Pattaya firm takes over Phuket radio station

PHUKET: The end of a four-year contract has seen Pattaya-based Sunshine Radio win the rights to run the local government radio station, 101.5 FM Phuket. Sunshine Radio won the contract direct from the Phuket branch of the Mass Communications Organization of Thailand (MCOT) in Bangkok. The amount of the winning bid was not announced. “Previously, the contracts were won on the basis of the bidding price tendered, but now it’s different,” said Kamolpat Bowornsombat, the radio station’s director. “Sunshine Radio did not win on the basis of their monetary bid, but because of their programming concepts and content.” She added that the MCOT management was concerned about the station’s performance because it was rated by a Rajabhat Institute poll as only the sixth most popular station in Phuket. The MCOT is aiming to improve its radio stations’ popularity in more densely populated areas such as Phuket, Pattaya and Chiang Mai. The Sunshine Radio management will modernize the station’s programming to capture a younger audience by introducing broadcasts on environmental conservation, tourist attraction information and the introduction of their own website. They will also play fewer and shorter commercials.