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.