Pay TV operator TrueVisions expects to double its revenue to 20 billion baht within two years through the expansion of its subscriber base and advertising revenue.
The company expects to double its revenue to 20 billion baht within two years through the expansion of its subscriber base and advertising revenue, says Mr Birathon. KONTAROS TEANGTRONG
Birathon Kasemsri Na Ayudhaya, the newly appointed head of commercial and business development, said the company's key strategy next year would be to focus on boosting its mid-tier customer base in order to cash in on this new family segment.
The strategy follows the success of True Corporation's convergence policy that has achieved 50% revenue growth through expanding its mass-tier packages.
It has raised the number of subscribers to 3.4 million.
Previously, TrueVisions launched several mid-tier packages to meet the different demands of fragmented target groups including super entertainment and super sports packages.
To boost its revenue from the new family group segment it recently launched packages priced from 490-890 baht a month.
These packages include premium channels such as Animal Planet, Discovery and Lifetime.
The number of high-definition (HD) channels in the packages has also been increased.
Mr Birathon said the strategy was also aimed at convincing mass-tier subscribers to upgrade to a higher package.
The pay TV operator plans to generate an additional 150,000 subscribers next year.
"The mid-tier market still holds many opportunities, so we'll need to continue designing more packages to suit the lifestyle of each group," said Mr Birathon.
TrueVisions plans to adjust its subscribers' proportion based on tiers — 50% mass tier, 20% premium tier and 30% mid-tier.
Mid-tier currently accounts for 20% of the total 3.4 million subscriber base, while premium-tier clients represent 30% and mass-tier customers the rest.
Based on its convergence strategy, TrueVisions also plans to expand the number of subscribers via its cable thanks to True Online's fibre-to-the-home expansion upcountry, particularly the North and the Northeast.
Meanwhile, TrueVisions is expected to see advertising revenue increase from the expansion of its mid-tier base.
This group also comprises higher-income viewers.
Mr Birathon said the company hoped to boost its advertising revenue to 10 billion baht within two years including income from True4U and TNN digital channels and pay TV channels.
Total advertising revenue now stands at 450 million baht.
Content-wise, TrueVisions has also proven it has strong offerings even though it lost the English Premier League (EPL) for 2013-16 to a competitor.
At the moment it is keen on reacquiring two football leagues for 2016-19 — La Liga Spain and EPL, which will open for bidding next year.
Mr Birathon said next year would be very challenging and dynamic for the TV industry.
Reasons include the full launch of content for digital TV channels, pay TV's HD channels starting to play a major role and over-the-top content services.