Local television stations fight for top spot

Local television stations fight for top spot

By Antariksawan Jusuf

JAKARTA (JP): Gone are the days when the first Indonesian
private network, RCTI, enjoyed all the attention in terms of
ratings and station popularity. Since its establishment in 1989,
RCTI has always been number one. It set programming trends among
other commercial stations. Seputar Indonesia and RCTI News,
gained respect as reliable news sources.

Weeks before the station's 10th anniversary on Aug. 24 (which
is also SCTV's 8th and TVRI's 37th), RCTI had to face reality and
find a not so pleasant gift on its front door; it was no longer
sitting in the top seat. It had to make room for Indosiar and
SCTV, who staked their claim on territory which RCTI took for
granted for so long.

According to data from research institute SRI Nielsen, during
the 29th week of this year (July 11 - July 18), RCTI's
popularity, in terms of a share percentage, was shared by
Indosiar at 27 percent and SCTV close behind at 3 percent lower.
(See table)

The weekly popularity figure is released based on research
conducted in five main cities -- Jakarta, Surabaya, Semarang,
Bandung, and Medan -- with a total number of about 4,500
respondents. Although the data is arguable, it has become the
sole reference for stations, advertising agencies, program
providers and people in the broadcast industry in general.

In the same week last year, RCTI's share stood at 33 percent,
Indosiar at 23 percent and SCTV was far behind at 15 percent,
which was lower than TPI.

In terms of ratings, RCTI also declined. Ratings show what
percent of the total TV population are watching. Among the
country's top 30 programs which had the highest ratings in week
29 last year, RCTI contributed 16 programs, while Indosiar and
SCTV respectively had nine and two. Other popular programs
belonged to stations TPI and ANteve.

In the same week this year, Indosiar had 15 programs in the
top 30, and SCTV and RCTI respectively had eight and six.

"We have been consolidating these days ... trying to overcome
internal problems. It seems we've neglected our programming,"
RCTI's spokesman Eduard Depari said.

RCTI's imported program purchasing, which has been frozen
since the economic crisis hit the country, will resume this
month, Depari said. With an accumulated debt of US$12 million
owed to international distributors, it faces challenges in order
to feed its program lineup.

At its lowest ebb, RCTI is facing constant shake-ups from
within and without.

Earlier this year, its management planned to lay off 30
percent of its 1,100 workers. After workers' strong opposition,
the management offered a voluntary resignation scheme. Some 90
workers accepted the scheme, but 13 others preferred to bring the
case to court and to seek Rp 13 billion ($1.7 million) in
compensation.

In a related development, shareholders of RCTI dismissed four
directors: president director Andi Siregar, operation director
Alex Kumara, finance director Ishar Baharudin and marketing
director Hardiyanto.

Replacing the four directors were Harry Kuntoro, a
troubleshooter from RCTI's holding firm Bimantara, and Nenny
Soemawinata, a former director of the last runner in commercial
stations ANteve.

In addition to the dismissals, six commissioners were also
ousted: president commissioner and second son of former president
Soeharto, Bambang Trihatmodjo, Soeharto's son-in-law Indra
Rukmana, Peter Gontha of Indovision, Buddy Budiarto, Sugiarto
Himawan and Bambang Trihatmodjo's friend Rossano Barrack.

Observers suspected these dismissals were due to RCTI's
performance in 1998, which, for the first time since its nine
years in operation, experienced a loss of Rp 90 billion because
of the crisis. The outstanding debt totaled Rp 85 billion ($11.18
million).

The latest rift in July saw about 70 journalists and workers
from its news department threaten to go on strike. After
negotiations, RCTI management agreed to allow the journalists to
establish an editorial board.

"It's like issuing a blank check to other stations. But we
will not stand there doing nothing. We will be back on top soon,"
Depari said.

However, the battleground will not be the same again. SCTV,
which has stolen RCTI's audience share for evening and morning
slots, has stated its goal to be number one since the beginning
of the year.

"We are armed with a solid management and strong programming
content, so we are optimistic in our goal this year," SCTV
spokesman Budi Darmawan said.

"Our goal is to be number one, not only in terms of shares and
ratings, but on all grounds: technical, public relations, off-air
activities, etc.," Darmawan said. "Our news, Liputan 6, gains
more ratings than Seputar Indonesia."

Indosiar, which relies on its strong in-house production team,
plans to add eight more relay stations to gain more viewers.
Currently, it has 16 relay stations.

"We are not competing with other stations. Our goal is to
present the best programs for viewers," Indosiar's spokesman
Gufroni Sakaril said.