MUMBAI: Thailand Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is spearheading a 24-hour reality TV show titled Backstage Show: The Prime Minister. The 24-hour show kicked off on cable operator UBC’s Channel 16 on 18 January.
The programme shows essentially raw, unedited live footage of Thaksin’s visit to Roi Et, one of Thailand’s poorer areas in the north-east. The programming initiative is seen as an important effort to spread his anti-poverty message.
However, critics are not very pleased with the PM’s creative venture. One of Thailand’s richest men, Thaksin is battling accusations of corruption and cronyism. Critics accuse him of mixing his family telecommunications empire with affairs of state.
The network, which airs the show, is controlled by the Thaksin’s family. “This is another example of Thaksin manipulating the media,” a local journalist has been quoted in media reports as saying.
Tag: Thaksin Shinawatra
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Thai prime minister anchors reality TV show
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DoS renews seven-transponder contract with Thaicom
MUMBAI:Thailand’s Shin Satellite PLc announced yesterday that India’s Department of Space (DoS) has extended the existing transponder leasing contract for seven C-band transponders on the Thaicom-3 Satellite.
With this renewal, the total number of transponders leased by DOS remains the same at 10 transponders, a Shin Sat release says.
The DoS has been leasing these C-band transponders on Thaicom-3 Satellite since 1998 to facilitate many telecom infrastructure projects and broadcasting. This is the seventh time that Shin Satellite’s Leasing Contract for the seven transponders with DoS has been renewed. Throughout this period, DoS has expanded and endorsed many projects for the telecommunication infrastructure in the country. Despite the slowdown of the telecom industry around the world, there is still a demand for satellite bandwidth capacity in the Indian market that DoS has to fulfill.
Other than the DoS, Shin Satellite’s customers in India and the subcontinent include Star India, Star Vijay, RAJ TV, ETC Music, ETC Punjabi, TMG, SS Music, India Vision, Punjab Today, Sanskar, Tara, ATN Bangla (Bangladesh), and TVM (Maldives). The Thaicom platform has more than 20 Indian channels on it, the release says.
Besides these broadcasting customers, Shin Satellite is working with the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), an autonomous body of the Ministry of Information Technology (MIT), to provide Internet Backbone services to promote and support India’s very successful software industries.
Shin Satellite is also partnering with main Indian Internet gateway Videsh Sanghar Nigam Limited (VSNL) to jointly provide broadcasting and uplinking services to Indian satellite television channels via the Thaicom satellite. In addition to this, both STPI and VSNL will deploy the first generation of iPSTAR broadband satellite gateway and terminals to provide Internet and other telecom services.
Shin Sat is 51-per cent owned by Thailand’s largest telecom conglomerate, Shin Corp, founded by the family of Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
India is Shin Sat’s largest foreign market.
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Thailand premier visits ISRO Satellite Centre
Thailand prime minister Pol Lt Col Thaksin Shinawatra visited the ISRO Satellite Centre in Bangalore on Monday, as part of his ongoing visit to the country.
ISRO chairman Dr K Kasturirangan, briefed the Thai premier about the various applications to which Indian space systems have been used in the fields of telecommunication, broadcasting, developmental education and disaster warning. ISRO has leased a few transponders on Thailand’s THAICOM satellite to augment the INSAT capacity. Thailand is also one of the countries receiving data from Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites.
According to an official release, the Thai premier evinced keen interest in the Indian space programme and expressed his appreciation for India’s achievements in this field. He was accompanied by a high-level delegation including his deputy, other ministers and trade representatives.
The prime minister and his delegation also visited the Satellite Integration Laboratory and the Space Exhibition at the centre, officials said.