The Impact of Digital Migration on Television Content Production in Thailand: Comparative Studies of the US and UK Experiences

Abstract

A study of television content production after Thailand’s transition to digital terrestrial television aims to analyze the impact of digital migration on Thailand’s television content production sector. Throughout the article, multiple-case studies are used as analysis framework and are selected based on the similarity of television market condition and the completion of migration to digital television. In this regard, the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) are chosen as case studies to examine the impact of digital migration on content production.

These case studies find that the US and the UK have different impacts on television content production. In the UK, digital migration has raised the investment and the amount of content production especially in sports and entertainment programs. However, the trend reverses in the US where the conversion to digital television has not significantly increased content production.

In the case of Thailand, the article finds that, after the conversion from analog to digital television, television broadcasters produce and develop more interesting content by increasingly investing in content production. The investment could be in the form of buying content from independent producers, acquiring technology to produce their own content (in-house production), co-producing content with content providers, and purchasing content from foreign sales agents.