The music channel's departure was reported in the media as a strategic move to increase its audience to 2 million nationwide. But MTV Thailand general manager Smitthi Bhiraleus said the deal was far from that simple.

Smitthi said that since the contract with UBC expired, MTV had been portrayed many times in the media as greedy - sitting on the fence while wanting to be on UBC-True as well as local cable networks.

"I just want to establish the truth now once and for all," he said.

Different accounts were circulated in the media about whether the channel "left" intentionally or was deliberately "pulled off" by UBC.

In a press conference immediately after the incident, UBC-True said MTV Thailand's departure was purely the result of the cable company's policy of restructuring its programming to include more documentaries and Thai music programmes.

Yet Itthiwat Bhiraleus, vice chairman of Media Communication Networks, which owns 60 per cent of MTV Thailand, the music channel was unfairly trumped in the negotiation process.

"The person in charge of programming, whom I won't name, outlined three proposals for us during negotiations. First, True Corp would become shareholders of MTV Thailand. Second, revenues from subscriptions to MTV would remain the same as over the past five years. Last, we must cancel our contract to broadcast Nickelodeon," said Itthiwat.

MTV Thailand cannot cancel Nickelodeon, which it plans to add to its roster of channels, because that would breach the contract it has with MTV Networks International (MTVNI), he said.

The talks got out of hand when UBC-True bypassed MTV Thailand and directly approached MTVNI in an attempt to acquire shares in its Thai operations.

"It's not just a business issue, but a moral issue as well," said Smitthi.

On October 30, a day before MTV Thailand disappeared from UBC-True, senior executives from MTV Asia in Singapore were flown in to settle the issue, but to no avail, as the channel was "abruptly pulled off" at 10pm without prior notification, said Itthiwat.

Why would UBC-True drop one of its most popular programmes? MTV Thailand was actually the fifth most-watched show on UBC-True, said Itthiwat, citing last year's research conducted by media agency Initiative.

Itthiwat pointed his finger at UBC-True's director of programming.

Attaphon na Bangxang, chief programme and content officer at UBC-True, had no comment other than that the company had already addressed the issue publicly.

When MTV Thailand's five-year contract with UBC-True expired on October 31, its two music channels, MTV Thailand and VH1, moved to Smile TV Networks, which viewers can subscribe to through local cable networks.

Smitthi said MTV Thailand was fortunate to have Smile TV Networks to fall back on; otherwise, it would have gone under. MTV Thailand, which used to generate monthly revenues of Bt3 million to Bt4 million, has been recovering since.

"We're just a small company, but we must keep our honour," he added.

Ki Nan Tsui

The Nation