Regulator blames GMM Grammy for Euro row

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Regulator blames GMM Grammy for Euro row

The saga over the broadcasting rights to the football tournament has caused consternation and confusion among fans and NBTC's broadcasting head Natee Sukonrat says it's all due to a loophole in the system ready for exploitation and that a new game plan is needed

Published: 17 Jun 2012 at 00.00
Newspaper section: Spectrum

The controversy surrounding the broadcasting of Euro 2012 matches has swept politics from front pages and left millions of frustrated fans demanding to know: What happened to my football?

WHAT YOU MISSED: Croatian forward Nikica Jelavic, right, celebrates after a goal during the Euro 2012 Italy vs Croatia match at the Municipal Stadium in Poznan, Poland.

The answer can be traced back to when GMM Grammy first bought the rights to the competition from the Union of European Football Associations (Uefa). Grammy acquired the rights to boost the market share of its new satellite TV company GMM Z, which requires viewers to buy a dedicated 1,590 baht set-top box. Grammy also sub-licensed Euro 2012 broadcast rights to Channel 3, Channel 5 and Modernine TV, on a revenue-sharing basis.

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ardsong
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Discussion 13 : 18 Jun 2012 at 10.4713
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@lek I guess you are correct, but then Grammy hijack the free stations by being so "friendly" to offer them the signals (at a price). BUT... by doing this Grammy blocked any other provider to transmit the EU football.
Free-channels should have made themselves a deal with the UEFA, than I expect that all transmission be it analogues or digital through any provider would have had the football.
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lek
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Discussion 12 : 17 Jun 2012 at 16.0912
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Grammy's big mistake was to let the free channels have the feed. Once they did that it was inevitable that thwe NBTC would cry foul in Truevision not being able to carry it on digital. If I am correct, no part of the regulations say that a company must provide the free channels with programming.
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ardsong
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Discussion 11 : 17 Jun 2012 at 13.4711
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THE remedy for TRUEvision:
- you collect the free air TV signals analogue. that is free as it is for everyone in Thailand.
- you route that free signal through a AD converter , to make a digital signal
- you transmit the free signal, only now digitally converted to your normal sattelite system

all TRUE subscribers can now watch the free to air channels, be it in analogues quality. :)
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vodoo
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Discussion 10 : 17 Jun 2012 at 12.3710
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Wow, already in the beginning of June the TRUE letter was sent. Looks like excellent planning skills and time management capabilities. BTW, what about the Olympic games, any rights or licenses required there?? In two years there will be the World Championship. Just wonder when they will start to blame UEFA for this mess. Would fit in the usual "Save Face thing", since Thainess obviously means without failures.
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kuson
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Discussion 9 : 17 Jun 2012 at 12.169
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NBC, well said. Consumer Protection is the most important thing here, to protect the viewers in Thailand. FreeTV content must be rebroadcasted; If a company does not want to sell to FreeTV, then just keep it in their own networks.
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hawaiiman
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Discussion 8 : 17 Jun 2012 at 11.458
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Personally, I'm happy. Maybe True will back off on soccer a little and give some time to other sports like: WRC, NFL,golf and others. Normally I can go on True and there will be at least 4-6 soccer matches. Come on!
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mr.meldrew
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Discussion 7 : 17 Jun 2012 at 09.347
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2 million truevisions customers with blank screen? Rubbish. Just put an antennae in the back and watch, unless you live in the outback. I bought the grammy box just in case the free TV disappeared and guess what? You have to use the truevisions satellite dish to use the grammy box. Methinks they are in some sort of deal together
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rebel4ever
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Discussion 6 : 17 Jun 2012 at 09.126
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When you are amending the rules, please include that high rise buildings must have one common disk on the roof and not those eye-sores on each balcony... See the picture.
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hillfarang
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Discussion 5 : 17 Jun 2012 at 09.035
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"The first thing is the transition to digital TV. This will create opportunities for more free-to-air TV stations..."

YES, but only if Thailand allows it free of censorship, cultural purity, legal threats, interference... etc., etc.

Any chance of that???
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macca64
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Discussion 4 : 17 Jun 2012 at 08.234
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Totally agree with disc'1. True was looking for a free ride and has no one to blame but themselves .
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