'MTV Asia' presents 24-hour 'MTV Indonesia'

'MTV Asia' presents 24-hour 'MTV Indonesia'

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With an invitation similar to that of one for a wedding, a
room decorated with young coconut leaves and a "bride and groom"
(local VJs Shanty and Arie) dancing to the tune of Pink's Get The
Party Started, MTV Network Asia introduced on Thursday the 24-
hour MTV Indonesia channel.

Starting on May 1, the new channel will begin broadcasting in
five cities -- Jakarta, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya and Medan --
through a free broadcast that can be picked up by anyone with an
antenna.

The whole wedding atmosphere of the event referred to the
joint venture between MTV Asia and local UHF broadcaster Global
TV, a new unit of the PT Bimantara Citra group.

The latter is the owner of RCTI and a shareholder of the all-
news station Metro TV.

The collaboration marks MTV Asia's break with local TV station
ANteve, which currently broadcasts the music channel 37.5 hours a
week, or some five hours a day.

"We still have a good relationship with ANteve. It's just that
being broadcast 24 hours a day is what we were designed for.
Given the fact that ANteve is a general entertainment channel, we
can't push for more (hours)," said Peter Bullard, senior vice
president and managing director of MTV Southeast Asia and the MTV
Network Group.

Business-wise, broadcasting only five hours a day is not quite
profitable, as it costs some 80 percent of the 24-hour production
costs.

"The problem in delivering 24 hours program is there is a lack
of bandwidth. There's virtually no cable penetration in
Indonesia. So we felt this was the only way to go," Bullard said.

MTV Indonesia is MTV's eighth 24-hour channel in Asia and its
35th in the world.

The move follows a similar, smaller deal reached in the
Philippines in January last year.

"We have a fantastic joint venture in the Philippines. It has
been a huge success by any measure. Within a year, revenue has
increased sixfold," Bullard said.

"That gave us the confidence to do what we are doing here,
with a much bigger market."

A bigger market, indeed, and one with a great deal of
potential.

From four million viewers on ANteve in 1995, the first time
MTV was broadcast here, recent figures estimate the number of MTV
viewers in Indonesia is 16 million households.

A recent survey by Asia Market Intelligence and Bates
Advertising showed that MTV was the "coolest" brand among
teenagers in Indonesia.

And an Indonesia Peoplemeter survey by AC Nielsen confirmed
that MTV is the most popular music channel in the country,
reaching 75 percent of the audience between the ages of 15 and 34
every month.

The new channel is expected to reach some 15 million
households in the five cities it will be broadcast in, with more
cities eventually being covered by the channel.

That means the channel will initially reach fewer households
than ANteve's MTV broadcasts, but it will not be limited to a few
hours a day.

"In the short term, we are giving up some potential reach. But
for us, the gain is long term, being able to deliver 24 hours a
day, seven days a week," Bullard said.

The channel is also promising more local content, with
additions to the current eight local MTV programs.

According to MTV Indonesia creative and content director, Carl
Zuzarte, local audience respond more to local program.

"It's an ongoing process and we won't just rush into it. The
challenges are how to produce more suitable and relevant programs
for a local audience. But wait for June 1, the whole look will be
different. It will distinguish itself from other MTV Asia
channels," Zuzarte said, adding that there will be new VJs as
well.

But what will be the impact, really, for the people of
Indonesia, besides being able to spend more time watching Britney
Spears' midriff?

Zuzarte said that it would become a revolution in creativity,
while Bullard asserted that the channel would provide new
opportunities for those in the music industry.

"It touches lots of different areas. (Music) labels,
artists .... I don't think it will be a revolution, but it's the
opportunity that we offer," Bullard said.