Bangkok Bank (BBL), the issuer of the bank guarantee for Thai TV Co, yesterday paid the broadcasting regulator the overdue second instalment of auction fees and interest totalling 288.4 million baht on behalf of the cash-strapped digital TV operator.
After the payment, BBL executives asked the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to reconsider the remaining amount that Thai TV has to clear after its two digital TV channel licences were revoked in February.
Initially, the total amount the NBTC asked Thai TV to pay was 1.74 billion baht including the overdue second instalment.
Takorn Tantasith, the NBTC secretary-general, said BBL sent a formal letter to the broadcasting regulator, asking to pay only the second instalment of auction fees first.
Thai TV defaulted on the second instalment of auction fees worth 288 million baht in May 2015, saying it could not make the payment because it faced a massive loss of 300 million baht from operating the two channels at that time.
Earlier this year it said losses had surged to 1 billion baht already.
The company's two channels, the Loca children's channel and Thai TV news, went off the air on Dec 1 and both licences were revoked on Feb 4. Thai TV failed to find a partner to help shore up operations.
In late April, the company filed a second injunction at the Central Administrative Court to protect its bank guarantee from seizure by the NBTC.
The second injunction request was made after the NBTC sent a formal notification letter to BBL seeking payment for the remaining five instalments of auction fees and 7.5% interest totalling 1.74 billion baht on behalf of the broadcaster.
Thai TV had placed its bank guarantee worth a combined 1.97 billion baht with the NBTC when it was awarded the two channel licences in early 2014.