After 15 years of operation, Voice TV announced last Friday (26 April) that it will close down by 31 May.

The outlet posted an announcement on its Facebook page that its executive and shareholders decided to close down the company because of “market forces” and the recognition that its various social missions will be continued by a number of other media platforms.

“For the past 15 years, we have been proud to play a part in producing works for society. We are proud of our shareholders, board members, executives, employees, former employees, reporters, and show hosts. We are proud of the good that we have done for society, proud of what we have done and been all along,” said the statement.

Voice TV said that it will provide every employee with unemployment compensation as legally required and will cease operating its online and television broadcast departments by the end of May.

Founded in June 2009 and currently owned by Panthongtae Shinawatra, son of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Voice TV and its online branch Voice Online is known for its content on Thai politics, political commentary, and liberal and pro-Thaksin stance. After the May 2023 general election, when the Pheu Thai Party formed a government with pro-military parties, Voice TV also gained a reputation of being pro-government.

The outlet faced severe repression following the May 2014 coup. When the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) allowed media outlets to resume broadcasting the day after the coup, Voice TV was not allowed to come back on air until it signed an MOU that it  would disseminate information provided by the NCPO and not broadcast content that violated its orders. The National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC) subsequently brought actions against the outlet on at least 24 occasions, with penalties ranging from a warning to a temporary suspension. 

When a severe state of emergency was declared in Bangkok in October 2020, at the height of the student-led pro-democracy movement, the NBTC and the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) threatened to suspend four online media outlets over protest coverage: Voice TV, Prachatai, The Reporters, and The Standard. MDES subsequently obtained a court order for the suspension of Voice TV’s online platforms, claiming that it has violated the Computer Crimes Act and the orders of the chief official under the severe state of emergency. However, the order was lifted a day after it was issued.