17 TV stations to cover SEA Games

JAKARTA (JP): Seventeen TV stations will give 14 sports events continuous live coverage during the 19th SEA Games here next month, the organizers' information and communication deputy, Ishadi SK, said by telephone yesterday.

The coverage will be transmitted to the International Broadcasting Center (IBC), which will be located in the state- owned TVRI station in Senayan.

Since the organizers are not allowed to sell the TV rights, each TV station will be charged transmission fees. The fees will be determined based on the time and distance of their transmissions.

There will be six TV stations from Indonesia, three from Malaysia, two from Thailand, two from Singapore, two from the Philippines and Hong Kong-based ESPN based at the IBC. Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos will share a channel between them.

"This is the first time the SEA Games is to be covered by ESPN," Ishadi said.

He also said that the organizers had only received Rp 400 million of their Rp 2.8 billion (US$933,334) budget from the consortium.

Kompas reported Wednesday that Rp 2.25 billion would be used to set up the center. Sixty percent would buy equipment to install the system, build master controls and pay the TV pool operational costs.

IBC chairman Alex Kumara said that without the equipment, the TV coverage could be worse than that of the National Games last year.

Alex said 12 outdoor broadcast vans would be used to cover the events.

Seven of the 12 vans will come from TVRI and one each will come from RCTI, SCTV, TPI, ANteve and Indosiar.

"But none of the vans has the special equipment needed to transmit slow motion shots," Alex said. (yan)