Tata Young shakes her stuff for MCOT yesterday. The company is checking into whether it paid its share of ad revenues.

MCOT Plc, the operator of Channel 9, set up a committee to scrutinise all the programmes broadcast on the channel to determine whether it had turned over the right share of  its ad revenues, said MCOT president Mingkwan Saengsuwan.

The committee was established after someone sent a letter to PM's Office Minister Newin Chidchob saying that "Kui Kui Kao" (News Talk Show) had not paid more than Bt100 million to the channel, which the letter alleged was not enough.

Mingkwan said yesterday that the committee had told the producers of the various programmes that they would have two weeks to report on their performance at the station. The committee will later scrutinise whether all the air time given to advertisements had been accounted for and whether there had been any hidden advertisements resulting in the programmes receiving extra money that they did not factor in the amount paid back to MCOT according to their revenue-sharing agreements.

Also, the committee will review the programme's ratings to see whether MCOT would have to change programmes' time slots or perhaps cancel them.

"MCOT is not a public company and conducts road shows to attract advertisers both domestically and internationally. We need to make sure that all our programming is run according to regulations so we can ensure our trustworthiness with both local and international investors," said Mingkwan.

He said the channel did not intend to focus only on "Kui Kui Kao", which is broadcast from 9.30pm-10pm, Monday to Friday, and 12pm-1pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

As it surveys its TV programmes, MCOT is also working on improving its radio stations. The re-launched its Metropolitan 107 radio station yesterday under the new name MET 107.

The station, which previously featured older international songs, will now play contemporary songs from four international music companies - EMI Recorded Music, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group. The new format will target older high-school students to young university students.

MCOT signed contracts with the four music companies yesterday. The contract covers MCOT's right to play the companies' songs, conduct votes on music charts, release compilations of popular songs and to arrange promotional tour concerts for international singers. The contract also gives MCOT the right to cooperate with the four companies to broadcast their songs and contents via MET TV, a one-hour TV programme which MCOT expects to launch soon, as well as the right to cooperate with the companies to further present material through new media.

Mingkwan said the new programme would be up and running within a year and would generate Bt350 million worth of revenues. The company is in the process of selecting a director for the show. MCOT is also working on improving its FM96.5 and 99FM radio stations. FM96.5 currently generates Bt18 million per month and 99FM Bt4 million.

MCOT's radio business generated Bt208 million during the second quarter of this year, representing a 42-per-cent increase on the previous year. By the year end it expects revenues to hit Bt750 million, up from Bt555 million last year.

Nitida Asawanipont

The Nation