Only weeks after its formal creation, Thailand's biggest pay TV company, the Universal Broadcasting Corp (UBC), is predicting that it will break even next year.
UBC was formed from the merger earlier this year after protracted negotiations of International Broadcasting Corp (IBC) and the Universal Cable TV Network, (UTV).
UTV had provided pay TV services through a cable network to 150,000 subscribers in and around the Bangkok area, while IBC provided channels to 200,000 homes through a satellite relay.
The systems fought for subscribers by offering a similar base of imported channels such as CNN International and HBO, but as Thailand fell into recession, they found themselves with diminishing customer numbers and sharply rising costs.
While a third pay TV provider, Thai Sky TV, found itself removed from a satellite because of its failure to pay its bills, UTV and IBC agreed to merge in February, settling on the new name, UBC, last month.
The service is still busy working out the mechanics of operating a new company within the depressed Thai economy, and its effect on attracting new subscribers and holding on to existing ones.
UBC is claiming 230,000 subscribers, although it insisted that it is beginning to raise its profile. In June 7,000 new subscribers were signed on, and UBC believes it can boost numbers by 10,000 a month from August, building to a total approaching 450,000 if Thailand can find its way out of its economic woes.