Shift in focus for Indonesian TV<\/p>\n
Luas Samudera, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Prime-time programs on Indonesian TV have slowly shifted away
\nfrom series of local costume dramas, which used to be aired on
\nevery station last year, toward local TV movies and local teenage
\nserials or soap operas.<\/p>\n
Looking at the top ten programs from the first six months of
\nthis year, the type of programs seem varied. The noticeable
\ntrend, however, has been that American programs and movies have
\nbeen losing their ground significantly.<\/p>\n
Local costume dramas such as Indosiar's Misteri Gunung Merapi
\n(Merapi Mountain Mystery) made it to the top ten during the first
\nsix months of this year. And the content of the most popular
\nlocal series, which transfixed viewers, was limited to teenage
\nlove life (Pernikahan Dini - Dini's Wedding - on RCTI, and
\nWah...Cantiknya!!! - What A Beauty!!! - on SCTV).<\/p>\n
Prime time has now been extended from 7:30 p.m to 9 p.m.
\nto between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. and has mostly been filled with
\nlocal programs, either TV movies or series. With the lack of
\ngovernment guidance to oversee the industry since the information
\nministry was disbanded in 1998, commercial television stations
\nhave slowly been ignoring regulations that oblige them to air
\nTVRI's news broadcast at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. They have been filling
\nthe slot with more attractive programs at a time when the numbers
\nof viewers are considered among the highest.<\/p>\n
A couple of Mandarin series or Indian series\/movies usually
\nfill in the blanks between locally produced programs. One of
\nthese programs, Kera Sakti (Monkey King) was so popular that
\nthree stations aired it at similar times. Indosiar broadcast a
\nversion from Hong Kong, TPI aired a rerun from Indosiar and RCTI
\nran a mainland Chinese version. Imported programs work best when
\nthey are dubbed into Indonesian. This is because they serve a
\nlarger audience in a country where English is a foreign language.<\/p>\n
It is not surprising that in the first six months of this
\nyear, Indian feature movies gained the highest ratings. In
\nparticular, the movie Kuch Kuch Hota Hai -- about a triangular
\nlove affair featuring India's hottest movie stars Shahrukh, Kajol
\nand Rani Mukherjee -- has been popular in theaters and its
\nsoundtrack has been localized and dubbed into several different
\nversions. A similar movie plot appeared on one of the Indonesian
\nseries (Tersayang on SCTV).<\/p>\n
U.S.-produced programs left their mark only on RCTI's feature
\nmovies slot and TPI's documentary programs slot, which has now
\nmoved from prime time. Stealing a couple of ratings from local
\nseries, these documentaries hardly made a double-digit rating.<\/p>\n
The latest trend, which has quickly won the hearts of
\nIndonesian viewers, is TV movies. Screened in cinemascope with an
\nangle similar to the wide-screen format, TV movies offer an
\nalternative to viewers who are getting sick and tired of the
\nlong, twisted plots that are a feature of regular series.<\/p>\n
One of the selling points of the genre, according to director
\nDedi Setiadi, is the simple yet strong story. So, unlike a long-
\nrunning series, which stretches a seemingly unending story, the
\ndirector can work on a clear concept.<\/p>\n
Production manager for drama at state television TVRI Agus
\nWijoyono thinks that mini-series have created a niche on
\ntelevision because not all viewers stick to the small screen for
\nevery program in a long-running series.<\/p>\n
\"Television viewers are instant viewers. Most of them do not
\nhave time to consistently follow a particular series,\" Wijoyono
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
SCTV, which toyed with the idea for the first time last year,
\nhas created two slots for this kind of genre during prime time
\neach week. Although it does not make it to the top ten, the
\naverage rating is normally among the top 20 weekly programs. RCTI
\nand TPI followed suit shortly afterwards and now both have slots
\nfor similar programs.<\/p>\n
Looking at the instant success of the genre, SCTV and RCTI
\nhave created a slot for mini-series with a similar screen format.
\nRCTI is introducing Sinema Mini Series and SCTV is showing Layar
\nMini Series. While TPI broadcasts telesinema, a different term
\nthat refers to the same thing.<\/p>\n
The popularity of widescreen format is shown on the list where
\nthe first two highest-rated programs are feature movies. A rerun
\nof the American movie, Terminator 2, was number four, thanks to
\nthe ever popular Schwarzenegger.<\/p>\n
The 10 highest rated programs on Indonesian television January-June 2001<\/p>\n
(Rank, Title, Genre, Duration (minutes), Source, Station, Highest
\nRating, Shares):
\n1., Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Feature movie, 60, India, IVM, 23, 56;
\n2., Petualangan Sherina, Feature movie, 150, Indonesia, RCTI, 19, 51;
\n3., Tersanjung 5, Drama series, 60, Indonesia, IVM, 19, 46;
\n4., Terminator 2, Feature movie, 150, U.S., RCTI, 19, 53;
\n5., Pernikahan Dini, Drama series, 60, Indonesia, RCTI, 18, 44;
\n6., Goyang Semarak Indosiar, Music special, 150, Indonesia, IVM, 17, 43;
\n7., Wah Cantiknya, Drama series, 60, Indonesia, SCTV, 17, 40;
\n8., Kera Sakti 2, Costume drama series, 30, Hong Kong, IVM, 17, 49;
\n9., Joged Special, Music special, 90, Indonesia, RCTI, 16, 42;
\n10., Misteri Gunung Merapi 3, Costume drama series, 60, Indonesia,
\nIVM, 16, 40.<\/p>\n
Source: AC Nielsen<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/shift-in-focus-for-indonesian-tv-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }