more frequently, he said.
They want updates on the bombing aftermath, the suspects and police efforts to hunt down the culprits.
Year-to-date, Channels 7 and 3 are ranked as the first and second most watched channels nationwide, respectively, according to Nielsen Co (Thailand).
They are followed by Workpoint TV, Channel 8, Mono TV, the One Channel and Channel 9.
