Threatened by the increasing in popularity from cable TVs and satellite TVs, free TVs are bracing up to protect their long dominated domain of the TV advertisement market, which accounts for 58 percent or worth 50 billion baht of the advertisement industry.

In their attempt to challenge with the new media, free TVs introduce a new business model called the ‘Micro TV’ using satellite service to support their existing TV channels expansion.

The state-enterprise station, MCOT, which operate Channel 9, added two news channels ‘MCOT1′ and ‘ASEANTV’ into its already cramped programs.

MCOT also plans to lunch more three channels targeting at specific audience group on the C-Band spectrum.

“The Micro TV is a sub-brand of Modern 9 or Channel 9 TV that aims to reach into a variety demographic of the target audience. It would support the existing media as well as capable of expansion into the online and mobile phone broadcasting digitally,” said MCOT managing director Khemthat Pholdetch.

State-controlled Channel 11 also jumped into bandwagon with 1 channel of satellite TV introduction. Unlike the other enterprise TV channels, it would allow a network of the government public relations agencies across the nation to produce contents for the broadcasting programs.

“It is the Public Relations Department’s duty. We have to develop the new media in order to take the Channel 11 in to a public organization,” commented permanent secretary for the department Krissanaporn Sermpanich.

For Channel 5, which controlled by the military, it said that its satellite TV ‘TNG’ or Thai Global Network has been broadcasted in 177 countries globally for over 10 years now. It has around 10 millions in audience and plans to introduce the English subtitle in 2010.