Queasy about television quiz shows

Queasy about television quiz shows

By Prapti Widinugraheni

JAKARTA (JP): Test your general knowledge, do better than your
opponents and win Rp 1 million: that's a quiz. Pick a number --
just for fun -- and win a car: that's a guessing game, or a
sweepstake in some cases. But spend your money on a lottery
ticket, see how far your luck can go and get frustrated because
you missed: now that's gambling.

However, the differences aren't all that clear when it comes
to television quiz shows, at least that's how some politicians
and government officials think.

Television station owners are now feeling queasy because the
government says some of the television quiz shows require a
special permit from the Ministry of Social Services because they
amount to the same as lottery.

It started last week when legislators from House Commission
VIII, which oversees social welfare affairs asked the ministry of
social affairs how it intends to deal with television stations
broadcasting "gambling under the guise of quizzes and
sweepstakes" without official permits.

"That, I think, is going a bit too far. Gambling is addictive
and totally depends on luck," says Eduard Depari, Public
Relations Manager of Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia (RCTI).

Although human beings have a tendency to speculate once in a
while and there are times when people simply have to guess in
many aspects of life, a television quiz game, he said, "is just
for fun".

"People don't need to have a certain amount of capital to join
a quiz, all you need is good general knowledge, and as far as I
know no one has ever become frustrated after losing a quiz,
because nothing is sacrificed," he said.

Last week, the ministry of social service's Director General
for Social Aid Supervision Syafei Anjasmaya, after a hearing with
legislators, assured that he would reprimand managers of private
television stations for organizing "gambling" practices.

Legislators consider that gambling has re-emerged in more
sophisticated forms in the print media, television quiz shows and
in children's games held in amusement parks. All of these, they
said, awarded the winner a certain amount of money and involved
luck; it therefore implied gambling.

Television station executives interviewed by The Jakarta Post
think this is not the case.

"In a quiz, the winner is the one who can think more quickly
and more accurately. Is that gambling? I don't think so, because
gambling completely relies on luck," said Surya Citra Televisi
(SCTV) Public Relations Assistant Haryanto.

To join a television quiz, people have to meet a set of
criteria and to become a winner, people have to compete with
their opponents.

"I must admit that the speculation factor is there, but it is
not the same as gambling," he said.

Similarly, Agus Madjadikara, the creative director for Fortune
Advertising Agency which produces television quiz shows, mini
series and commercials together with production houses, pointed
out that "if winning depends on the intelligence of a person, no
special permission is required from the ministry of social
services".

Production houses, who manage the technical, operational and
legal aspects of a television program, are actually the ones who
deal directly with legal aspects and permits.

"Since we started producing quiz shows, I have repeatedly
asked the ministry whether or not special permits are required.
The answer, they keep telling me, is no," said a staff member of
the Yasawirya Tama Cipta production house, who requested
anonymity. "If there is a law which stipulates that quiz shows
need official permission, please show it to us and we will abide
by it."

In line with this, Haryanto stressed that SCTV would comply
with whatever the government says. "If they say we need a permit,
we'll get a permit," he said.

Despite the debate, quiz shows have proven to boost television
ratings.

Eduard estimates that Kuis Tak Tik Boom and Kuis Keluarga
Lifebouy, two of RCTI's quiz shows, attract more than 30 percent
of television viewers nationwide.

"Shows like these are interesting because viewers get excited
and become involved. The rewards are also quite generous, which
is only normal because it is our way of appreciating their
participation," Eduard said.

Minister of Social Services Endang Kusuma Inten Suweno has
explained that the government has decided to prohibit all forms
of gambling in the country.

She said, however, there were disagreements over the
definition of 'gambling' -- even between high-ranking officials
-- and what some people consider gambling, others saw merely as a
game or a sport played for entertainment.

"According to Law No. 7, 1974, gambling is any game or skill
using money or an object to bet on and the chance of winning is
merely a matter of luck, even though one of the players is more
skillful or has more expertise," she stated.

Director of Social Charity Supervision Anindya Boedisoesetya
on Tuesday toned down the controversy by clarifying the Ministry
of Social Services's position that not every quiz show requires a
special permit.

"Those that do are quiz shows which rely 100 percent on luck,
whose participants need no special skill or knowledge to win."

He said permits are necessary to show to the public that a
sweepstake is trustworthy and binds the sponsors to meet their
obligations to pay up.

It also ensures that both the sponsors and the winners of game
shows pay their taxes, he added.