Supachai Chearavanont, chief executive of True Corp, parent of True Visions, said the operator would officially announce the details later. He declined to specify the cost of the licence.

The company's programme executive, Attapol na Bangchang, said the exclusive deal was for three years.

Supachai added that True would promote the Premier League content through various channels in its telecom group, which ranges from fixed-line telephones to cellular services and broadband Internet.

True Corp officially renamed UBC True as True Visions and set aside a budget of Bt35 million for a rebranding campaign.

True Visions targets 8 million household viewers within the next three years, up from 800,000 household viewers at the end of last year.

This year, the pay-TV operator expects a total of one million subscribers, Supachai said, up from 570,000 as of the third quarter and the estimated 630,000 at the end of last year.

He said True Visions would also focus on adding more local content to the channels and aggressively tap the middle and low-end markets this year as part of its subscription-base expansion.

It will also increase collaboration with True's cellular operator subsidiary True Move to jointly offer packages, he added.

Usanee Mongkolporn

The Nation