Shift in focus for Indonesian TV
Luas Samudera, Contributor, Jakarta
Prime-time programs on Indonesian TV have slowly shifted away from series of local costume dramas, which used to be aired on every station last year, toward local TV movies and local teenage serials or soap operas.
Looking at the top ten programs from the first six months of this year, the type of programs seem varied. The noticeable trend, however, has been that American programs and movies have been losing their ground significantly.
Local costume dramas such as Indosiar's Misteri Gunung Merapi (Merapi Mountain Mystery) made it to the top ten during the first six months of this year. And the content of the most popular local series, which transfixed viewers, was limited to teenage love life (Pernikahan Dini - Dini's Wedding - on RCTI, and Wah...Cantiknya!!! - What A Beauty!!! - on SCTV).
Prime time has now been extended from 7:30 p.m to 9 p.m. to between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. and has mostly been filled with local programs, either TV movies or series. With the lack of government guidance to oversee the industry since the information ministry was disbanded in 1998, commercial television stations have slowly been ignoring regulations that oblige them to air TVRI's news broadcast at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. They have been filling the slot with more attractive programs at a time when the numbers of viewers are considered among the highest.
A couple of Mandarin series or Indian series/movies usually fill in the blanks between locally produced programs. One of these programs, Kera Sakti (Monkey King) was so popular that three stations aired it at similar times. Indosiar broadcast a version from Hong Kong, TPI aired a rerun from Indosiar and RCTI ran a mainland Chinese version. Imported programs work best when they are dubbed into Indonesian. This is because they serve a larger audience in a country where English is a foreign language.
It is not surprising that in the first six months of this year, Indian feature movies gained the highest ratings. In particular, the movie Kuch Kuch Hota Hai -- about a triangular love affair featuring India's hottest movie stars Shahrukh, Kajol and Rani Mukherjee -- has been popular in theaters and its soundtrack has been localized and dubbed into several different versions. A similar movie plot appeared on one of the Indonesian series (Tersayang on SCTV).
U.S.-produced programs left their mark only on RCTI's feature movies slot and TPI's documentary programs slot, which has now moved from prime time. Stealing a couple of ratings from local series, these documentaries hardly made a double-digit rating.
The latest trend, which has quickly won the hearts of Indonesian viewers, is TV movies. Screened in cinemascope with an angle similar to the wide-screen format, TV movies offer an alternative to viewers who are getting sick and tired of the long, twisted plots that are a feature of regular series.
One of the selling points of the genre, according to director Dedi Setiadi, is the simple yet strong story. So, unlike a long- running series, which stretches a seemingly unending story, the director can work on a clear concept.
Production manager for drama at state television TVRI Agus Wijoyono thinks that mini-series have created a niche on television because not all viewers stick to the small screen for every program in a long-running series.
"Television viewers are instant viewers. Most of them do not have time to consistently follow a particular series," Wijoyono said.
SCTV, which toyed with the idea for the first time last year, has created two slots for this kind of genre during prime time each week. Although it does not make it to the top ten, the average rating is normally among the top 20 weekly programs. RCTI and TPI followed suit shortly afterwards and now both have slots for similar programs.
Looking at the instant success of the genre, SCTV and RCTI have created a slot for mini-series with a similar screen format. RCTI is introducing Sinema Mini Series and SCTV is showing Layar Mini Series. While TPI broadcasts telesinema, a different term that refers to the same thing.
The popularity of widescreen format is shown on the list where the first two highest-rated programs are feature movies. A rerun of the American movie, Terminator 2, was number four, thanks to the ever popular Schwarzenegger.
The 10 highest rated programs on Indonesian television January-June 2001
(Rank, Title, Genre, Duration (minutes), Source, Station, Highest Rating, Shares): 1., Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Feature movie, 60, India, IVM, 23, 56; 2., Petualangan Sherina, Feature movie, 150, Indonesia, RCTI, 19, 51; 3., Tersanjung 5, Drama series, 60, Indonesia, IVM, 19, 46; 4., Terminator 2, Feature movie, 150, U.S., RCTI, 19, 53; 5., Pernikahan Dini, Drama series, 60, Indonesia, RCTI, 18, 44; 6., Goyang Semarak Indosiar, Music special, 150, Indonesia, IVM, 17, 43; 7., Wah Cantiknya, Drama series, 60, Indonesia, SCTV, 17, 40; 8., Kera Sakti 2, Costume drama series, 30, Hong Kong, IVM, 17, 49; 9., Joged Special, Music special, 90, Indonesia, RCTI, 16, 42; 10., Misteri Gunung Merapi 3, Costume drama series, 60, Indonesia, IVM, 16, 40.
Source: AC Nielsen