Bangkok Post : Capital Increase on the Cards For

Capital increase on the cards for CTH 28 Apr 2014 at 06:04

The pay TV operator CTH plans to increase its registered capital to 3 billion baht after suffering a huge 3.5-billion- baht loss in its first year of English Premier League (EPL) rights management.

Wichit Aurareevorakul, president of CTH shareholder Charoen Cable TV 999 Co, said Bangkok Bank (BBL), a major lender to the company, promised to approve the second phase of its bank loan on condition of the capital increase.

CTH's registered capital now stands at 800 million baht.

Two other major shareholders — Wichai Thongtang, a lawyer-turned-businessman, and Yingluck Vacharaphol, heiress to Thai Rath newspaper family — have said they will inject an additional 2.2 billion baht.

CTH lost 3.5 billion baht last year after securing EPL broadcast rights for the 2013-16 seasons for 10 billion baht.

In early 2013, BBL agreed to extend a 14-billion-baht loan to the cable operator to help it develop its service.

CTH now has only 400,000 subscribers but has promised BBL it will attract 1 million subscribers by year-end. The 2013-14 EPL season ends on May 11.

The company plans to borrow an additional 11 billion baht from BBL in the second phase.

"The fresh capital infusion by the two major shareholders should be completed in the next couple of weeks," Mr Wichit said.

CTH obtained EPL rights in late 2012 but has been slow to provide cable TV service installation for customers, as its fibre-optic network is not complete.

Instead, it has had to offer service via transponders on a Vietnamese satellite.

Apart from EPL content, CTH has paid 2 billion baht for content from Fox International. Its fibre-optic network will cost 20 billion baht.

"If CTH cannot improve its balance sheet and faces still more losses this year, it will be forced to raise its registered capital even further, to 4 billion baht," Mr Wichai said.

The company previously set a goal of 2 million subscribers from 300 local cable operators including 170 of its network members.

However, it cut the number of network members to 100 local cable TV operators.

Mr Wichit said one reason CTH missed its subscriber target was the high subscription coast, ranging from 599-899 baht a month.

But its prices are still lower than those of TrueVisions, he said. Many local subscribers still prefer to pay only 50-200 baht a month to subscribe to cable TV via the analogue system.

CTH is trying to solve this issue by expanding its subscriber base via the satellite system.

It has partnered with satellite TV providers GMM Z and PSI, which are helping with a marketing push aimed at having 1.4 million subscribers by year-end.