Bimantara negotiates with MTV for broadcast rights

JAKARTA (JP): PT Matahari Lintas Cakrawala (Malicak), a subsidiary of the Bimantara Group, is negotiating with MTV (Music Television) to market the round-the-clock music cable network through a direct-broadcast satellite television service.

"We've been approached by Bimantara," Linda Kung, director for international development of MTV, told The Jakarta Post here yesterday.

Malicak, together with its sister company Indovision, has signed agreements to market several American cable networks, including Cable News Network International (CNN International), TNT, the Cartoon Network, the Discovery Channel, ESPN and HBO.

All of these cable services, now still accessible to owners of dish antennas, will be scrambled beginning in September. Viewers in Indonesia must buy a decoder device provided by Malicak to watch these services then.

Kung also explained that MTV, which is based in New York, is planning to leap into the Asian market by using a strategy similar to those of other cable networks. "We are looking for a local partner to help us distribute decoders," she said.

MTV's transmission for Asia was previously broadcast together with Star TV, a division of News Corp. of Hong Kong. Their cooperation ended last month for "financial and creative" reasons, Kung said.

MTV plans to reach 30 countries throughout Asia when the Apstat Two satellite is launched next year, she said.

She declined to explain when MTV will sign a deal with Malicak. "I'll be in Jakarta in about two weeks time to look around for some more," Kung said.

Bimantara is a large conglomerate owned by one of President Soeharto's sons. The business group also controls RCTI and SCTV, two of Indonesia's private television stations. (04)