Kiatnakin Phatra Securities (KKPS) has noted a strategic shift by True Corporation Public Company Limited (SET: TRUE), evident in the telecommunications giant’s decision to relinquish broadcasting rights to prominent sports events.
Despite losing rights to air the English Premier League (EPL) in Thailand and the Thai League Football—recently awarded to ADVANC starting from the 2025/2026 season—analysts perceive this as a savvy move towards cost efficiency. KKPS has maintained its ‘Buy’ rating for TRUE, anticipating robust earnings growth.
True Corporation has faced challenges within its pay TV business, which reported revenues of 1,525 million baht in the first quarter of 2025, a mere 4% of TRUE’s total service revenue. According to financial figures from Business Online relating to True Vision Group, the pay TV arm endured a 1,296 million baht loss in 2024. This figure stands in contrast to TRUE’s pre-exceptional profit of 9,195 million baht for the same period.
The relinquishment of EPL and Thai League rights aligns with efforts to curtail expenses and mitigate losses. Previously, TRUE was incurring a 1.4 billion baht annual expense for EPL rights.
Furthermore, the 2024 financial statement indicates that TRUE spent 2 billion baht on acquiring film and TV program rights, exceeding the expenditures of competitors ONEE and BEC, who spent 1,179 million baht and 737 million baht, respectively.
In addition, TRUE’s subscription and installation revenue from pay TV dropped to 4.5 billion baht in 2024, significantly down from 7.6 billion baht in 2019. The rise of streaming platforms has intensified competition, contributing to this revenue decline. Despite the bleak outlook for its pay TV operations, TRUE views this as an opportunity to cut costs and potentially reinvest savings into alternative content offerings. Thus, letting go of EPL and Thai League rights might be a crucial initial step in revitalizing its financial performance.
KKPS maintains a “BUY” rating on TRUE with a target price of THB 15.10 per share.
