After 50 years in the TV industry, Channel 3 is facing its toughest challenge with the global trend of digital disruption. A lot remains to be proved for Ariya Banomyong, president of Channel 3 operator BEC World Plc, including whether he can see BEC through the storm and find proper and sustainable business solutions for the firm.
Mr Ariya, 46, was chosen to lead the company last April, part of the firm's transition from a family-run business to a professionally managed company. The firm had long been directed by the Maleenont clan.
Mr Ariya has years of experience working for mobile and tech companies like Orange, True, Google and Line. Now he has to demonstrate his skills in running a traditional TV business like Channel 3.
On his first day on the job 10 months ago, Mr Ariya told the media: "If I can do this successfully, it might be a world first where a TV business can make a rebound."
In the third quarter of last year, BEC swung to a 93.6-million-baht profit, reversing losses of 103.6 million baht in the second quarter and 128 million baht in the first quarter.
For the full year, the company posted a loss of 397.2 million baht, compared with a 330.2-million-baht loss a year earlier.
Think differently
Mr Ariya tells the Bangkok Post that the TV business is facing numerous challenges and may require new thinking to find a way out.
"This is a doubly challenging task to transform the TV business under digital disruption and the gloomy economic circumstances where ad spending is shrinking," he says. "If this were an easy task, everyone would have already solved this."
With extensive experience from his work at various tech organisations, he likes thinking differently to accomplish tasks.
After graduation, Mr Ariya worked for telecom operator Orange in Romania in the customer service department, handling the customer relationship management (CRM) system across multi-site call centres.
Upon returning to Thailand, he worked on convergence issues at True Corporation before becoming the point man to set up Google's Thailand office and serving as the company's country head from 2011.
At Google Thailand, he nurtured relationship with clients, agencies, partners and the government as the number of employees grew to 50 within four years.
He then was appointed the first managing director of Line Thailand in October 2015.
"Every step of my career brought me experience," Mr Ariya says.
Audience focus
Regardless of where he worked domestically and internationally, the priority was the customer-comes-first approach: businesses must heed customer needs and behaviour.
What Channel 3 can offer is content, what Mr Ariya calls the DNA of the company.
"We no longer focus on serving as a digital TV channel, but we give weight to content that can be aired on every 'display' channel so audiences can watch," he says.
He sees a path forward for the TV business: "For Channel 3, it will be to export local content by partnering with over-the-top (OTT) platforms to reach new audiences."
In the past 10 months, Channel 3 content has reached audiences in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines.
"China has a population of 1.4 billion, 20 times Thailand's," Mr Ariya says. "If we can make local drama attractive for Chinese viewers, this will be a massive opportunity."
BEC will not only focus on exporting its content through licences, but it will also explore new ad opportunities, co-production of content and even viewership subscriptions.
"The most important thing is that if we can achieve success, Thailand will gain a reputation for creating global content," Mr Ariya says.
Direct approach
Channel 3, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, has the strength of its assets, which include nearly 200 artists and drama producers.
"We need to leverage these assets while diversifying and expanding new businesses for sustainable growth," Mr Ariya says.
Digital business will be key. By the end of February, the company aims to roll out the Channel3 Plus (Ch3+) app, which will air a wide variety of content: dramas, news, movies.
The new app will engage with the audience and offer reward points. While watching programmes, viewers can scan a QR code and receive special privileges like discounts.
"This will lead traffic or sales to brands," Mr Ariya says, adding that through the digital platform, the company can gain customer data for analysis and work with brands on CRM.
The new engagement is in line with the global direct-to-consumer trend, whereby brands are seeking direct connections and communication with customers and bypassing distributors and dealers.
Technology can enable brands to reach out to users directly and obtain customer insight.
"We will arrange warehouses and logistics delivery for brands as a one-stop shop," Mr Ariya says, calling commerce a future growth business.
Home shopping via TV is a promising opportunity for Channel 3, as the segment posted revenue of 10.2 billion baht in 2019 -- a 38% year-on-year jump.
Partners have used Channel 3's airtime to run home shopping, but the station aims to operate its own service in the future.
Transformation
Since Channel 3 has been operating for five decades, it needs to undergo a culture transformation to make it more agile and lean enough to cope with rapid changes in audience behaviour.
In February, the channel began offering early retirement for employees as part of efforts to streamline the company.
BEC has 1,600-1,700 employees and needs downsizing in the face of constrained ad spending and current economic woes.
The company is also making changes to programming aired during prime time, 6pm-10.30pm.
In the 6pm-7pm hour, new variety shows will be rolled out to replace drama reruns. New dramas with a family focus will air at 7pm. From 8.20pm, the channel will show new dramas with a broader variety of plots.
Although reruns are generally perceived as a cash cow to guarantee viewership success, "I think I am more willing to take risk with changes", Mr Ariya says. "If we still do the same thing, it might finally end in failure. I am the one who is afraid of being a failure, and this motivates me to try to move forward."
In 2019, ad spending on TV totalled 56.5 billion baht, down 7% from a year earlier. Across all the media, ad spending was 109 billion baht, a 2% drop.
A total of 15 digital TV channels are operating in the market after seven exited the business last August and September and received state assistance in line with a Section 44 order.
But 15 is still excessive in Mr Ariya's view, as the TV industry has been hit hard by digital disruption: "Eight rather than 15 digital TV channels should be the best number for the industry over the next few years."
Bottom line
It's digital disruption that is making Mr Ariya's role at BEC the "toughest job" of his career.
"The bottom line is to understand your audience, define content and make the organisational culture ready to serve customers," he says. "Luckily I still have fun with the challenge and continue with improvement."
And while businesses need a short-term plan to cope with rapid change and disruption, they also need a three-year plan to prepare for future changes in the industry. By making changes early and continuing to evolve, companies will endure less pain than if they have to deal with sudden changes, Mr Ariya says.
"I still believe TV will never die out, as we can see Apple TV and Android TV run by tech giants taking part in this business," he says. "The TV content business still has a future, but it needs to be fine-tuned. It must not stay the same."
BIO DATA
Ariya Banomyong
Age: 46
EDUCATION
- Bachelor's and master's degrees, mathematics and information technology, University of Paris-Est Marne-la-Vallee
- Master's degree, management, London School of Economics
CAREER
- 2019-present: President, BEC World Plc
- 2015-19: Managing director, Line Thailand
- 2011-15: Country head, Google Thailand
- 2008-11: Chief commercial ocer, True Corporation Plc
HOBBIES
- CrossFit, kitesurfing, flowboarding, diving