Local TV slammed for near-zero Athens coverage

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.