Five digital TV channel operators failed to appear yesterday to pay the third instalment of auction fees, saying they would wait to hear a court's decision on their payment delay request.
The five channels missing the payment were One, PPTV, Thairath TV, GMM and Bright TV.
They said in a joint statement that they declined to pay the third auction fee instalment because they were awaiting a ruling on their injunction request.
The Central Administrative Court will hear the case on Friday.
The five channels are part of a group of eight digital TV channels seeking a court injunction for a payment delay. The combined auction fees for the eight channels are worth 3 billion baht for the third instalment.
Three of the eight -- Nation, Now and Spring News -- made their payments yesterday but reserved their rights if the court ruled in their favour.
Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, said the regulator's next move would be to collect documents related to the case, with the NBTC passing them to the broadcasting panel to find a solution.
"We hope the operators of the five digital TV channels will come to pay the auction fees," he said. "We will send them a legal notice soon after the broadcasting panel's next meeting."
The eight channels have blamed the NBTC for failing to facilitate a smooth digital TV transition.