Indonesian provinces gear up for more local TV stations<\/p>\n
Luas Samudera, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The new autonomy law introduced last year immediately
\nencouraged many Indonesians to set up television stations in
\nremote cities far away from the bustling capital, where the
\ncurrent nationwide stations dominate the landscape of free-TV.<\/p>\n
Broadcast Law No. 24 issued in 1997, which said permits for
\nbroadcast frequencies were under the authority of the ministry of
\ninformation, remains ineffective because the ministry was
\ndisbanded in 1999.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, according to Hinca Pandjaitan from
\nnongovernmental organization Media Law and Policy Center, there
\nwill be no more new licenses issued for nationwide television
\nstations because under the autonomy law, as far as permits are
\nconcerned, the ball is now in the court of the local government.<\/p>\n
"It's true that there's confusion because several local
\ngovernments are not aware of this situation and instead they
\ndirect businesspeople seeking permits to the transportation
\nministry," Pandjaitan, who is also a media law ombudsperson,
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
That situation has triggered the setting up of several local
\ntelevision stations, which cater for limited regional
\nviewerships.<\/p>\n
One of the new local television stations, JTV, a subsidiary of
\none of the largest media groups, Jawa Pos, made its maiden
\nbroadcast in November last year in Surabaya, East Java.<\/p>\n
The Jawa Pos group has earmarked US$1.5 million for the
\nstation, whose launch date on Nov. 10 coincided with national
\nHeroes Day. The celebration of that day commemorates the
\npatriotic war during the struggle against the Dutch in 1945 in
\nSurabaya, later known locally as the City of Heroes.<\/p>\n
With a "footprint" limited to East Java only, the station now
\ntransmits for an average of 7.5 hours daily, with a disappointing
\nperformance. After being on the air for five months, none of its
\nprograms has gained any rating points at all, including its
\nSunday prime time Ketawa Ala Kartolo (a comedy featuring
\nSurabaya's most well-known traditional opera, or Ludruk stage
\nperformer, Kartolo). Using data from research firm AC Nielsen,
\nand in the words of a layman, it can be said no one watches JTV
\nprograms.<\/p>\n
But that fact has not discouraged other provinces from running
\ntheir own television stations.<\/p>\n
The Jawa Pos subsidiary, Riau Pos Media, introduced Riau-TV in
\nthe oil-rich province of Riau, near Singapore, to add to the
\nchoice of Jakarta-based terrestrial stations and an existing
\nlocal station, Pekanbaru TV, which went on air a year earlier.<\/p>\n
"RTV was set up in response to the Vision Riau 2020, which is
\nto make Riau a Malay cultural development center," said Riau Pos
\nMedia Group CEO Rida Liamsi.<\/p>\n
Pekanbaru, the provincial capital of Riau, also hosts the
\nheadquarters of oil firm Caltex, which already subscribes to one
\npay-tv service.<\/p>\n
Unlike nationwide free-TV stations, which spend millions of
\ndollars on programming acquisitions, these stations are not
\nreally concerned about program content. What is more important to
\nthem is to get their signal on the air.<\/p>\n
In the South Kalimantan town of Hulu Sungai Utara, the local
\ngovernment set up early in May a television station under a brand
\nname Amuntai TV (AMteve). It broadcasts local TV programs for one
\nhour per day, twice a week. The station's main function is to
\nrelay the transmissions of four terrestrial stations RCTI, SCTV,
\nIndosiar and TPI which were previously accessible only via a
\nsatellite dish.<\/p>\n
"The broadcast time is flexible. If the regency head (bupati)
\nis not home yet, we delay the broadcast," said AMteve operations
\ndirector Nuralim Priswantara, who also serves as a cameraman,
\nfloor director and technician simultaneously.<\/p>\n
Sometimes there are not even commercial considerations. Having
\na population of only two million relatively primitive people,
\nmostly in less well-developed areas, the Indonesian easternmost
\nprovince of Papua, formerly Irian Jaya, has also launched its own
\nlocal television station Televisi Papua Indonesia Network (TPIN).<\/p>\n
For a 30-minute broadcast, the station needs an average of Rp
\n70 million. And for 30-minute? commercial broadcast, it must
\nprovide Rp 100 to Rp 150 million. There is no possible way of
\nmaking money, considering the size of the local economy. But yet,
\nit plans to run for 24 hours per day, said TPIN president
\ndirector Yesaya C. Santoso, while refusing to elaborate on the
\nsource of his financial backup.<\/p>\n
While in Makassar (formerly Ujung Pandang), a firm -- PT
\nMakassar Lintasvisual Cemerlang -- expects its newly established
\nstation Makassar-TV to be on the air in June this year for a
\nfive-month trial period. President director Andrey Arief Bulu
\nsaid the firm had earmarked Rp 5 billion ($500,000) for the
\nsetting up of the station, which relies 70 percent on local
\ncontent. There are no immediate details available of what the
\nlocal content will be about.<\/p>\n
But certainly, some businesspeople see a light at the end of
\nthe tunnel. For example, Nurcholis, from a sleepy little town,
\nBanyuwangi, at the eastern tip of Java. Having a technical
\nbackground, a spirit of entrepreneurship and armed with a VHS
\nhandycam, Nurcholis has set up his own station Escape Television.
\nRunning on VHF frequency and without a formal license, Escape
\nTelevision has served viewers in Srono district for about five
\nhours per day since July 2000. The content? Whatever is happening
\nin the community, from a live wedding party to song requests to a
\npigeon-flying contest. Nurcholis makes millions of rupiah from
\nhis service every month.<\/p>\n
So, who wants to be a millionaire?<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesian-provinces-gear-up-for-more-local-tv-stations-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }