According to a recent press release, MCOT (a government-owned firm) will be partnering with the Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) to synergize the strengths of both organizations in content, technologies and experienced teams to launch a new digital media platform for Thais.
The President of the MCOT noted that the collaboration between the two parties is in line with the government’s Thailand’s 4.0 policy focusing on restructuring the Country’s economics to develop creativity and innovation-driven economy.
This will allow Thailand to shift from middle to high-income country through the implementation of Productive Growth Engine and Collaborative Network Strategies.
Moreover, recognising the importance of digital content and platform development, MCOT, in its capacity as a state-owned media organization committed to delivering accurate and reliable news and high-quality content, is joining hands with ETDA, Thailand’s main agency whose expertise lies in information technology and electronic transactions to develop “Digital Content and the Digital Platform WHAM for Thais.
WHAM will offer a wide range of entertainment content with a focus on music for the younger generation. This collaboration also extends to that in the area of human resource development between the two organizations.
The Executive Director and CEO of ETDA (Ministry of Digital Economy and Society) informed members of the press that a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the two parties.
The MoU is concerned with the Management and Rights on the Digital Platform WHAM; it aims to raise awareness and understanding in “Creative Commons” and intellectual property protection among the operators and the general public and promote e-commerce in the digital content industry.
The ETDA CEO also stated that the MOU signing ceremony between ETDA and MCOT reflects the collaboration between government agencies in leveraging emerging technologies to develop media innovation.
The collaboration aims to set standards on technological security and prevent intellectual property infringement with a focus on developing “Digital Content” disseminated through the newly launched Digital Platform “WHAM”.
In addition, the exchanges of academic information, hands-on experiences and technologies related to data analytics management are included under this partnership.
As such, ETDA will support the development of the Digital Platform WHAM while MCOT will be responsible for developing and managing “Digital Content, a type of non-seasonal e-commerce as well as arranging activities on this platform whereupon the access and opportunities for content creation are provided.
According to ETDA’s e-commerce data surveys, continuous growth of e-commerce in the digital industry was found due to the preference of digital users on accessing entertainment content via the Internet. This has enabled music and e-movies to be among the top three highest e-commerce values in the category of art, entertainment and recreation.
Seeing an opportunity to jointly develop and use this digital platform with MCOT in an attempt to establish Thailand’s digital platform to enhance the nation’s e-commerce competitiveness in the digital content industry to meet international standards.
The main missions of ETDA are to develop and promote safe and secure electronic transactions in the Country through the use of new technologies.
The aim is to facilitate service provision of both private and public sectors, in accordance with related laws and international standards, conduct studies and researches as well as develop information technologies and communications relating to electronic transactions.
With regards to MCOT, its mission is to promote useful content creation to raise public awareness and project a positive image of the Country through all MCOT’s available media platforms to effectively meet the needs of its prospective target audiences