Boom or bust for TV stations<\/p>\n
Today marks a trio of TV birthdays as Televisi Republik
\nIndonesia (TVRI) celebrates its 35th anniversary, Rajawali Citra
\nTelevisi Indonesia (RCTI) turns 9 and Surya Citra Televisi
\nIndonesia (SCTV) is 8. They face tough times ahead in competing
\nfor viewers, as well as the intense advertising war among the
\ntotal of five private television stations. The Jakarta Post's
\nteam of reporters Listi Operananta, Ivy Susanti, Christiani S.
\nTumelap, Imanuddin, Sri Wahyuni, I. Christianto, Aloysius Unditu,
\nT. Sima Gunawan and PJ Leo examine TV today. More stories are on
\nPage 2, Page 3 and Page 9.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The student was visibly upset. But it had
\nnothing to do with stress over final exams or failing to finish a
\nterm paper on time.<\/p>\n
Her problem was something she had seen on television.<\/p>\n
She stood before participants at a seminar on national
\ntelevision at the University of Indonesia, and recounted her
\nshock at watching a TV program on how to be unfaithful without
\ngetting caught.<\/p>\n
It may have been a simple case of misunderstanding the
\nprogram's objectives. Yet the woman is part of an increasing
\nchorus of viewers questioning what is being shown on their TV
\nscreens.<\/p>\n
Some are fed up with the staple TV fare of melodramatic soap
\noperas from Latin America, shallow Indian movies and violence-
\npacked Mandarin martial arts films. Others slam vulgar local
\ncomedies getting cheap laughs at the expense of women, shoddy TV
\ndramas and news programs trumpeting sensational crime reports.<\/p>\n
Parents complain about the airing of violent or sexually
\nexplicit programs during daytime. Erratic scheduling also extends
\nto showing children's programs late at night.<\/p>\n
Dubbing of many foreign shows and films for TV is
\ncontroversial. The broadcasting bill permits dubbing in
\nIndonesian, but Minister of Information R. Hartono said the
\ngovernment would require dubbing only in English for programs in
\nother languages, with subtitles in Indonesian. The issue is
\nbelieved to be among the reasons President Soeharto ordered the
\nbill to be returned to legislators for further deliberation.<\/p>\n
There is no denying that TV also has its pluses. It is
\nentertaining and informative, and can be educative. Except for
\nthose living in rural backwaters with no electricity, people have
\ncome to view TV as part of their daily lives even though it was
\nstill a coveted luxury just 20 years ago.<\/p>\n
The nation's TV times began on Aug. 24, 1962, when TVRI went
\non the air. It monopolized the country's TV industry for 27 years
\nbefore the first private TV station, RCTI, began broadcasts in
\n1989. In the following year SCTV started operation, followed by
\nTelevisi Pendidikan Indonesia (TPI) in 1991, ANteve in 1993 and
\nIndosiar Visual Mandiri (IVM) in 1995.<\/p>\n
People with satellite dishes can also gain access to foreign
\nstations, including CNN and MTV. PT Indovision is also a TV
\nservice provider.<\/p>\n
More choices are coming. In October, PT Mediacitra Indostar is
\nscheduled to operate the Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite services
\nenabling viewers to receive at least 40 TV channels, both local
\nand foreign, with sharper pictures and clearer sound.<\/p>\n
Head of TVRI's programming department J.B. Wahyudi says he is
\nnot as concerned with the potential threat to business of
\nIndonesian TV stations as the sociological and political impacts
\nfrom foreign networks broadcasting into the nation's living
\nrooms. He believes some foreign stations have political agendas.<\/p>\n
Ideology<\/p>\n
"If we just let this type of information reach freely into our
\ncommunity, I'm sure our state ideology Pancasila will soon
\nvanish," he said.<\/p>\n
Ishadi S.K., operations director of TPI, said the Direct
\nBroadcasting Satellite (DBS) would not affect his station.<\/p>\n
"They offer a system, a new technology. We will use it as a
\npart of our service, especially for those (viewers) who are to be
\nIndostar's customers," he said.<\/p>\n
Competition is heating up among the five private TV stations.<\/p>\n
Ambitious programming schedules, dominated by popular quiz and
\ngame shows, are designed to send ratings soaring and garner
\nadvertising revenue.<\/p>\n
Last year, television grabbed 53 percent of media advertising
\nexpenditures with Rp 2.2 trillion of the Rp 4.1 trillion total,
\naccording to Yusca Ismail, chairman of the Association of
\nIndonesian Advertising Agencies. He predicted the budget would
\nincrease by 20 percent this year.<\/p>\n
The only station not making an advertising killing is TVRI,
\ndevoid of commercials since 1981. But private television stations
\nare obliged to hand over 12.5 percent of their advertising
\nrevenue to TVRI annually.<\/p>\n
Urban viewer ratings are what count for advertisers. AC
\nNielsen-Survey Research Indonesia conducted a study in May and
\nJuly of this year of households in Greater Jakarta and Gersik,
\nBangkalan, Mojokerto, Sidoarjo and Lamongan, all in East Java.<\/p>\n
The survey found the biggest audience share in urban areas is
\nheld by RCTI (39 percent), followed by Indosiar (33 percent),
\nSCTV (15 percent), ANteve (7 percent) and TVRI (2 percent). For
\nrural areas, the order remained the same with RCTI on top (33
\npercent) and TVRI at the bottom (3 percent).<\/p>\n
The glut of commercials may be a blessing in disguise for
\nTVRI, says Bachtiar Aly, a communications expert at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
"In this situation, viewers may turn to TVRI if it offers good
\nprograms, such as classic movies and other quality shows," he
\nsaid. "What they have to do is to improve the programs."<\/p>\n
Easier said than done, particularly for TVRI as part of the
\nbureaucratic maze. No radical changes in TVRI's programming seems
\nlikely in the near future.<\/p>\n
Is an alternative station really needed? Some dismiss the
\ncomplainers as a highbrow minority. The most popular program in
\nthe country, according to SRI, is Tuyul & Mbak Yul, the story of
\na mischievous elf who befriends a mortal. It may not compare in
\nquality to I Dream of Jeanne or The Ghost of Mrs. Muir, popular
\nU.S. TV comedies on the supernatural, but it has succeeded in
\nkeeping viewers in front of their sets.<\/p>\n
Have idealistic aims of producing an educative and quality
\nprogram been swept aside in pursuit of profits?<\/p>\n
Ishadi believes they still exist and can be worked into the
\noverall business strategy of the station.<\/p>\n
"The balance between the business aspect and idealism can only
\nbe reached through a broadcasting bill, code of ethics and public
\nopinion," he said.<\/p>",
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