Local TV slammed for near-zero Athens coverage
Eva C. Komandjaja, Jakarta
Amid concerns about the prospect of Indonesian viewers receiving minimal information on the upcoming Olympic Games, local TV stations were accused on Tuesday of running after profit and failing to address public demands.
The Kuala Lumpur-based Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, or ABU (not APBU as reported previously), which has been appointed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to distribute broadcasting rights in the Asia Pacific, said Indonesia was the only country out of the 220 represented in Athens not telecasting the Olympics.
Bimo Nugroho of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) said local stations should not think merely about commercial value, but also address public interests.
"TV stations' owners should not think about whether they will make a profit from airing the Olympic Games, because the public has the right to watch and support their athletes," Bimo told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
He said local stations had the power to encourage people's love for sports by broadcasting international events such as the Olympics.
"And they should realize that such a power cannot be measured by profits," Bimo said.
Sudaryatmo of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) concurred, saying that, as consumers, people had a right to watch multi-event international games, especially if national athletes were participating.
"The people should have access to information they want... TV stations are social institutions and should therefore serve the public instead of neglecting them," Sudaryatmo said.
Local TV stations have decided not to air Olympic telecasts, citing weak commercial value and high costs of the broadcast package offered by the ABU.
The ABU declined to reveal the package price for reasons of confidentiality.
Separately, state-owned RCTI, which is known for its sports programs covering big events, said the package rate amounted to about US$900,000 after lucrative discounts.
"The price was reduced substantially by many hundreds of thousands of dollars to assist Indonesian broadcasters to carry the events," John Barton, head of ABU broadcast operations, said via email to the Post.
The rate was lower compared to the $1.2 million RCTI spent on the Sydney Olympics package, according to RCTI spokesman Teguh Juwarno. He had added that if aired live, most of the audience in Indonesia would be watching the games around midnight, "therefore there would be low interest from advertisers." Offers to advertisers have not generated much interest, he said.
In contrast, the station spent $5 million on exclusive rights to broadcast the 2002 World Cup. It also had exclusive rights to the recent Euro 2004, but this value was not revealed.
Bimo said if these stations could not afford the broadcasting package, they could share the costs -- 10 TV stations operate in Indonesia, of which nine are private.
Apart from ABU's commercial interests, Barton pointed to the urgency in broadcasting the Olympics Games, where Indonesia will be represented by 39 athletes.
"My sadness for Indonesia is that young people, who desperately need heroes, will miss out on seeing their own people struggling to achieve at the highest level (of international sports), surely the most noble of all human conditions," he said.