If some of the last few years’ exuberance about Thai content has dimmed, the current state of local production is eclipsed by an all-eyes-on Premier League situation in Thailand. More specifically, what Jasmine International (JAS) will do with the Premier League rights that it so deftly snatched from TrueVisions at the end of last year, and... what TrueVisions will do without them. 

JAS paid US$560 million/THB19.2 billion for six Premier League seasons from 2025/26 to 2030/31 for Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, including live broadcasts, reruns and highlights. Shareholders approved the acquisition of the Premier League and FA Cup in January 2025, and at the same time greenlit distribution through Mono Next platforms. 

By many accounts, True was caught off guard by a move that, it turns out, will give its biggest rival – Advanced Info Service (AIS) – exclusive access to the Premier League. 

At the end of April, three months after the rights acquisition was finalised (and to the surprise of exactly no one except maybe True), JAS announced its Premier League partnership with AIS PLAY. The following month, in May, JAS put out a document entitled “Changing the Game, Leading the Way”, and reported a stellar Q1 during which operating profit rose 152% to THB277 million/US$7.6 million from Q1 2024, while net profit attributable to the owners of the parent company reached THB176 million/US$4.8 million, up 604% from Q1 2024. The first Premier League-related revenue is expected to be recognised in Q3 2025. 

JAS, AIS and Mono describe their collaboration as a “significant milestone” with the promise of “transforming the sports streaming landscape in Thailand”. JAS talks about targeting three million subscribers in year one, with an estimated THB10 billion/US$275 million revenue. Sports packages will be announced any minute; the season begins on 16 August. 

Meanwhile, many in the industry are walking around with chins on the ground watching ad revenue disappear, pinching pennies, filling schedules with re-runs wherever possible, focusing on fewer tentpoles, figuring out if movies and/or fan events may be the great saviour, turning the lights off when they leave the room and wondering what’s next other than more cuts... plus hoping that Netflix, Prime Video, Viu or iQiyi buy their shows.
 
With the odd spark here and there,  boardrooms are gloom centres. 

Mono Next, which has among other new ventures tied up with Major Join Film in a THB93 million/US$2.6 million joint venture to make movies, was doing best at the end of May, with a year-to-date stock price drop of about 11%, according to Stock Exchange of Thailand data. The company has a market cap of approx US$189.5 million. 

GMM Grammy’s stock price at the end of March was down 40% year to date (rising to a drop of 39.76% by the end of May). Q1 profit dropped 46.5% to THB104 million, although revenue was up just under 11%. This was driven by a 200% increase in movie revenue; two films, Flat Girls and The Red Envelope (a Thai remake of Taiwanese blockbuster Marry My Dead Body), generated approx THB70 million/US$1.93 million compared to no releases in Q1 last year. Music revenue – which makes up most of Grammy’s business – was also way up, closing Q1 with more than 20% increase compared to the same quarter in 2024. Home shopping was way down, and satellite TV was a bust. GMM Grammy’s market cap is approx US$140 million.  

Behind GMM Grammy, with a market cap of approx US$130 million, BEC World’s share price is today exactly where it was at the beginning of the year, although a 0% change may under the current circumstances be the new cause for optimism. 

At the same time at it reported a stellar Q1 2025 (helped by a one-time expense in Q1 2024), BEC World reported a 14% drop in ad revenue (advertising still makes up the bulk of the group’s income) for the quarter, and cuts in drama production and airtime. The company also talked about a fragile economic environment.

Workpoint Entertainment’s share price is down about 30% year to date, and doldrums don’t come much deeper. Part of its solution is a risk-reduction strategy that involves fewer international artist concerts, and a shift away from drama production towards the lower-cost variety shows.  

Workpoint, which operates the Workpoint TV channel as well as a lively IP business, reported a net loss of THB24.11 million in Q1 2025, down 368% on Q1 2024’s profit of THB 9.01 million. Most of the blame is being laid squarely on the overall economic slowdown, although intense competition in the concert business had an impact. 

Comparing stock performance this year so far, mid-sized indie TV Thunder, home of big-brand shows such as Thailand’s Got Talent with Workpoint, isn’t doing that badly, with a share price drop of  about 16% for the year to end May. 

But the jury is out on a recovery from a horrible start to the year. In the first week of June, TV Thunder said CFO Panjanuch Kitgrongpaibul was out. Her exit came about two weeks after TVT reported a 55% drop in revenue to THB25.7 million/US$707,000 for Q1 2025, and a net loss of THB8.9 million – a 248% increase on Q1 2024.   

The One Enterprise’s share price was down 43.18% at the end of March, and slipped even further to 52.27% down by the end of May compared to where it was on 1 January 2025; the five year drop is more than 77%. The company’s market cap is approx US$151 million, putting it third behind Major Cineplex Group and Mono Next. 

The One Enterprise, which has a strong talent management and events business in addition to its channels/production, reported a net loss of THB22.42 million/US$617,000 for the first three months of 2025. Revenue from its copyrights/content licensing business was THB184.67 million/US$5 million, down 5.9% year on year, and the production business (studio facilities and services) fell more than 50% to THB18.47 million/US$508,000. At the same time, the company says its originals and international licensing efforts are a strategic tool to expand visibility and footprint, which in turn drives its idol marketing business. 

And there’s the highlight. Revenue from what The One Enterprises calls “idol (or influencer) marketing” is up more than 48% this year, bringing in THB657.8 million/US$18 million from January to March. Turns out celebrity may well be where it’s at. For The One Enterprise at least. 

For JKN Global Group, which has owned the Miss Universe Organisation (MUO) since October 2022, not so much. 

The listed company is drowning in debt, share trading remains suspended after its failure to submit multiple earnings reports, and the whole entity is up to its still-beautiful eyeballs in the ugly business of rehabilitation proceedings. JKN Global’s biz rehab plan was submitted to the Central Bankruptcy Court on 4 April 2025; no updates have been released. Meanwhile, Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued penalties, civil sanctions, and SET says the company is in danger of being delisted.  

A few weeks later, MUO distanced itself from the mothership’s troubles in Thailand, saying that it operated as a “fully independent and autonomous body, operating under our bylaws and guided solely by MUO’s mission and values – without influence from any external entity, including JKN Global Group... We maintain clear structural and legal separation between our Board and any external shareholders or partners.”

The Miss Universe pageant – now based in New York and Mexico with regional offices in Bangkok and Singapore – has never been short on spectacle. Thailand has the star role in the latest season. Our bet is that the drama is far from over. The next Miss Universe extravaganza takes place on 21 November 2025 – in Thailand. The show will, of course, go on.  

Thailand in numbers
Population ............................... 65.95 million    
Households .............................. 29.12 million
Mobile phone subs .................. 115.13 million
Mobile phone penetration ......... 175.73%
Fixed line subs ............................ 3.9 million
Fixed Line Penetration per H/H ............. 13%
Broadband subs .................... 10.58 million
Source: National Statistical Office Thailand (population & households in 2024); National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission/NBTC (mobile, fixed line, broadband, in 2024)

Published in The Big List Thailand | June 2025 edition