Popular 'Si Doel' goes prime time

Popular 'Si Doel' goes prime time

By Antariksawan Jusuf

JAKARTA (JP): When private TV station RCTI declared the prime-
time Saturday slot to be "Si Doel Night", it sent a chill through
the hearts of programmers at competing stations.

What is the secret of the highly successful Si Doel Anak
Sekolahan (Doel The Graduate), which started its fourth season on
Saturday, April 18? Simply put, it is due to its popularity in
the ratings in the past.

Proof enough was that, according to the authoritative rating
agency SRI Nielsen, Si Doel got a 23 percent rating and swept 54
percent of the shares on it's return. This means more than half
of the Indonesian TV audience was already hooked on the serial on
the first day of its new season!

In its debut season in December 1994, its ratings and shares
respectively reached 73 and 88 percent in all age groups, far
higher than any programs in the history of the Indonesian
television industry. It outstripped other popular serials;
Janjiku (My Promise) registered its highest rating of only 43
percent.

The main prime-time slot, sandwiched between the two news
reports relayed obligatorily from the government-run station
TVRI, has emerged as the latest object of competition among
commercial stations.

The Saturday slot was formerly neglected by stations because
the total number of viewers was at the bottom end of the scale
compared to the corresponding slot of other days in the week.
Indonesian TV viewers spent more time on other activities on
Saturdays than they did on Sundays and weekdays.

Later, however, when the shares gradually increased, the
stations started grabbing their hold by exposing their relatively
strong programs, like Si Doel, to Saturday.

RCTI's rescheduling of Si Doel from its established Monday
time slot to Saturday was to anticipate the change in viewing
habits of Indonesians due to the economic crisis.

RCTI public relations officer Anita Naryadi said: "The current
monetary crisis has forced people who used to go out on the
weekends to stay home. For them, RCTI provides entertainment for
all the family members."

She said surveys showed past television ratings on Saturday
and Sunday were mostly below 10 percent, a relatively low share
compared to weekdays.

"This means when the economy is good, people tend to go out on
the weekend," she said. The research area only covered the major
cities of Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Semarang and Medan.

Other stations present various programs in the slot: action
series Ali Topan and comedy Spontan (SCTV); comedy series and
winner of the best comedy honor in the 1997 festival of
Indonesian TV programs (FSI), Mat Angin (TPI); a period-drama
series developed from a radio drama Tutur Tinular and quiz Family
100 (ANteve), and variety shows Gebyar BCA and movies (Indosiar).

In addition to the one-hour main program, RCTI has decided to
introduce a half-hour additional show, featuring a program which
draws viewers into the main serial. It also has a quiz linked to
characters on Si Doel.

The host of the live program encourages viewers to give their
comments, suggestions and criticism on the main program, with the
incentive of Rp 200,000.

One measure of Si Doel's popularity is the interest of
Singapore-based firm Animata Productions to produce an animated
series based on the TV characters.

Animata's Jakarta managing director Hani Suryaseputra told The
Jakarta Post that the firm had completed a 1.5 minute demo tape
for the animation. The series, which will use the original voices
of Si Doel characters, will diverge from the themes of the TV
series.

"Since it is targeted for children, it tends to be a action-
adventure based story, unlike the original which is drama
comedy," Suryaseputra said, adding that the animation was still
in the production stage.

Another measure is the huge number of commercials involving
the characters from the series. More than 20 product
advertisements, ranging from fast food to television sets, use
the cast members of Si Doel.

Honda motorcycle, according to Swa magazine, reported a 37.5
percent increase in its sales after hiring Si Doel characters as
models for its ads. Balpirik balm sold more than six million
bottles of its products within six months following its new
campaign featuring Rano Karno, who plays Doel..

The success of Si Doel is much applauded since it does not
show bloodshed and violence. It is a family serial without
excessive exploration of intrigue, intimidation or revenge, all
widely found in other high-rated Indonesian TV programs.

A member of the FSI committee, RM Soenarto, attributed Si
Doel's success to the culture of the Betawi, the native Jakartans
portrayed in the series, which he believed was more easily
accepted by viewers than other regional cultures on television.