Private TV 'Indosiar' makes its debut today
Private TV 'Indosiar' makes its debut today
JAKARTA (JP): The country's fifth private television company,
Indosiar, will make a glamorous debut today between 4 p.m and 1
a.m. in eight Indonesian cities: Jakarta, Ujungpandang,
Semarang, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Denpasar, and Medan.
President of PT Indosiar Visual Mandiri, Anky Handojo, told a
press conference yesterday that the company would make a lavish
entry into the market by broadcasting a live variety show staring
160 famous Indonesian artists.
Indosiar is owned by the Salim Group. The country's largest
conglomerate, it is controlled by Sudono Salim, who is one of the
world's richest men.
"We named the (opening) show Pesta, which stands for Pentas
Sejuta Aksi, or 'the stage of a million spectacles'", Anky said.
He added that Pesta would be broadcast after the seven o'clock
news tonight.
Tomorrow the company will screen the long awaited Sesal, a movie
directed by controversial member of the House of Representatives
Sophan Sophiaan. The film was shot in Europe.
Indosiar is scheduled to screen the American box office movie No
Way Out on its third day, Arnold Schwarzeneger's Total Recall on
its fourth and to close the five days celebration with another
variety show called Bintang Indosiar, or "The Stars of Indosiar",
on Sunday.
All of the movies and shows will be broadcast at 7:30 p.m.
During the press conference, Anky was bombarded with questions
concerning the broadcasting company's decision to screen "Sesal",
because the film has yet to be screened in Indonesian cinemas.
"It was the producer himself who came to us and offered to sell
us the movie", Anky said.
He denied allegations that Indosiar's broadcasting of "Sesal" was
calculated to show that the company has strong financial backing.
Anky said that for the time being Indosiar would broadcast its
programs from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. the following morning on Saturdays
and Sundays, and from 4 a.m.to 1 a.m. the following morning on the
other days.
He said that for the next three months Indosiar is planning to
follow the mainstream of Indonesian private television programming
and, when it had understood public demand, would gradually develop
its own distinctive style.
"We will follow the mainstream first, by presenting many programs
which can be enjoyed by every body", he said.
According to Anky, 50 percent of Indosiar's scheduled programs
are entertainment, while the remaining 50 percent consists of
commercials, 20 percent, educational programs, 20 percent, and
news, 10 percent.
Anky said that Indosiar's news department was still searching for
the right presentation format and would not commence broadcasting
until later.
"We are now still preparing the news department and we expect to
broadcast our own news soon, since we have plenty of reporters and
adequate equipment", Anky said.
He said 70 percent of the programs were imported, most of them
from the United States.
"The remaining 30 percent are locals and we have prepared about
six local television series which feature famous movie stars such
as Ita Mustafa, Adjie Massaid, Rachmat Hidayat,
Bella Esperance Lee and Remmy Sylado", Anky said.
He said that Indosiar is currently forming an artists pool. The
artists who join the pool are bound to the company by a contract
for about two years.
Anky said Indosiar would not ask other companies of the Salim
Group to allocate a major share of their advertising budget to
Indosiar. Other Salim Group companies include Indofood, the biggest
instant noodle producer in Indonesia, or Indomobile, an automotive
producer.
Indosiar will broadcast from its modern studio complex at Jl.
Damai 11, in the Daan Mogot area, West Jakarta. The complex
includes four large studios which cover 3,851 square meters, as
well as a four-story building.(mas)