Listed digital TV operators are seeing signs of improvement in as their financial results picked up in the third quarter amid stronger channel positioning.
Among new digital TV players, Workpoint Entertainment Plc and Mono Technology Plc were strong performers.
Workpoint posted third-quarter net profit of 108 million baht, up 134% year-on-year, on revenue of 776.5 million baht, up 21%.
Mono posted net profit of 10.1 million baht, swinging from a loss of 111.8 million baht in the same quarter last year, on revenue of 615.5 million baht, up 32.5%.
Amarin Printing and Publishing and GMM Grammy saw smaller net losses. Amarin posted a net loss of 126.26 million baht, narrowing 11.3% year-on-year, on revenue of 492 million baht, up 2.5%.
It has synergised its content from print to online.
Grammy posted a net loss of 11 million baht, narrowing 92% year-on-year, on revenue of 2.06 billion baht, level with prior-year results.
RS Plc had a weaker performance as it posted a third-quarter net loss of 60.9 million baht, compared with a net profit of 17.6 million baht in the same quarter last year.
Revenue fell 12.8% to 714.9 million baht.
RS has a very strong audience base from Thai-style dramas and news talk shows as well as boxing programmes.
BEC World Plc's Channel 3 and MCOT Plc's Channel 9 (MCOT HD), which have a simulcast broadcast, had weaker performance in the third quarter.
BEC World saw its third-quarter net profit fall 45.8% year-on-year to 255.1 million baht on revenue totalling 2.95 billion baht, down 11.3%, due mainly to the impact of lower advertising revenue and the absence of news anchor Sorrayuth Suthassanachinda.
MCOT's revenue dropped 36% year-on-year to 660 million baht while its net loss was 257 million baht, down from a profit of 55 million last year.
Triluj Navamarat, chairman of the Media Agency Association of Thailand, said the digital TV business is very intense and it is expected that at least five major digital TV operators, out of a total 24, will survive the sluggish economy and falling ad spending.
Mana Treelayapewat, dean of the School of Communication Arts at the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce, added the top-10 digital TV operators were also expected to survive the next 3-4 years as they have the financial strength to invest and brace for losses until they reach a break-even point, which could take up to seven years.
Listed digital TV operators have stable audience bases and channel positioning as they produce the majority of their TV content.