Channel 7 officially launched broadcasts in
Bangkok as
Thailand's first
commercial television channel on 27 November 1967 at 7:00 pm
Bangkok Time. The channel's broadcast area was only limited to
Bangkok Metropolitan Area (
Bangkok, the capital and the surrounding areas) only. It was presided over by the then
Prime Minister of Thailand Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn. The first programme to air was the 1967
Miss Thailand Pageant. The channel initially shared its facilities with the black-and-white Channel 7, which is now Channel 5. Channel 7 was known back then as "Bangkok Colour Television Network", with callsign
HSB-TV, airing on Channel 7 in the 625-line standard (simulcast on Channel 9 in the 525-line standard) and was the country's first colour television station using PAL colour. On 1 January 1972, it started broadcasting nationwide. In 1974, the 525-line relays were turned off, with the channel broadcasting exclusively on VHF Channel 7. A regional station opened in
Phuket on 9 October 1980. Up until then Phuket only had one television station, an MCOT/PRD station on channel 11. As of 1988, it was the only truly national commercial television network, at a time when channels 3, 5 and 9 announced that they would increase their transmitter networks in 1989. Channel 7 launched its
high-definition television feed on 25 April 2014 on its digital terrestrial television system (DTT) on channel 35. Three years later, on 19 June 2017, Channel 7 was given authorisation from the
National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission to shut down its analogue frequencies in the rest of the country, in order to replace them with its digital channels on DTT. Thus, the network was expected to stop broadcasting on analogue 1 January 2018, but the process was postponed to 16 May 2018 and eventually completed on 16 June. In 2017, it was the most-watched channel out of all 25 terrestrial television networks available, surpassing Channel 3. That year was the first time its morning news surpassed Channel 3's in ratings, coupled by administrative changes and challenges. == Programming ==