Boom or bust for TV stations

Boom or bust for TV stations

Today marks a trio of TV birthdays as Televisi Republik
Indonesia (TVRI) celebrates its 35th anniversary, Rajawali Citra
Televisi Indonesia (RCTI) turns 9 and Surya Citra Televisi
Indonesia (SCTV) is 8. They face tough times ahead in competing
for viewers, as well as the intense advertising war among the
total of five private television stations. The Jakarta Post's
team of reporters Listi Operananta, Ivy Susanti, Christiani S.
Tumelap, Imanuddin, Sri Wahyuni, I. Christianto, Aloysius Unditu,
T. Sima Gunawan and PJ Leo examine TV today. More stories are on
Page 2, Page 3 and Page 9.

JAKARTA (JP): The student was visibly upset. But it had
nothing to do with stress over final exams or failing to finish a
term paper on time.

Her problem was something she had seen on television.

She stood before participants at a seminar on national
television at the University of Indonesia, and recounted her
shock at watching a TV program on how to be unfaithful without
getting caught.

It may have been a simple case of misunderstanding the
program's objectives. Yet the woman is part of an increasing
chorus of viewers questioning what is being shown on their TV
screens.

Some are fed up with the staple TV fare of melodramatic soap
operas from Latin America, shallow Indian movies and violence-
packed Mandarin martial arts films. Others slam vulgar local
comedies getting cheap laughs at the expense of women, shoddy TV
dramas and news programs trumpeting sensational crime reports.

Parents complain about the airing of violent or sexually
explicit programs during daytime. Erratic scheduling also extends
to showing children's programs late at night.

Dubbing of many foreign shows and films for TV is
controversial. The broadcasting bill permits dubbing in
Indonesian, but Minister of Information R. Hartono said the
government would require dubbing only in English for programs in
other languages, with subtitles in Indonesian. The issue is
believed to be among the reasons President Soeharto ordered the
bill to be returned to legislators for further deliberation.

There is no denying that TV also has its pluses. It is
entertaining and informative, and can be educative. Except for
those living in rural backwaters with no electricity, people have
come to view TV as part of their daily lives even though it was
still a coveted luxury just 20 years ago.

The nation's TV times began on Aug. 24, 1962, when TVRI went
on the air. It monopolized the country's TV industry for 27 years
before the first private TV station, RCTI, began broadcasts in
1989. In the following year SCTV started operation, followed by
Televisi Pendidikan Indonesia (TPI) in 1991, ANteve in 1993 and
Indosiar Visual Mandiri (IVM) in 1995.

People with satellite dishes can also gain access to foreign
stations, including CNN and MTV. PT Indovision is also a TV
service provider.

More choices are coming. In October, PT Mediacitra Indostar is
scheduled to operate the Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite services
enabling viewers to receive at least 40 TV channels, both local
and foreign, with sharper pictures and clearer sound.

Head of TVRI's programming department J.B. Wahyudi says he is
not as concerned with the potential threat to business of
Indonesian TV stations as the sociological and political impacts
from foreign networks broadcasting into the nation's living
rooms. He believes some foreign stations have political agendas.

Ideology

"If we just let this type of information reach freely into our
community, I'm sure our state ideology Pancasila will soon
vanish," he said.

Ishadi S.K., operations director of TPI, said the Direct
Broadcasting Satellite (DBS) would not affect his station.

"They offer a system, a new technology. We will use it as a
part of our service, especially for those (viewers) who are to be
Indostar's customers," he said.

Competition is heating up among the five private TV stations.

Ambitious programming schedules, dominated by popular quiz and
game shows, are designed to send ratings soaring and garner
advertising revenue.

Last year, television grabbed 53 percent of media advertising
expenditures with Rp 2.2 trillion of the Rp 4.1 trillion total,
according to Yusca Ismail, chairman of the Association of
Indonesian Advertising Agencies. He predicted the budget would
increase by 20 percent this year.

The only station not making an advertising killing is TVRI,
devoid of commercials since 1981. But private television stations
are obliged to hand over 12.5 percent of their advertising
revenue to TVRI annually.

Urban viewer ratings are what count for advertisers. AC
Nielsen-Survey Research Indonesia conducted a study in May and
July of this year of households in Greater Jakarta and Gersik,
Bangkalan, Mojokerto, Sidoarjo and Lamongan, all in East Java.

The survey found the biggest audience share in urban areas is
held by RCTI (39 percent), followed by Indosiar (33 percent),
SCTV (15 percent), ANteve (7 percent) and TVRI (2 percent). For
rural areas, the order remained the same with RCTI on top (33
percent) and TVRI at the bottom (3 percent).

The glut of commercials may be a blessing in disguise for
TVRI, says Bachtiar Aly, a communications expert at the
University of Indonesia.

"In this situation, viewers may turn to TVRI if it offers good
programs, such as classic movies and other quality shows," he
said. "What they have to do is to improve the programs."

Easier said than done, particularly for TVRI as part of the
bureaucratic maze. No radical changes in TVRI's programming seems
likely in the near future.

Is an alternative station really needed? Some dismiss the
complainers as a highbrow minority. The most popular program in
the country, according to SRI, is Tuyul & Mbak Yul, the story of
a mischievous elf who befriends a mortal. It may not compare in
quality to I Dream of Jeanne or The Ghost of Mrs. Muir, popular
U.S. TV comedies on the supernatural, but it has succeeded in
keeping viewers in front of their sets.

Have idealistic aims of producing an educative and quality
program been swept aside in pursuit of profits?

Ishadi believes they still exist and can be worked into the
overall business strategy of the station.

"The balance between the business aspect and idealism can only
be reached through a broadcasting bill, code of ethics and public
opinion," he said.