NBT2HD will show live Thai League 1 matches beginning next month, PM's Office Minister Anucha Nakasai said on Wednesday.
The government's TV station will broadcast games from Oct 31-March 14, Anucha, who oversees the Public Relations Department, which runs the channel, told a press conference.
The move came after the station struck a deal with new Thai league broadcast rights holder Zense Entertainment whose representative was at yesterday's event.
"This proves that the government gives importance to and support football and other sports," said Anucha, who became a cabinet minister last month.
The Thai League 1 season has been suspended since March due to the Covid-19 pandemic and will resume on Sept 12.
TrueVisions holds the broadcast rights until the end of this season. However, it refused a request by the Football Assocation of Thailand (FAT) to show games beyond Oct 25, the last day of the 2020 season, as stipulated in the contract.
Zense Entertainment's Thai league broadcast rights will begin only next year.
But the company was asked by the FAT to take charge of the broadcasting matter from this year.
Meanwhile, FAT president Somyot Poompunmuang said after a meeting with football clubs that his organisation has been in talks with three or four TV stations to show more Thai League 1 matches.
Unfortunately, he admitted that there would be no live broadcast of Thai League 2 games for the remainder of the season after the FAT's contract with TrueVisions expires.
The Thai League 1 and Thai League 2 seasons were scheduled to end on May 25 but Somyot said the dates have been moved forward.
The T1 will now end on May 3 and T2 on March 27 to help clubs, who have been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, save costs, Somyot said.
Also, the changes will give the national team more time to prepare for the Suzuki Cup and World Cup qualifiers, he said.