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.