Sorayuth gets B55m in Mcot ad wrangle
The Central Administrative Court yesterday ordered Mcot Plc to pay over 55 million baht to Rai Som Co, owned by well-known TV news anchor Sorayuth Suthassanachinda.
The payment relates to a contract for the news programme Khon Khui Khao broadcast on Mcot’s Modernine TV channel a decade ago.
Sorayuth had filed a lawsuit demanding Mcot return funds which he said should have been a 30% discount on advertising fees to which his company was entitled for commercials exceeding their specified time slots.
The court said that the contract between both parties had stated they were equally entitled to the income from commercials that exceeded their time slots, and that Mcot must give the 30% discount on airtime fees to Sorayuth’s company. However, Mcot collected the commercial fees from the company during 2005 and 2006 without offering the 30% discount.
The sum which the court has ordered Mcot to pay to Rai Som Co amounts to 55.77 million baht plus 7.5% annual interest.
The court ordered Mcot to pay the money in 90 days.
Anant Ruangjaras, Rai Som’s lawyer, said the ruling was not based on the contract’s 50/50 sharing of advertising time, for which the company had actually pursued a 100-million-baht lawsuit.
He and his client will decide if Rai Som Co will file an appeal for the extra money.
Sorayuth faces charges of embezzlement and bribery after the National AntiCorruption Commission concluded he embezzled 138 million baht in revenue from Mcot and paid Mcot staff to help conceal the records of Rai Som’s commercials.
Sorayuth claimed to have honoured his contract and paid back the 138 million baht sum to Mcot.
He filed the Administrative Court case in order to claim his share of the excess revenue.