From broadcasting toward narrowcasting

By Brillianto K. Jaya

JAKARTA (JP): The print media is flourishing in line with the vigorous spirit of reform. This encouraging trend has been boosted by the government's policy of simplifying the procurement of press publication permits.

Just like the print media, the electronic media -- particularly television -- also wishes to take advantage of the momentum of reform in order to further its development. There have been unconfirmed reports lately that the government will simplify the bureaucratic procedures for the procurement of broadcasting licenses. The aim is to encourage the private sector to establish private TV stations.

Ever since Italy's Abbe Casseli invented a system to transmit pictures by electricity through cables in 1862, television has been developing rapidly.

In line with new advances in television technology, a number of broadcasters have been developed all over the world. The United States, which had its initial television broadcast in 1928, has fully licensed the private sector to set up television stations. The U.S. is also home to scores of local and national cable television stations. Japan established its first television station in 1953, the first country in Asia to do so. Now Japan, with state-run television Nihon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), is home to over 103 private television stations, of which 36 also broadcast on the radio.

Indonesia began a new era in its television history with the issuance of decree No. 111/1990 from the Ministry of Information, permitting the private sector to establish nation-wide television broadcasting stations. Prior to the issuance of this decree, the only television station in the country was the Television of the Republic of Indonesia (TVRI), which began operations in 1962. The first private television station to benefit from the decree was RCTI, until then only a limited private television station which required viewers to use decoders to enjoy its broadcasts. Today there are five national private television stations in the country: RCTI, SCTV, TPI, ANteve and Indosiar.

After the establishment of the five private TV stations, the New Order government seemed to put a halt to any further private television stations. More than anything else, the reason for this restriction was political.

The requirements for the establishment of a new private television broadcasting station as stipulated in ministerial decree No. 111/1990 are actually quite lax. The station must be established by a national private statutory body in the form of a limited-liability company or a cooperative with national working capital. This body must specialize in television broadcasting, obtain a permit in principle from the Ministry of Information and signs an agreement with TVRI. For private parties, especially business tycoons, these requirements are easy to meet. They can easily raise the Rp 100 billion required by the decree as the initial capital for the establishment of a new private television station.

However, it was not the formal requirements which were difficult to meet, but the politics behind establishing private television stations which proved impossible to overcome. The government had by then become fed up with the five private television stations which constantly attempted to prove that they were TVRI's opposition.

During the New Order era, TVRI was the government's spokesman. Private television stations, on the other hand, adopted the principle of covering both sides in their reporting. However, the government never stopped intervening in television reports on the policies, regulations and behavior of the government and the Armed Forces. Those in charge of the editorial content of the news at the private television stations often received telephone calls from government officials attempting to control the news.

It is expected that the current reform will address not only the government's attitude toward private stations, but also the loosening up of the granting of permits for the establishment of new private television stations.

In its capacity as a patron and a supervisor of television stations as set forth in Article 7 of Law No. 24 on Broadcasting, it is in fact easy for the government, in the absence of any political considerations, to grant permits for the establishment of new private television stations. However, the problem now is whether or not the private sector is prepared to compete against the five existing private television stations.

If any new private station operates in the same manner as the existing private television stations, it may not survive. A private television station depends on commercials for its survival and competition for a piece of the advertising cake is very tough, especially during the present economic crisis.

In the meantime, RCTI, SCTV, TPI, ANteve and Indosiar have all adopted a similar broadcasting pattern, namely entertainment (music, cinematic films and TV programs), religion, sports and a little educational programming. Only the formatting and packaging of the programs distinguishes one private station from the next.

As a matter of fact, however, a sharpening segmentation, or the narrowcasting model in private television broadcasting, still offers an opportunity to reap profits in the television broadcasting industry.

Narrowcasting was a term coined to describe the narrowing of the previously broad patterns of television broadcasting. The term was first used in the U.S. in the 1970s. At that time, station owners saw an opportunity to cash in on the demographics of television viewers. They realized that viewers had different interests and preferences. Some people do not enjoy TV programs or sports programs, while other viewers can watch these programs every day or even every hour of their lives. Hence the emergence of television narrowcasting.

Until now narrowcasting has always been identified with pay-TV or cable TV. This is understandable because narrowcasting belongs to the category of exclusive television broadcasts.

Narrowcasting presents a specific pattern of programs for specific viewers, as is the case of pay-TV. It is because of this specificity that narrowcasting television incurs extra production costs. Home Box Office (HBO), Cable News Network (CNN) and Turner Network Television (TNT) are examples of pay- television. HBO was established in 1975 in order to meet the demands of film fans. CNN was established in June 1980 to cater to viewers' interested in the news. And TNT, owned by media magnate Ted Turner, who also owns CNN, was established in 1998 to fulfill the demands of animated program enthusiasts.

In Indonesia, TPI and ANteve have in fact attempted to narrow their broadcasting focus. After changing its motto from "Educational Television" to "Television for the Family", TPI has confirmed its position as a dangdut television station. All programs, from musical programs, quiz shows and TV programs, are packaged in such a way that they have the color of dangdut. However, TPI has not completely narrowed its focus solely to target dangdut enthusiasts. It still wishes to attract other viewers, as is evident from such programs as political talk shows like Partai-Partai (Parties), Pro & Kontra (Pro & Con) and Aspirasi (Aspiration); science fiction shows like Profiler; and other programs which do not cater to dangdut fans.

ANteve has also made an attempt to narrow its broadcasting, although, like TPI, it has not been completely successful. This failure may be attributable to the fact that the owner of the station has always determined the percentage of its news reports, sports programs and entertainment programs. In fact, ANteve has the ability to narrow its focus to viewers of news reporting, just as CNN has done. ANteve has excellent news programs, such as Cakrawala (Horizon), Saksi Mata (Eyewitness) and Fakta (Fact). ANteve could also, like ESPN, cater to sports fans because a number of its sports programs, both live and taped, are very good. In entertainment programming, ANteve prefers to cooperate with MTV in order to attract youngsters rather than imitating MTV and narrowing its focus of broadcast to music enthusiasts.

Recent reports have indicated that there will be a new private television station specifically targeting news enthusiasts. If these reports are true, ANteve and other private television stations now competing for news stories may no longer be able to compete with the new station, which, reportedly, would devote itself to news reporting.

However, regardless of this report, the opportunities offered by narrowcasting to decrease the segmentation of viewers should be taken into account by any owner considering establishing a new private television station. John Naisbitt and Patricia Aburdena, in Megatrends 2000, discuss the business opportunities offered by narrowcasting television. Although the book fails to go into greater detail about the narrowing of programs or the format of stations themselves, Naisbitt and Aburdena are convinced that narrowcasting in the 21st century will develop rapidly as viewers' tastes continue to narrow.

The writer works at a private television station.