Who doesn't love freebies? Since the free stuff is also the most popular football event on earth, the cheering has been loud for the coup leaders who made it possible for all matches of the World Cup to be shown on free TV.
Before, people had to fork out 1,590 baht to buy a set-top box from the World Cup broadcast rights owner RS Plc if they wanted to enjoy all 64 matches.
The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), however, wanted the month-long football event to be available for free as part of its campaign to return happiness to the Thai people.
The coup body thus had the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) compensate RS Plc for lost revenue so that the originally pay-to-view matches could be broadcast on free-to-air TV.
The NBTC on Thursday agreed to use money from the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Research Development Fund for the Public Interest (BTFP) for the purpose.
The fund, worth about 22 billion baht, is made up of digital TV auctions, annual fees and fines collected from broadcasting and telecom operators.
There is no doubt that the coup body's move on the free-to-air World Cup is aimed to win favour and garner popularity for the top brass.
Most, if not all, people would agree that it would be better for popular and important sport events to be freely available so that everyone in the country — not just those who can afford the extra fees — has an equal opportunity to enjoy them.
Some people have also hailed the top brass for working on all fronts in an attempt to reunify the country.
The free-World Cup policy is still questionable.
Chief among public queries is whether spending the BTFP's money to buy the World Cup broadcast rights could be considered misuse of the public interest fund.
According to the NBTC's website, the BTFP can be disbursed for five purposes: To give people access to broadcasting and telecom services; to support the sectors' research and development; to support the sectors' personnel development; to protect consumers; and to finance creative media.
Buying broadcasting rights for the World Cup does not appear to fit any of the five categories.
NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasit, however, argued that paying RS Plc to have the World Cup on free TV met the BTFP's first objective, which is to provide basic broadcasting services to all Thai people, particularly the disabled, elderly and disadvantaged.
If so, why stop at the World Cup? If major sport events are deemed as basic broadcasting services, should the NBTC buy or subsidise broadcast rights for the NBA, Formula One or Grand Slam tennis series as well to be fair to other viewers and not just football lovers?
There is also a question of whether the 427 million baht — which is what it is costing to buy the rights — is well-spent under the definition. How about fee Wifi or community computer centres? Would these help the country's development more than watching the World Cup?
Besides, the World Cup and other popular sports events are not ordinary programmes but lucrative franchises that are traded under the free market capitalist system and strictly protected by licence fees as well as copyright. They are not free goods and it is risky for the NBTC or the military rulers to start tampering with these global businesses.
Coup leader Prayuth Chan-ocha has vowed to pursue good governance, righteousness and transparency as he takes the country through a reform process. He may need the "happiness campaign" to be popular but it should not become a populist one.