SET-listed RS Plc says sports content is helping to boost viewership of its Channel 8 and will be on par with drama and news programming soon.
Chief operating officer Pornpan Techarungchaikul said sports content and muay Thai in particular are gaining popularity among audiences.
At Channel 8, Thai boxing programmes have grown significantly since RS decided to differentiate itself by producing its own programming.
Thai boxing is considered the most popular sport among Thai audiences after football.
"We're focusing on delivering sports content, especially Thai boxing, to audiences because Thai boxing has a charming identity and a legendary past that can touch Thai people's hearts," Mrs Pornpan said.
Channel 8's four home-grown Thai boxing programmes are 8 Max Muay Thai, The Champion, The Battle and Sang Wien Nak Su. Two others are internationally licensed from the US.
Mrs Pornpan credited the uniqueness of each programme for the success of Thai boxing on Channel 8.
8 Max Muay Thai gathers Thai and foreign fighters to compete, while The Champion features three rounds of intensive fighting. The Battle brings together boxers from different camps across the country, and Sang Wien Nak Su highlights the best scenes from various matches.
Currently, 8 Max Muay Thai is ranked second after Muay Thai Jed See of BBTV's Channel 7 and The Champion is ranked third among top five digital TV channels which have boxing content comprising Channel 7, Channel 8, Workpoint TV and Channel 3.
The two licensed boxing programmes, HBO and UFC, are also popular but air only once a month.
While advertising spending on all media outlets dropped nearly 8% in the first half of this year due to the economic downturn and weak consumer spending, the company's performance was still satisfactory.
Its first-half revenue was 1.97 billion baht and net profit was 21.9 million baht.
RS shares closed yesterday on the Stock Exchange of Thailand at 10 baht, up 10 satang, in trade worth 37.5 million baht.