Production houses booming amid growing need for stars<\/p>\n
A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
\"There's no business like show business\" is perhaps a good
\nphrase to describe the current rosy situation in the Indonesian
\ntelevision industry.<\/p>\n
All television stations are vying to create the \"most
\nentertaining\" programs to lure viewers and as such attract
\nadvertisers.<\/p>\n
With 12 national TV stations and several regional TV stations
\nnow on air, certainly competition to grab a slice of the
\nadvertisement cake has become tighter. For the TV stations, there
\nis no alternative but to produce the best programs to succeed in
\nthe competition.<\/p>\n
While news programs are sometimes able to attract
\nadvertisements, most are broadcast during the commercial breaks
\nof entertainment programs.<\/p>\n
Such programs be they infotainment, reality shows (including
\ncontests of singers and comedians), and soap operas locally known
\nas sinetron are all vying for advertisements.<\/p>\n
It would be impossible for the TV stations to make all of
\ntheir entertainment programs by themselves. They depend mostly on
\nproduction houses for the programs.<\/p>\n
One of the nation's largest and oldest production houses is
\nMultivision Plus, which is owned by the \"king\" of sinetron Raam
\nPunjabi.<\/p>\n
In his book titled Panggung Kehidupan Raam Punjabi (The life
\nstage of Raam Punjabi), Raam recalled that his production house
\nstarted to get many orders following the establishment of the
\ncountry's first television station RCTI in the 1990s.<\/p>\n
Since then Raam's sinetrons -- which were often criticized for
\nnot reflecting the reality of life in Indonesian -- could be seen
\non almost all TV stations. Attractive actors, luxurious houses
\nand cars, love and tragedy are common features.<\/p>\n
\"I know that my viewers are middle- to lower-class people,\"
\nRaam said. \"But I can't use their problems as story ideas. It
\nwould only depress them.\"<\/p>\n
Dozens of wannabe stars can be seen daily at Multivision's
\nfive-story office in the Roxy area, West Jakarta, waiting for an
\naudition.<\/p>\n
Following the success of Multivision, dozens of new production
\nhouses, big and small, have been established in Jakarta and other
\nbig cities, seeking to meet the growing demand of the TV industry
\nfor entertainment programs. They are recruiting new stars, mostly
\nbased on their looks.<\/p>\n
Avicom production house operational director Maman Suherman
\nadmitted that many wannabe stars were ready to give all they have
\nto be cast in a sinetron.<\/p>\n
\"Some parents are also ready to pay in order that their
\nchildren get a role in a sinetron. There are many nasty stories
\nrelated to the casting. But I always tell my men to be
\nprofessional,\" Maman told The Jakarta Post recently.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, a producer was arrested for fraudulently
\ncasting several girls as models of a soap product. The man filmed
\nthe young women naked.<\/p>\n
Being an advertising model is believed to be the first step to
\nbecome a television star. Normally, production houses or TV
\nstations would give priority to advertising models in the
\nselection with the expectation that companies that use their
\nmodeling services would be willing to place ads during the airing
\nof the sinetron<\/p>\n
For one episode of a sinetron series, a popular star can get
\nup to Rp 50 million, while a beginner may receive only a
\n\"transportation fee\" for a few minutes appearance on the
\nsinetron.<\/p>\n
Production houses usually sell an episode of a sinetron series
\nat between Rp 200 million to Rp 250 million to a TV station. They
\nusually sign a contract for the screening of 13 episodes. The TV
\nstations will extend the contract, if rating agency AC Nielsen
\nsays the rating of the sinetron is high and will end it if
\nNielsen says the sinetron is bad.<\/p>\n
\"All television stations and advertisers depend on the ratings
\nissued by AC Nielsen. If a program gains a low rating, it would
\nbe dropped as the prospects of getting advertising for the
\nprogram would be slim,\" Asaf Antariksa, ANTeve's planning and
\nscheduling manager, told the Post.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/production-houses-booming-amid-growing-need-for-stars-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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