Ratings crucial to stations' incomes

Ratings crucial to stations' incomes

JAKARTA (JP): Yuli Ismartono, the public relations manager of private television station SCTV, said that ratings are very important in television.

Ratings, she said, influence a TV station's income from commercials. A top-rated program draws heaps of commercials. The rate for a 30-second commercial during a top-rated program ranges between Rp 8 million (US$4,000) and Rp 10 million ($5,000).

Yuli admitted that the most popular programs are not always high-quality works.

"If we don't rely on commercials, we cannot cover our high operation cost," Yuli explained.

Television ratings are currently done by Survey Research Indonesia which is affiliated to the U.S. firm Nielsens International.

In Asia, the Nielsens group, a recognized company that rates the popularity of television programs, operates in Malaysia, the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia. They first began rating Indonesian television programs in l991.

The company queries thousands of sample households weekly to determine the ratings.