MCOT looks for allies to launch digital TV

BANGKOK, February 7 (TNA) - MCOT Public Company Limited (MCOT), a most established Thai media firm, is looking for several co-investors to launch digital television. MCOT President Anek Permvongseni announced the plan when opening the “Go Go Digital” exhibition at the MCOT headquarters in Bangkok on Thursday morning to introduce the digital TV system to the company's staffs and the general public, the event of which also drew a number of relevant business operators. Anek insisted, as MCOT plans to shift from the analog to the digital TV system, the company is looking for a number of partners in order to become a network provider and to offer valuable contents and facilities for broadcasters. According to the MCOT president, the broadcasting committee of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission or NBTC is inviting bidders for digital TV licences and MCOT is ready to vie for a licence and has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the NBTC to experiment digital television broadcasting together with TV channels 5 and 11. The MCOT president acknowledged that the company's tentative digital broadcasting has started, but it has not reached its full services, MCOT is, therefore, determined to launch its full-scale digital TV to reach nationwide viewers eventually. (TNA)