The station, starting next Monday, will air programmes around the clock that are exclusively related to the new charter - both its details and the drafting process.

The joint effort is aimed at explaining the draft to the people and allowing them to take part by sharing ideas and opinions.

MCOT acting president Pongsak Payakvichien said MCOT was a state-controlled media company and had the duty to handle all media responsibilities for the maximum benefit of the government.

"The constitution draft is part of the national agenda and should be the concern of all people as it will help reform our social system," Pongsak said. "So, all the people should clearly understand every detail of the new constitution and participate in its drafting process."

The collaboration between MCOT and True Visions will be permanent, with True Visions absorbing all overhead costs associated with the project.

After the constitution is decided, the channel will switch focus to the general election scheduled for the end of the year.

"We aim at turning our new constitution TV station into a regional news station on UBC, which will broadcast news content in Thai and foreign languages such as English and Mandarin," Pongsak said.

Supachai Chearavanont, CEO of True Visions, said the constitution channel would use UBC TV 8, which the company has reserved for all public-service programming.

The channel will serve more than one million households, or six to seven million individual viewers.

"We will also broadcast the constitution programming on our Internet broadband service, which will reach 1.2 million households altogether," Supachai said.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation