Private stations falling behind in paying fees to TVRI

JAKARTA (JP): Three private stations owe the state network TVRI a total of Rp 11.3 billion ($5.4 million) in fee payments, Minister of Information Harmoko disclosed yesterday.

Harmoko told a hearing with the House of Representatives that up to last month, RCTI still owed Rp 5 billion, TPI Rp 6 billion and ANteve Rp300 million.

SCTV, Indonesia's other private station, has paid all its obligations to TVRI, he told the hearing with the House's Commission I, the Antara news agency reported.

TVRI is entitled to 12.5 percent of the advertising revenues of every private station in Indonesia as royalty in return for allowing them to broadcast. By regulation, the state television station has the exclusive right to television broadcasting.

TVRI, which is overseen by Harmoko's ministry, cannot tap advertising revenue and its finances come chiefly from license fees paid by TV owners, the royalty from private stations and some government subsidies.

Harmoko yesterday resisted pressures to allow TVRI to tap advertising revenues stressing that BBC of Britain and NHK of Japan also survive financially without resorting to advertising.

Since 1991, TVRI has received Rp 64.7 billion ($31 million) in royalty payments from the private stations, he added.

The minister yesterday also briefed the House's Commission I about the plan to merge TVRI with the state radio RRI and change their status as government agencies into a full-fledge corporation.

He said the government is now studying the plan and the status should be established this month or in January.

He stressed that the purpose of changing the status is to improve the condition of the two agencies.

The change of status will also open the way for the new company to tap various financial alternatives, including commercial loans.

But even with the change of status, TVRI will still be financed largely from license fees collected from TV owners, Harmoko said, adding that the government is not yet considering allowing TVRI to run advertisements in its programs

Harmoko also disclosed that his office has already drafted a bill on broadcasting which is intended to strengthen the broadcasting industry in Indonesia, especially to counter the growing presence of foreign networks through satellites.

The bill will also allow private stations to produce and broadcast their own news but they will also still be required to relay news produced by TVRI, he said.

The bill is now at the State Secretariat office for further deliberation before it is presented to the House of Representatives. (emb)