TiTV will likely be endorsed as the country's first public broadcaster when the Cabi-net decides the station's future later this month, Prime Minister's Office Minister Khun-ying Dhipavadee Meksawan said.

She told The Nation in an interview the Cabinet would consider a bill on public TV and free or independent TV on Apr 24.

Besides the public TV model, the proposed legislation will also allow another commercially run, free-to-air station in the future, too.

At this stage, the Surayud Chula-nont government, which has another six months in office, will concentrate on pushing the legislation through the National Legislative Assembly so it can turn TiTV, or Thailand Independent Television, into the country's first public broadcaster funded by a specific tax and/or an annual state budget.

The broadcast concession of TiTV was formerly held by iTV. It was majority owned by ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and family before being sold to Temasek Holdings of Singapore.

The concession was returned to the government last month after iTV was unable to pay enormous back fees and penalty fines.

Based on the public TV model, the bill will stipulate sources of tax revenue or annual appropriations to fund the station.

Public television will have no advertising income so it must be guaranteed a reliable source of state income - similar to public broadcasters in the United Kingdom, United States or Japan, Dhipavadee said.

The bill stipulates the required qualifications of public-television management and programming content. For example, broadcasts between 5pm and 8pm are reserved for children's programmes.

Dhipavadee said "the draft legislation ensures public television would not come under government or political influence.

"It will be governed by a citizens' board whose members will rotate and come from diverse professional and other backgrounds."

Unpaid board members will supervise the quality and appropriateness of content.

There will be an oversight committee, too. It will hear complaints and take action if the broadcaster fails to meet legislated objectives.

Meanwhile, Dhipavadee said the bill would pave the way for another commercially run free-to-air broadcaster in the future - to be invested and operated by the private sector. "When a new UHF band is available it will be possible to establish such a station because the bill being considered by Cabinet covers both public and free television.

"We just need some additional legal amendments to proceed with the set-up of another free television station," she said.

Piyanart Srivalo

The Nation