'If the fee's high, I'll hide my other TV sets'

'If the fee's high, I'll hide my other TV sets'

Mired in a debt to the government of more than Rp 200 billion
(US$21.5 million), state television channel TVRI is now on the
verge of bankruptcy. In a bid to become a public broadcaster in
late 2005, the station is determined to reinstate monthly license
fees for TV owners in order to collect funds. The license fee
would be collected along with payment of householders'
electricity bills. The Jakarta Post asked some residents their
opinion on the idea.

Linda Carolina, 30, is a human resources officer at a
multinational company in Jl. Sudirman, Central Jakarta. She lives
with her family in Rawamangun, East Jakarta:

TVRI once charged a monthly fee and then stopped it. If the
station wants to reinstate the fee, the question in people's
minds will be: Will it offer an improved service in return?

It's easy to stop people paying a fee, but it's very difficult
to get them to start paying again -- even impossible. If TVRI is
privatized and improved, maybe it could charge something.

TVRI is very boring. Some of its programs, like translated
Discovery Channel programs, are OK, but the presentation is
dreadful. Its marketing is also bad.

More importantly, what has electricity got to do with TVRI? If
we don't pay our electricity bill and our electricity gets cut
off, that's fair, but not if we fail to pay the station's fee.

Hengky, 24, is an entrepreneur in the clothing industry in
Jakarta. He lives in Ciputat, South Jakarta, with his family:

I think the idea is very stupid. Who do they (TVRI) think they
are?

TVRI should not depend on such fees but instead improve its
marketing strategy to attract more advertisers.

Theoretically, TVRI is the most attractive medium for
advertisers as it has wider coverage than any other TV station.

It should also improve its image to that of a more modern
station as a way to attract commercials.

I think I'll pay if the monthly fee is less than Rp 10,000
(US$1.06) per TV set. If it's more, I will hide my other two -- I
have three in my house.

--The Jakarta Post