The Nation Multimedia Group (NMG) expects the launch of its new channel Mango TV to drive revenue growth this year by 15 per cent.
NMG CEO Thanachai Santichaikul said yesterday that subsidiary Nation Broadcasting Corp, the operator of the Nation Channel, will officially launch Mango TV today. It will be broadcast freetoair on cable and satellite.
Thanachai said the company expects the TV channel expansion of NBC will boost the revenue proportion of TV and news media business to NMG to 78 per cent from 5 per cent.
NBC president and CEO Adisak Limprungpatanakij said the company had invested about Bt30 million to launch Mango TV. It will cover 6 million households nationwide.
The strong growth of satellite TV has boosted the confidence of ad agencies and product manufacturers, Adisak said. Ad budget for this media, given the growth of ad spending on the Nation Channel in the first three months this year, has soared by 120 per cent.
NBC enjoyed revenue growth of 26 per cent and earnings growth of 400 per cent in the first quarter of this year.
Adisak said Mango TV would be an entertainment channel under the concept of "smart entertainment", which combines websites and social media to communicate with the new generation audience.
About 30 content providers are coproducing content under the concept of FOM: Friends of Mango. to strengthen the Mango TV brand. The channel has also opened talks with new content providers. NBC will share revenue from airtime with the content providers.
NBC expects it to break even in one year, Adisak said.
Thanachai noted that NMG's advertising in the print media had grown by 10 per cent, in line with the 11percent growth in ad spending on print media. The trend is expected to continue in the second half thanks to the economic recovery, he said.
Major advertisers such as automakers, banks and mobilephone operators have increased their ad budgets for the print media, he said.