A top iTV official said if the contract was terminated, over 10,000 shareholders, plus more than 1,000 employees and many thousands of viewers would be affected.

The PM's Office has threatened to terminate iTV's contract if the "independent" station did not pay huge penalties plus interest totalling over Bt100 billion by March 6.

Yesterday, iTV chairman Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisal asked the court for an injunction until a decision by an arbitration committee on how much iTV should pay for late fee payments.

It also asked for the court for 30 days - after the court granted the injunction - to pay the concession fee of Bt2.21 billion, as ordered earlier by the Supreme Administrative Court.

Niwatthamrong said the PM's Office's threat for iTV to pay such penalty fees was unfair and a breach of its contract, as iTV had changed its programme schedule - to return to a greater proportion of news reports - according to the contract and the arbitration panel's ruling.

Thus, it should only pay up to Bt300 million or nothing at all, the iTV chief said.

Also, the PM's Office's idea of penalty fees plus interest differed from its contract, an article

of which said that unsettled disputes should go to an arbitration panel.