Asean-focused. Ex-Head of Thai Research

Athaporn Arayasantiparb, CFA

Athaporn served as Head of Research for UOB and ANZ in Thailand and was an award-winning telecoms analyst at UBS in 2010 (AsiaMoney Thailand category) and Regional Strategist for DMG in Singapore. Prior to that, he also served as Kasikornbank credit analyst and scholar. He has a total work experience of 22 years, of which 19 were in research and 9 in research management roles. He started his career as an engineer for PTT and currently manages family investments. He holds an MBA from Stern (NYU) and CFA Charter since 2006.

Apart from IPO Radar, which focuses on future listings, MCorp Review also performs financial advisory services for TKC Services and provides 11 other on-going thematic series ranked by frequency in descending order, namely:

1) Snippets (news-driven);
2) Sathorn Series (financial services);
3) Silicon Stories (technology); 
4) Thai-Coons (billionaire origin series);
5) Reality Check (data-driven, investigative);
6) Thai Media Spotlight;
7) Political Pit Stop; 
8) Telecom Review; 
9) Thai Macro Watch (read-through from foreign events);  
10) Small Cap Diary; and
11) Property Grid

There are also 3 limited-time series driven by specific events or locations, namely:
1) Thai Corona Crisis;
2) South Series; and
3) Mechanics and Details (deal forensics).

Thai Media Spotlight: Christmas Movie Line-Up & Life After Digital TV License Returns

Thai Media Spotlight: An Early Quarter of Blockbusters

Disney-Fox Deal Highlights Value of Sky's Subscribers, if They Are Retained Somehow

Thai Media Spotlight: New Entrants and Departures

Reality Check XX: How Can Streaming Outfits Benefit from the Return of Digital TV Licenses?

Asean (Thailand) Focused Independent Research

M Corp Review

M Corp is led by Athaporn Arayasantiparb who served as Head of Research for UOB and ANZ in Thailand and was an award-winning telecoms analyst at UBS in 2010 (AsiaMoney Thailand category) and Regional Strategist for DMG in Singapore. Prior to that, he also served as Kasikornbank credit analyst and scholar. He has a total work experience of 17 years, of which 14 were in research and 4 in research management roles. He started his career as an engineer for PTT and currently manages family investments. He holds an MBA from Stern (NYU) and CFA Charter since 2006. Apart from IPO Radar, which focuses on future listings, MCorp Review also provides six on-going thematic series ranked by frequency in descending order, namely: 1) Silicon Stories (technology) 2) Sathorn Series (financial services) 3) Thai-Coons (billionaire origin stories) 4) Reality Check (data-driven, investigative) 5) Thai Media Spotlight; and 6) Thai Macro Watch (global market drivers).

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Thailand Media / Thematic (Sector/Industry)

The Thai media sector is facing some serious challenges and is losing money hand over fist. We picked up Disney CEO Bob Iger's recent autobiography The Ride of a Lifetime. The industry could use three pointers from Disney, one of the largest and most successful entertainment company: <ul>
<li>
Industry consolidation. Disney acquired Fox, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilms in less than a decade. It's unlikely for Thai media companies to be this aggressive, but scale might be one source of survival. Industry outsiders like TCC and Bangkok Dusit have already made their move on some channels.</li>
<li>
Diversify to create new revenue streams. With traditional media shrinking over time, it's good to diversify. Disney has theme parks, content-related merchandise, and now streaming with Disney Plus. With the exception of RS and True Corp, most of Thai media players simply don't get it.</li>
<li>
Focus on content. After acquiring Pixar, Disney transplanted creative geniuses like John Lasseter and Ed Catmull to run their own animation studio and churn out new hits. Many Thai broadcasters actually seem to spend less on content now. That's a long dark road to ruin.</li>
</ul>

The Thai media sector is facing some serious challenges and is losing money hand over fist. We picked up Disney CEO Bob Iger's recent autobiography The Ride of a Lifetime. The industry could use three pointers from Disney, one of the largest and most successful entertainment company: 

Industry consolidation. Disney acquired Fox, Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilms in less than a decade. It's unlikely for Thai media companies to be this aggressive, but scale might be one source of survival. Industry outsiders like TCC and Bangkok Dusit have already made their move on some channels.

Diversify to create new revenue streams. With traditional media shrinking over time, it's good to diversify. Disney has theme parks, content-related merchandise, and now streaming with Disney Plus. With the exception of RS and True Corp, most of Thai media players simply don't get it.

Focus on content. After acquiring Pixar, Disney transplanted creative geniuses like John Lasseter and Ed Catmull to run their own animation studio and churn out new hits. Many Thai broadcasters actually seem to spend less on content now. That's a long dark road to ruin.


Three Things Thai Media Can Learn From Disney