| Channel 3 HD | |
| Country: | Thailand |
| Language: | Thai |
| Area: | Thailand Malaysia (Perlis, Kedah, Perak, Kelantan and Terengganu) Myanmar (eastern and southern portions) Cambodia (western portion) Laos |
| Picture Format: | 1080i HDTV |
| Headquarters: | Maleenont Tower, Khlong Toei, Bangkok, Thailand |
| Terr Serv 1: | Digital |
| Terr Chan 1: | Channel 33 (HD) (TPBS MUX4) |
| Online Serv 1: | 3Plus |
| Online Chan 1: | https://ch3plus.com/live |
| Channel 3 | |
| Analog: | 2 (26 March 1970 - 1977, as a black and white 525-line relayer) 3 (26 March 1970 - 1 July 2007) UHF 32 (26 March 2005 - 25 March 2020) |
| Digital: | 44 (shared on MUX#4: TPBS) |
| Virtual: | 33 |
| Former Callsigns: | HST-TV[1] HS-TV3[2] |
Channel 3 or Channel 3 HD (Thai: ช่อง 3 เอชดี, formerly known as สถานีวิทยุโทรทัศน์ไทยทีวีสีช่อง 3|lit=Thai Television Broadcasting Station Color TV Channel 3 (Channel 3 HDTV Channel 33)) is a Thailand and Bangkok's first commercial free-to-air television network that was launched on 26 March 1970 as Thailand and Bangkok's first commercial television station. Channel 3 is operated by BEC Multimedia Company Limited ("BECM"), a subsidiary of publicly traded company BEC World Public Company Limited. The network is headquartered in the Maleenont Tower of Bangkok.[3]
Bangkok Entertainment Co., Ltd. is founded on 10 November 1967 by Maleenont family to controlled their own television station, eventually joined hands with government agency in operating 625-line color TV station under a joint investment agreement submitted for establishment of the TV station on 3 December 1967 and entered into an agreement with Thai Television Co., Ltd. (now MCOT) on 4 March 1968.
Channel 3 was officially launched in Bangkok as Thailand's first commercial television channel on 26 March 1970 at 10:00 Bangkok Time by Prime Minister Field Marshal Thanom Kittikachorn and is the fourth oldest television station in the country. The channel's broadcast area was limited to Bangkok Metropolitan Area (Bangkok and the surrounding areas) only at the time. On 16 July 1987, it established a joint broadcasting equipment with Channel 9.
During its early years, Channel 3's airtime lasted 6-hours, broadcasting from 16:00 to 22:00, and later expanded to the daytime hours. For a short period of time, it started broadcasting 24 hours in March 1997 and closed the station again in August 1997, but was scuttled due to the 1997 Asian financial crisis. And the network resumed its 24-hour airtime on 1 January 2005.
On 1 January 2001, Channel 3 was the first station in Thailand to broadcast a 3D film. The movie, Jaws 3-D, required a pair of 3D glasses bought from certain stores partnered with the network for the event or attained from elsewhere.
On 16 September 2009, due to a wastewater treatment failure, the generator room was flooded, leading to all broadcasts to be suspended at approximately 4:04pm due to the lack of power. At 5:32pm, a test card was shown with the National Anthem, and at 5:37pm, programs returned.
In September 2018, Channel 3 (owned jointly by BEC and MCOT) was the last broadcaster to broadcast analog television services in Thailand. The network made the move to digital television in late 2019 on VHF while analogue television ceased transmission on 26 March 2020 at 00:00 am (UTC+7), exactly 50 years after the channel's launch.
In 2021, all entertainment programs produced by Tero Entertainment were removed and transferred to Channel 7 HD.
