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### Viewing cable 06BANGKOK1747, TELEVISION IN THAILAND: WHO HOLDS THE LEASH

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
06BANGKOK1747 | 2006-03-22 07:45 | 2011-06-15 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Bangkok
Appears in these articles: http://facthai.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/wikileaks-thailand-4/

`

    VZCZCXRO7535
    PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
    DE RUEHBK #1747/01 0810745
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    P 220745Z MAR 06
    FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7353
    INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
    RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BANGKOK 001747
    SIPDIS
    SENSITIVE
    SIPDIS
    PACOM FOR FPA HUSO
    STATE FOR EAP/PD, IIP

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV KPAO TH
    SUBJECT: TELEVISION IN THAILAND: WHO HOLDS THE LEASH
    REF: A. BKK 01549 - SHIN DEAL LEGAL SO WHAT?
    ¶B. BKK 00538 - TEMASEK BUYOUT OF SHIN CORP
    ¶C. BKK 01537 - OPPOSITION SELLS

    ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY. The RTG has traditionally maintained tight
    control over the information presented to the public over the
    airwaves. The RTG owns all of the country's six television
    licenses, although three are licenses to commercial
    operators. Reform of broadcast media, though mandated by the
    1997 Constitution, has been exceedingly slow in
    materializing. Television professionals have practiced
    self-censorship under the all-too-real threat of reprisal for
    reporting anything overly critical of the government or
    powerful pro-government commercial interests. In recent
    weeks, we have seen a trend on the part of television news
    programs to move beyond self-censorship and present
    increasingly balanced coverage of the current political
    crisis. Still, it is far too early to tell whether this
    newfound freedom is here to stay. END SUMMARY.

    WHO OWNS THE AIRWAVES...
    --------

    ¶2. (SBU) The RTG maintains ownership over all of the
    country's six free-to-air television licenses. Three of
    these licenses are leased out to private companies but, as
    the owner, the RTG has the ability to weigh in with the
    management to ensure that they are not challenging government
    policies or leadership. Below is a list of Thai television
    channels and their respective ownership:
    LICENSE OWNER Operator
    Channel 3 MCOT BEC-Tero
    Channel 5 Thai Army Thai Army
    Channel 7 Thai Army Bangkok TV
    Channel 9 MCOT MCOT
    Channel 11 PRD PRD
    iTV PM Office Shin

    ...AND WHO RUNS THEM
    -------

    ¶3. (SBU) The two long-standing commercial operators dominate
    Thailand's prime-time viewership: Bangkok Entertainment
    Company (BEC-Tero) operates Channel 3 and can expect five
    million viewers most nights; Bangkok TV Company runs Channel
    7 which routinely draws over twelve million viewers.
    BEC-Tero, in turn, is owned by the Maleenot Family, and one
    of the Maleenot's is the Minister of Tourism in Prime
    Minister Thaksin's current Cabinet. Bangkok TV is owned by
    the Kanthasut Family, also owners of the Italo-Thai
    conglomerate, long-standing Thaksin supporters.

    ¶4. (SBU) Thailand's other independently-operated station is
    iTV, established in 1997, and has around four million
    viewers. It is operated by a subsidiary of the now infamous
    Shin Corporation (see REFs A and B), owned by the family of
    PM Thaksin Shinawatra until March 14 when it was purchased by
    Singapore's Temasek Holdings. iTV insiders have told PDoff
    that Grammy Entertainment, another close ally of the Prime
    Minister, is interested in purchasing iTV from Temasek, but
    to date there is no clear indication that such a sell-off is
    in the works.

    ¶5. (SBU) The rest of Thai TV is operated by its respective
    owners. Channel 9, which like iTV draws about four million
    views, is operated by MCOT (Mass Communication Organization
    of Thailand - a state-run enterprise that, although it is now
    issuing shares to the public, is still 77 percent owned by
    the Ministry of Finance). Channel 11, with about one million
    viewers, is directly operated by the Prime Minister's Public
    Relations Department, and Channel 5, with about two million
    viewers, is still very much run by the Army.

    CENSORSHIP THAI-STYLE
    -------

    ¶6. (SBU) PDOFF and POLOFF met with representatives from the
    six television stations to discuss a variety of issues
    including the role of the RTG in news programming decisions.
    Officials at Channel 5 and 11 made no bones about the fact
    that programming decisions are made by senior military and
    government officials in charge of the station. While
    managers at the other four stations maintained that there is
    no direct interference from the government in determining
    news content, all agreed that an unwritten understanding
    exists of what is and is not permissible.

    ¶7. (SBU) Producers at all three commercial stations confirmed
    that self-imposed censorship is maintained by the tacit
    threat of reprisal. TV hosts and producers who dare to cross
    over the invisible line have routinely lost their airtime or
    faced exile to some forgotten corner of the newsroom. These
    producers speculated that powerful commercial interests with
    ties to the government influence programming decisions by
    threatening to pull advertisements and cut into revenues.

    ¶8. (SBU) One producer confirmed that stations occasionally
    receive phone calls and even letters from the PM's Public
    Relations Department suggesting that certain stories be
    dropped or treated softly. When the anti-Thaksin movement
    was principally led by Sondhi Limthongkul, the producer said
    a government official called his station to "encourage" them
    to play down the story. Several sources said that in the
    past they had been told by management to stop investigating a
    story that could damage commercial prospects of advertisers,
    such as reports of toxic contamination in instant noodles and
    shampoo.

    REFORM ON THE SLOW TRACK
    --------

    ¶9. (U) The 1997 Constitution mandated broadcast media reform
    by calling for the reallocation of TV (and radio) frequencies
    to the public, private, and community sectors. It further
    mandated the establishment of an independent National
    Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to oversee this distribution
    and supervise the broadcast industry.

    ¶10. (SBU) Eight years later and implementation of these
    reforms is still pending. In September 2005, the Senate put
    forward a list of seven nominees for the NBC. Almost
    immediately, media advocates and professionals in the field
    questioned the nominees' independence, noting their close
    ties to the government, military or established entertainment
    industry. To date, the nominees have not been formally
    appointed and, thus, the NBC has yet to be officially formed.

    ¶11. (SBU) At the same time, the draft
    constitutionally-mandated Radio and Television Broadcasting
    Bill continues to be mired in Parliament. An article
    stipulating that any technician, announcer or host must
    receive a license of operation from the RTG is one of the
    principle roadblocks. Critics claim that the article is a
    draconian measure designed to provide a governmental
    screening process for media professionals.

    TESTING, TESTING, 1, 2, 3
    ---------

    ¶12. (SBU) As the campaign to oust PM Thaksin continues to
    gain momentum, the Thai broadcast media has become
    increasingly bold in its coverage of the anti-government
    movement (see REF C). With the exception of Channel 11
    (which is run out of the PM's office) all TV stations have
    made unprecedented efforts to cover anti-Thaksin activities.
    Media observers attribute this shift partly to a drive to
    increase ratings, and partly to the fact that the
    anti-Thaksin protests have simply gotten too big for the
    broadcast media to ignore.

    THE TELEVISION MAY NOT BE REVOLUTIONIZED
    --------------

    ¶13. (SBU) COMMENT. Two months ago, we would not have
    anticipated the remarkable shift that has occurred in
    televised news coverage. Despite the government's complete
    control of the broadcast media's licenses, journalists and
    talk show hosts continue to press the boundary - offering
    coverage that recently would have been unthinkable. To date,
    the TV stations have not moved to crack down. In contrast,
    the only talk show hosts to be fired recently were two
    virulently pro-government commentators who were canned for
    making disparaging remarks about much revered Privy Council
    President Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda.

    ¶15. (SBU) Nevertheless, it is far too early to tell whether
    this move away from self-censorship will endure. So far, the
    media has been testing the waters on a single issue, the
    anti-Thaksin movement and the political crisis that it has
    generated. Admittedly, this is a huge story but it will
    eventually come to an end. And when it does, whatever
    government replaces the current caretaker administration will
    still own the airwaves.
    BOYCE

`