Thai production companies view streaming platforms as a new slice of the pie as traditional TV ad spending declines.
Ad spending on Thai TV in the first six months of this year totalled 33 billion baht, down by 2%, while ad spending on the internet increased to 18 billion, up 8% year-on-year, according to analytics firm Nielsen Thailand.
The report noted that TV retains the largest share of advertising spending at 50%, but the current level represents a decline from 65% recorded a decade ago.
Takonkiet Viravan, group chief executive of The ONE Enterprise Plc, said ad revenue in the Thai TV industry has declined.
With TV ad revenue falling to 45%, the company is pushing for growth via global content distribution, driving premium content production, licensing content, fan meetings with actors and organising concerts, which can help reduce reliance on TV ad revenue.
Natakrit Wannapinyo, chief operating officer of MAI-listed TV Thunder, a local production company, said the segment is paying more attention to streaming platforms as they see opportunities for co-production for global content distribution.
He did not reveal the production budget for the streaming platforms and traditional TV, but said companies might get higher budgets for producing original content as the platforms tend to distribute the content globally.
"However, this is a daunting task as companies would have to compete on the quality of their production. The question is how to make the company different from others," said Mr Natakrit.
He said the company views that LGBTQ-related content can reach a wider audience as this community is looking for content they can connect with, and audience data can help brands forge meaningful connections.
For TV dramas, TV Thunder tries to differentiate itself from others by developing strong and intriguing plots, with the element of LGBTQ couples as part of the storyline instead of focusing solely on such relationships, he said.
Arunocha Phanuphan, managing director of Broadcast Thai Television Co Ltd, said the company views streaming platforms as an add-on to the existing media platforms where people can rewatch or catch up with shows they have missed.