CTH ends partnership with KTV

[pomozki]

This is probably of interest only to fellow farang in Khon Kaen but I found out today that CTH has ended its partnership with KTV, so from now on we have to go somewhere else if we want to sign up for the World Cup football and Premier League.

I visited the KTV office at Keha Village and they told me they couldn't help me to sign up for CTH's coverage of the World Cup. I asked repeatedly to make sure (I hadn't heard it before) but they were adamant they were no longer involved in providing CTH packages.

They said I had to phone a CTH customer support number (1619), so I did. There's an English language option and an English speaker duly told me they had switched agencies in Khon Kaen to Home TV. I believe the only package which offers World Cup and Premier League footy is the top one, which costs 1,069 a month, plus an installation fee, plus a deposit in the 1st bill.

Apologies if you already knew this. I hadn't heard of it before.

Btw, in case you're thinking about signing up, you should be aware they're only offering 22 of the World Cup games and they've promised to email me the details of which ones are included.

[gerry123]

you could try GMM Z HD they have CTH with platinum pakage 900 bht per mnth

[BuddhistVirus]

Premier league is with CTH and GMM-Z (partnership), but I think World Cup is on/with RS Sunbox. Read somewhere some of the matches will be on FTA TH Channel 7.

Sent from my iPod touch using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[hellyes2oo2]

Can anyone tell me any details about z tv. i hear that you just go to 7/11 to top up each month the same as putting money on your phone. do they have a good selection of programmes, and will they be showing all the premiership matches. finally what is the cost of the dish and installation. cheers guys.

[meatboy]

i thought world cup football was supposed to be free to air.

[wjhall]

If KTV not providing CTH why not install CTH satellite system. I have it and it is excellent!

[SantiSuk]

If KTV not providing CTH why not install CTH satellite system. I have it and it is excellent!

OP's post is only informing KTV users not to expect CTH channels to be available to them come World Cup time. The implication of his post is that he knows that he must buy CTH to get Premier League.

I agree that the quality of CTH broadcasts (all Premier League matches in HD and genuinely good HD at that). The signal seems more stable than True Vision in storms. The link up with GMM allows watching a broader range of football also. On the other hand the billing and admin is very iffy, but I have not heard of anyone losing money. The revised monthly rental will get you 15 months if you pay 12 months in advance (reportedly).

OP - you can possibly defer buying CTH until late July. As far as anyone knows (on the various threads splattered around ThaiV re World Cup coverage) the RS owners of the World Cup franchise in Thailand have failed in their legal attempts to stop every game being shown live to air. That means we are likely to be able to watch live all games - my guess would be on one or several of channels 3,7,8 or 9. However, downsides are:

* I have not yet seen any TV schedule confirming who is showing what

* it is unlikely you will get any English language cover on the free to air channels. It is possible that RS and therefore CTH for their 22 games (if indeed CTH have only got rights to 22 games) may be offering games with an English commentary option

* the games are on live in the middle of the night. Replay coverage the next day may well be very important to you. at the lsat World Cup reportedly one of the FTA channels was showing a good coverage of replays the next day but I have seen no confirmation of whether this will hold good this time around. Indeed one could speculate that RS will have tightened up on this firmer than a rat's proverbial

So, depending on your desire for watching in English, with good quality and at a civilised hour you have an urgent decision to make, whether to get CTH in now or later. Another possibility might be to get RS in for the duration but I have no comprehensive details on cost for this. I aske dfor that on another World Cup coverage thread but got no answers, suggesting that most other football fans on here are hoping that free to air or free to air + CTH or free to air + any other package they currently have (eg True Visions) or free to air + a local bar is going to get them enough.

I'll be in the UK for the Group stages and will rely on FTA + CTH + True Visions for the knockouts. My fail safe for the knockouts (and most reliable vehicle) is going to be Norbert, the German bar owner of my local falang pizza + bar in southern Sisaket province. All replays will be shown by popular demand during the day I'm sure. If he can't find it on a TV channel or stream I'll be very surprised

[khwaibah]

Sorry boys its RS or NOTHING..

"World Cup fever is also in full bloom at RS - the sole Thai broadcasting rights' holder for the tournament - "

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Undaunted-World-Cup-sponsors-others-seek-to-cash-i-30234766.html

[SantiSuk]

Sorry boys its RS or NOTHING..

"World Cup fever is also in full bloom at RS - the sole Thai broadcasting rights' holder for the tournament - "

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Undaunted-World-Cup-sponsors-others-seek-to-cash-i-30234766.html

Sorry to disappoint you Kwaibah, if you bought RS thinking it was the only show in town. It's dangerous just picking the first Google entry on a search

Yes RS is the sole rights holder. There is a sole rights holder (or joint rights) appointed for every country. But FIFA requires all rights holders to make all games available free to air everywhere in the world. So far as I know RS has not been able to overturn that contractual requirement from FIFA and will be releasing all games free to air in Thailand. The sole rights holder has advantages nonetheless from making other uses of the World Cup - replays (I'm guessing) and other pre-/post- match marketing rights for digital content and products

Update: Have now done a search myself:-

"April 30 – Thailand's broadcast regulator has ruled that all 64 matches of the 2014 World Cup finals must be televised over free-TV channels. The ruling comes as a blow to Thai pay channel RS Inc which holds the rights."

http://www.insideworldfootball.com/world-football/asia/12429-thai-regulator-insists-all-world-cup-finals-games-must-broadcast-free-to-air

[On the other hand - TIT - I'll believe it when someone shows me the official TV schedules

[happylarry]

RS were taken to court and the ruling was that 22 matches were to be available free to air.

This includes

13 games from the first rounds

2 games from the round of 16

4 quarter final games

2 semi final games

And the final itself.

Free to air means anyone with an aerial can receive the signal so you don't have to have CTH or any other package, although the signal would be better reception of course.

If you want to have your own choice of the 64 games then you will need a RS Sunbox set top box.

The "sunbox" set top box is the RS own set top box and is available from various outlets including 7/11's at a price of 1599 baht.

You will need a dish with this and as I haven't purchased mine yet I am not sure which satellite it uses.

I hope this info helps you guys.

HL

[happylarry]

Just a though.....in addition to the above info, if you have an internet package with your smart phone then the providers (at least true and AIS that I know of) are giving a service so that you can watch the games live on your phones and if you can connect your phone to your tv then that's another way you could do it.

Just a thought.

HL

[SantiSuk]

That was certainly a proposition at some stage of the debate with the courts and regulators around March/April. To be pedantic, RS went to court themselves to try to get the FIFA requirement for all matches to be shown free to air to be reversed. They were successful but then NBTC said they were going to challenge the lower court's ruling in a higher court. That was reported around 1 April. I believe that the 22 game compromise then emerged sometime in April. The report I quoted dated 30 April seemed to suggest that the regulator had finally insisted that all games be shown free to air.

Do you have an authoritative source that shows that this was further revised back to the 22 game compromise? Not trying to defend my own previous comments and it would make sense that the compromise is the end game (as it is consistent with CTH showing 22 games and the 30 April report talks about a regulator insisting, not a report of a successful higher court ruling in favour of RS). Just want to know what the actual position is.

[happylarry]

SantiSuk

I bow to your superior knowledge of the subject ...lol....I have not seen or heard about the 30 th April thing, and I was just quoting what I knew from the newspaper reports of the earlier case. However I read the Bangkok Post daily and am surprised that I haven't seen the later report.

I have to admit though that I would be surprised that a court could make a ruling to show all 64 games free...is the court going to pay RS back all the millions that they spent on buying the rights in the first place, anyway just 10 days to go and we will see what the true answer is, won't we.

HL

[happylarry]

By the way, I am still going to purchase a Sunbox, just hope I won't be wasting my money....lol

HL

[khwaibah]

There are about 22 free to air matches at 0 dark thirty. If you want the full Monty you will have to pay for them.

Apr 1, 2014 10:30:00 AM

An administrative court has ruled that RS Sports, who bid for exclusive rights, will be able to charge for the other 42 after it was initially forced to broadcast all for free

Football fans in Thailand will have to pay to watch the 2014 World Cup now - at least part of it - after it was announced that only 22 out of the 64 games will be broadcast for free.

RS Sports, who own the exclusive rights to air the games, had planned to charge THB1,590 (USD49.35) for a brand new set-top box to watch all 64 matches. Existing subscribers also had the option of upgrading for a fee of THB299 (USD9.30).

However their attempt was quickly clammed down by the nation's regulating body, National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NTBC), under a ruling that lists seven programmes, including the World Cup, that have to remain free-to-air.

Under threat from the NTBC to have their licence revoked and fined THB17million (USD527,458), RS retaliated by prosecuting the former as they felt it was unfair, with such an announcement coming only after they had bid for the rights.

On Monday, an administrative court ruled that the regulation violated the Intellectual Protection Act and allowed RS to go ahead with charging for their World Cup content, although 22 of the less crucial games, including all three of Honduras' group ones, will still be shown free.

While Thai football supporters will be disappointed with the ruling, they can still consider themselves fortunate, as those in Singapore have to pay S112(USD88.50) for all 64 matches, with only four free-to-air.

http://www.goal.com/en-sg/news/3952/asia/2014/04/01/4722627/thailand-to-air-only-22-world-cup-games-for-free

Edited June 2, 2014 by khwaibah

[happylarry]

For anyone that is interested have a look at the following link.

It is a site that will send you the box by post and at a discount and I have used the site many times and they are reliable.

Even if you dont want to buy one, they show a complete list of all the programmes available on the sunbox but also on the same page they have a complete schedule of all the world cup games that you can download for your own reference.

HL

www.9sats.com/product/product.detail.php?&id=1725

[pomozki]

only just signed back in and realised so many replies -

if you want English commentaries like me and also more than 22 games, it seems you can either go for the streaming version (TV catch up or Expat) or this RS thing, which I've never heard of - for those of us who can't read Thai, can someone tell me what you get for your 1500 or so baht - and if they show Premier League live during the season also?

cheers

[happylarry]

CTH bought the rights to show the premier league for three years so nobody else will be showing the EPL until at least until 2016/17 season.

RS has the rights for the world cup.

Unless you want to watch the games that are being broadcast from another country (ie. over the internet) then you will need a set top box as described earlier.

Yesterday I ordered a HD box from 9sats at a cost of 1667 baht including postage, when I receive this and actually try it out then I will post my findings on here for anyone's interest. I am led to believe it connects to two types of satellite, including the truevision satellite, and it receives 200 channels, and it is a once only payment.

HL

[pomozki]

CTH bought the rights to show the premier league for three years so nobody else will be showing the EPL until at least until 2016/17 season.

RS has the rights for the world cup.

Unless you want to watch the games that are being broadcast from another country (ie. over the internet) then you will need a set top box as described earlier.

Yesterday I ordered a HD box from 9sats at a cost of 1667 baht including postage, when I receive this and actually try it out then I will post my findings on here for anyone's interest. I am led to believe it connects to two types of satellite, including the truevision satellite, and it receives 200 channels, and it is a once only payment.

HL

is there a phone number we can call and speak to someone who speaks English and can organise sending a box to Khon Kaen? I just phoned one number (1781) and it'll all in Thai.

I take it this box will work with any kind of TV? Mine doesn't even have the right socket (HDMI ?) to connect to a laptop

I've heard enough about this box to think it's worth having a go - at 1600 baht, it'll be money well spent even if I don't watch much after the world cup

Edited June 5, 2014 by pomozki

[happylarry]

Pomozki, out of interest, do you already have the satellite dish in place to connect the set top box to?

The phone numbers are all to be found on the website that I have already posted a link to, but they don't speak English.

The price shown on that site is for two boxes so you can halve that to about 800 or so for one, which is for the non-hd box which is all you would need if you only have an old tv.

You should have AV connections on your tv somewhere, they are the red, white and yellow connections.

HL

[pomozki]

thanks for all the help. I had no idea all along that I'd need to buy a satellite dish as well. I've got an old True TV satellite dish which my mate doesn't think would be OK. I went to the local 7-11 yesterday and they sell the box for 1599 but nobody has any idea where to get a dish from

then ... I found out the BBC is showing most of the games live anyway - since I have a VPN I can watch whatever the Beeb is showing and watch the rest live on firstrow (which is banned in Thailand but works fine with the VPN)

so thanks for all the posts. I'm gonna forget about watching on the TV or swallow my pride and go back to the ***** at Expat

and rely on the VPN!

Edited June 6, 2014 by pomozki

[happylarry]

I said earlier that I would report on the Set Top Box when I got it.

Well, unless you want it specifically for the world cup then dont bother, there isnt one single programme in English Language unless it is one of the many many channels that are blanked out by the coup.

You can live in hope that the court tomorrow overturns the original ruling but I cant see it myself, after all RS paid out a lot of money for the rights and will want that money back from somewhere.

If anyone else has the box and wants the English commentary I have worked out how to do it. Press the audio button and it just shows one audio channel but you can use the right/left curser button to change from stereo to mono and then right and left. Well put it on right side and the commentary is in English.

HL

[SantiSuk]

According to one newspaper that I am not permitted to quote on Thai Visa, it is "possible" that the relevant court will rule on Tuesday or Wednesday whether or not RS must allow all World Cup matches to be shown free to air. It is "likely" that there will be a decision before the World Cup starts on Thursday. Presumably that means it is possible the court will not rule until after the Wold Cup starts (or ends?) TIT - sounds like a great Thai-style solution - don't rule until after the World Cup is over.

The newspaper article says also that:

- the 22 games (that are already agreed to be shown) are to be shown on channels 7 and 8

- True Visions has held talks with RS about sub-licensing rights. The article does not say with what result (!)

Amazing Thailand.

[SantiSuk]

It is reported in the Thai press today that True Visions has struck a deal with RS and will now show all 64 matches. Available to the subscribers who "subscribe the HD package" (which I don't!). No doubt it will take True 4 weeks to set up new HD subscriptions!

[khwaibah]

Deja vu..2010 all over again...

RS warns it might scrap World Cup live telecast

June 10, 2014 5:49 pm

All 22 million households in the country might face a blackout of the 64 live matches of the World Cup football tournament if the Supreme Administrative Court Wednesday rules in favour of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), RS said during the hearing in the court Tuesday.

The Nation

[khwaibah]

Check out the front page of the Bangkok Post. Acid flash back to 2010..

[happylarry]

RS have won their court battle and the ruling that only 22 matches are free to air stands.

So if you want the choice of the world cup games then you have to buy a box of one sort or another....lol

HL

[SantiSuk]

Time to cross reference this geographic-specific thread to the one on the football forum. Much more detail on there about how to watch

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/678908-does-anyone-know-who-will-carry-the-2014-world-cup/page-7