BANGKOK, 12 June 2014 – The National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC) disclosed on Wednesday that it would buy the right to broadcast all the football World Cup matches on free TV from rights holder RS International, after losing the court case against the latter.
Thakon Tanthasit, secretary-general of the NBTC, said the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has requested that the broadcasting regulator find ways to allow the general public to watch all 64 matches of the World Cup on free TV, in accordance with the NCPO’s push to ‘return happiness to the public’.
According to Mr. Thakon, the NBTC will use the money from its Broadcasting and Telecommunications Research and Development Fund to pay for the right. The NBTC board is expected to approve the payment by mid-day today (Thursday), after which it will hold talks with free TV broadcasters about relaying the World Cup broadcasts.
