PM’s Office permanent secretary Jullayuth Hiranyawasit arranges documents at a press conference yesterday on the Supreme Administrative Court’s ruling against iTV.

Beleaguered television station iTV has just 45 days from today to pay around Bt100 billion to the PM's Office Ministry after the Supreme Administration Court's verdict on Wednesday.

However, iTV, which is 54 per cent owned by Shin Corp, will have another 45 days to comply with the verdict if it can't pay the money after the first 45-day deadline ends.

The Permanent Secretary's Office of the PM's Office, which deals with iTV's 30-year broadcasting concession, did not say in a statement issued yesterday what it would do next if the company could not pay the money after the 90-day period ended, apart from merely reporting iTV's non-payment to the Cabinet.

iTV owes Bt2.21 billion to the PM's Office for concession fees in the 9th, 10th and 11th years of its deal.

The fine calculated by the PM's Office for non-payment totals Bt97.76 billion, based on a major condition that iTV's breach of contract was subject to a Bt100 million daily fine. Neither figure includes interest.

Jullayuth Hiranyawasit, permanent secretary of the PM's Office, said the Cabinet would again consider how much to fine iTV or order the broadcaster's licence to be returned to the government.

Asked whether the government would hold talks with Temasek, which holds a major stakes in iTV through its purchase of Shin Corp, to discuss plans for the future of iTV, Jullayuth said the Cabinet was authorised to do so in principle. "When it comes to civil matters, not only the iTV issue, everything is negotiable," he added.

Poramet Intharachumhum, a deputy spokesman for the Office of the Attorney General, said the PM's Office submitted a request to the OAG two weeks before Wednesday's verdict asking it to calculate the total amount of money iTV was subject to pay over the issue.

The OAG will now re-examine the numbers proposed by both the PM's Office and iTV to see whether they were in accordance with the original deal signed by both parties. In civil terms, iTV will face bankruptcy if it cannot pay the entire amount of money to decided by the OAG, Poramet explained.

Regarding the dispute between the PM's Office and iTV over the calculation of the fines, Jullayuth said it was normal that one tended to interpret the wording in favour of itself, and given the huge amount of advertising iTV had enjoyed, it was committed to taking a chance with the original ratio of news/documentaries to entertainment programmes at 70:30.

"It's apparent that iTV agreed to pay twice the amount of the median bidding price in order to win the concession in the first place. This clearly indicated that iTV foresaw how lucrative its television operation could be," he said.

Jullayuth said iTV's advertising airtime was priced at Bt500,000 per minute. The airtime during prime time, which totals 150 minutes a day, earned iTV Bt7.5 million each day. And non-prime time advertising earned tens of millions of baht each day.

"If iTV interprets the wording to mean that it should be fined only Bt2 million a day, every company operating on government concessions will be more than willing to be fined" [at rates much lower than the amount it earns], he said.

iTV adjusted the ratio to 65:35 in 2004, without the PM's Office's approval. The PM's Office's rate for the fine is Bt100 million a day.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont yesterday declined to say what he was planning to do with iTV if it had not paid the fine at the end of the 90-day period. He said the PM's Office was currently dealing with iTV directly.

A law lecturer from Siam University, Dr Jate Thonavanik, said that as iTV staff took no part in violating the broadcasting concession they deserved to benefit from the government's career security service if iTV could no longer operate and faced bankruptcy.

He suggested iTV staff submit requests to relevant ministers responsible for career security services asking for assistance in case they were laid off.

Piyanart Srivalo,

Sathien Viripanpongsa

The Nation