Management of the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT) in Digital TV Era: A Case Study of Region 3 Chiang Mai and Region 4 Phitsanulok

Abstract

The article presents the results and analysis of the qualitative study on the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand or NBT’s altering pathway in the digital age. It concentrates on two cases which are: the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand, Region 3, Chiangmai and the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand Region 4, Phitsanulok. The article provides three major findings for the NBT’s altering pathway in the digital age. They are content management, distributing content pathways, and development of the technical department. For content management, there are three main findings. First, a practical plan on 24-hour-contents must be considered. Second, in order to be recognized, each region must position their own identity and unique content of both news and other programs. Third, each region should plan to organize the contents together. The findings moreover show three pathways to distribute the NBT’s content. It includes the following; first, the central station in Bangkok is a digital host station, and regional stations broadcast through the satellite; second, it has a digital community channel or cable network; and third, it employs new media such as social network to distribute its content of both news and other programs. For the development of the technical department in the digital age, there are two main recommendations to be considered; first, the technical equipment and system must be altered, in order to keep up with changes in technological transformation; second, the procurement system must be adjusted in order to compete in a highly competitive environment.