iTV insists fee sought is unfair
Embattled broadcaster iTV said yesterday its payment of Bt230 million in concession fees to the Prime Minister's Office was still higher than other free TV operators' charges.
Executive chairman Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisal made the remark in a press conference reacting to a demand for a higher fee by the Office of the Permanent Secretary of the PM's Office. In a letter to the state agency yesterday iTV said it had adhered to the arbitration panel's ruling in 2004, which had significantly cut its fee, and any change would depend on the Supreme Administrative Court's ruling. iTV paid only Bt230 million on July 3 when its 11th concession fee was due, but he Office of the Permanent Secretary wants iTV to pay the original annual fee rate of Bt1 billion, despite its impending appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court. Comparatively, Channel 3 operator Bangkok Entertainment pays a total of Bt3.2 billion for its 30-year concession, while Channel 7 operator BBTV pays a total of Bt4.6 billion for a 25-year concession. Pay-TV operator True UBC pays a total of Bt420 million for a 25-year concession. Besides the original concession fee, the Permanent Secretary of the PM's Office is asking iTV to pay a retrospective concession fee of around Bt1.7 billion and a penalty fee of Bt76 billion. It made the demand after May 9, when the Central Administrative Court overturned a 2004 decision by an arbitration panel. As a result, iTV filed an appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court. The lower court's decision would mean iTV having to resume paying the annual concession fee rate of 44 per cent of revenue or Bt1 billion per year, whichever is greater. At present iTV pays only 6.5 per cent of revenue or a minimum of Bt230 million, according to the ruling of the arbitration court in 2004. The ruling also called for a backdated concession fee of around Bt1.7 billion to be paid to the government. The ruling argued that the arbitration panel's ruling in the case of iTV exceeded its authority. iTV had earlier asked the Office of the Permanent Secretary to compensate it on the grounds that the government had overcharged it for its concession fee. Moreover, iTV said its operation was adversely affected by the fact that some cable-TV operators were found to run disguised commercials in defiance of their contracts. However, the government refused to pay compensation.
|
