Education station 'TPI' strives to overcome obstacles

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): Turn on your TV and turn to educational station Televisi Pendidikan Indonesia (TPI), and you will most likely see dangdut (Malay style music) programs or Indian films.

Many people often associate TPI with dangdut music. "It is a dangdut station," said one viewer. People coming from the middle to upper income groups find TPI's programs second-rate and boring. Those working for the station don't mind: TPI has millions of fans in cities and rural areas across the country.

Surveys reveal that more than 90 percent of TPI's audience come from the low-income group, which comprises two thirds of Indonesia's population of almost 200 million.

Dewi Fadjar, the new marketing director of TPI, said the station has the potential to become the largest private television station in the country. "We have a faithful audience throughout the country," Dewi said.

TPI, which celebrated its sixth anniversary on Jan. 23, still has a lot of homework to do.

Compared to the other four private stations -- RCTI, SCTV, Indosiar and AN-Teve -- TPI has the poorest performance record in terms of programming and financial status.

Actually, TPI was the first private TV station that was granted a special privilege by the government to broadcast nationwide. Using the state-owned TVRI's broadcasting and transmitting facilities, TPI's programs could be received in the country's remote areas.

Between l991 and l993, TPI, owned by Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana, or Mbak Tutut, a daughter of President Soeharto, enjoyed its rosy days. Advertisers begged the station to run their commercials. Money flowed in as fast as a raft down the rapids. But the station only enjoyed the fruits of its labor for a brief period. In l993, the government allowed other private stations to broadcast nationwide.

An improper management system has landed TPI in the last place in local television competition. Since 1993, TPI has been burdened with serious financial problems.

"We cannot sit still and do nothing. We must do something to eliminate our problems," said Dewi.

The station seems quite serious about upgrading its performance level. TPI's board of commissioners has recruited a number of professionals including Tito Sulistio, the former president of PT Cipta Marga Nusapala, as TPI's president; Dewi Fadjar, the former marketing director of Goro supermarket, as marketing director; Agus Sugiantoro of Tugu Pratama Insurance as finance director and communications expert Ishadi S.K as its operational director.

The professionals have brought a wealth of fresh talents to TPI's head office on Jl. Taman Mini Indonesia in Pondok Gede, East Jakarta.

Mounting debt

Dewi said several drastic steps are being taken to improve TPI's overall standing, the first being to create a healthy financial condition.

TPI faces critical financial problems with its mounting debt. According to reports, the station owed more than Rp 300 billion in l995, while its revenue totaled only Rp 50 billion.

"With such a huge debt, it is very hard for us to pay interest on our loan, which equals 50 percent of our annual income," Dewi explained.

To solve its financial problems, the company has obtained a US$65 million low-interest loan from local banks to pay off some of its debts.

"We are still seeking other sources to settle the remaining debt. We have tried to convince some local banks that we are willing to work hard to manage our station," she said.

TPI's new management has committed itself to tightening the station's operational budget. "We will not tolerate any extra spending. In the past, we might spend between Rp 10 million to Rp 20 million extra on each production. It was not a lot of money. But if we produce more than 10 programs a month, the amount of extra spending will skyrocket," Dewi explained.

The management is now starting to apply a new budgeting system which is tightly controlled by the board of directors.

"We want to record every rupiah we spend for both daily operations and production costs," she said.

Another significant step is to strengthen its human resources. Currently, around 700 people work for the station. "Our human resources are the most important assets for us," she said.

Dewi admitted that TPI was previously slow in maximizing the quality of its personnel. Due to bureaucratic problems, human resource development programs were overlooked.

Several programs, including overseas training, have been set up for the editorial and production departments, Dewi said.

"For the time being, our first priority is to upgrade skills and knowledge in these two departments, because what will be seen on screen are their products. The other departments will receive the same treatment after our financial condition becomes healthy," she explained.

Restructuring in each department has been going on since early last year. "We need efficient and creative people in each section. At present, there are hard workers in some departments, but other people's work falls below expectations," she said.

Restructuring programs aren't progressing that smoothly. Obstacles still remain. "When all these improvement programs began, many employees were not prepared. There was no choice if we want to keep up with other private TV stations," she said.

Actually, TPI's board of directors presented the station's workers with a choice. "We gave them the real picture of the company's condition. It was up to them whether they would stay or leave," she said.

She was glad that many of them preferred to continue working with the station, despite its difficulties.

Improvements are also being made in TPI's programming system. Ishadi said the station is now redesigning its programs to catch up with the other private television stations.

"We are not their competitors because we have different audience segments," said Ishadi, a former director of the state- owned TVRI.

Since its establishment in l991, TPI has pledged to target low to middle-income viewers. "TPI has always been undervalued since it emerged six years ago because the concept of an education station is not yet clear to many viewers," Ishadi said.

Compared to other private TV stations, TPI has a more social function. "Our programs should have educational and moral values. Such programs are not selling, that's why we receive a smaller portion of advertising, " Ishadi added.

Ishadi said the station will continue broadcasting its education and music programs, films and other local productions including sinetron (TV dramas) and quiz shows, which have proven to be popular with viewers.

"It is our commitment to maintain our style. There is nothing wrong with dangdut music programs and Indian films, as long as we broadcast those of the best quality," Ishadi maintained.

"We will select our film programs to minimize violent elements," he noted.

Numerous improvisations have been undertaken to make these programs more educational and entertaining. TPI, for instance, has collaborated with famous film directors including Teguh Karya, Garin Nugroho, Slamet Rahardjo Djarot and Ali Shahab to produce high-quality sinetron. Teguh Karya's Mainan Gelas, an adaptation of Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie, was screened on TPI last week, while Garin Nugroho's Suara dari Sumba is still in production.

With Ishadi's experience in managing television programs, TPI is optimistic that it can offer the best programs in the near future.

Ishadi is renowned for his innovative ideas. He had midwifed a number of new TV programs, including Siti Noerbaya and Salah Asoehan sinetrons which were broadcasted on TVRI in the late l980s.

At TPI, Ishadi and his team also experimented with music. They presented a special program on TPI's anniversary featuring a blend of musical orchestra, jazz and dangdut music.

"We want to produce a good music program. Dangdut music can be beautiful if we present it in good taste. Our main intention is to increase music appreciation among our viewers. It is part of an education process," said Ishadi, who previously criticized TPI for its lack of creativity.

Education comes in various forms. Previously TPI had always linked education with school programs, which were uninteresting.

He said TPI redesigned its educational programs from instructional formats into "edutainments", a blend of education and entertainment, such as American PBS's Sesame Street or Discovery's documentary films.

Up to the present, educational programs on the station have been jointly produced by TPI and the Ministry of Education and Culture.

"We have already got a green light from Pak Wardiman (Minister of Education and Culture) to produce more entertaining educational programs," Ishadi said.

Dewi said to gain more money, advertising will be allowed during several educational programs. "We cannot deny that commercials are important to support our operation," she said. With several changes in TPI's programming, its net revenue from advertising in l996 increased about 40 percent from the previous years.

A number of TPI's programs, including Quiz Dangdut, Kuliah Subuh, and children's programs Lenong Bocah, Dongeng Dangdut and Pepesan Kosong received high ratings from the independent organization Survey Research Indonesia (SRI).

"SRI's survey reveals that TPI is the safest television channel for the entire family to watch," said Dewi proudly.

There is still a long way to go before TPI can claim itself as a family station. But with more serious efforts, it is hoped that Indonesian families can watch more educational and entertaining TV programs.