TV stations to drop Indonesian dubbed programs

TV stations to drop Indonesian dubbed programs

By Yogita Tahil Ramani

JAKARTA (JP): Beginning Thursday, television viewers will no
longer find characters speaking in Indonesian in Indian films,
Latin melodramas and Chinese action movies.

Instead, their TV heroes and heroines will all speak in
English, or worse, they will be taken off the air completely.

All five commercial TV stations say they are ready to drop the
old practice of dubbing non-English foreign programs into
Indonesian in line with a government ruling, in spite of their
popularity, and therefore commercial success, with local viewers.

All but one of the networks say their programming schedules
will not be affected much by the new policy. Most of these non-
English programs will be aired as usual. Only a few of them will
be dropped.

The networks are adapting to the rule, dubbing these programs
into English.

TPI, whose Indian movies have been a big hit with middle-to-
low class viewers, says it is dropping most of its non-English
programs and replacing them with locally produced programs.

Minister of Information Hartono has given local TV stations a
Dec. 31 deadline to comply with the dubbing ruling, which is
based on the newly enacted Broadcasting Law.

TV stations earlier objected to the policy, saying that they
had spent large sums on the facilities, including hiring hundreds
of dubbers, to dub non-English programs into Indonesian.

The dubbers have also taken their case to the House of
Representatives, calling for a review of the new policy.

Hartono refused to budge, although he eventually agreed to
extend the deadline from the original Oct. 31.

The Broadcasting Law states that all non-English programs can
only be dubbed into English but they can carry Indonesian
subtitles. Excepted are educational programs.

Officials explained that the policy was necessary to minimize
"cultural intrusion" through foreign TV programs.

They argue that the public are more exposed to foreign
programs that are dubbed into Indonesian.

Cartoon programs appear to have been spared from the policy.
Indonesian children will still be able to enjoy their favorites
like Dora Emon, Donald Duck and Asterix speaking the language
with which they are familiar.

"Children and adults follow these programs easily because
cartoons tell simple stories using a universal language. It does
not affect culture," says ANteve corporate communications manager
Zoraya Perucha.

Indosiar, the youngest of the five commercial networks, has
the most foreign programs (34 hours a week).

Public relations manager Andreas Ambesa says Indosiar is
replacing only 5 percent of its foreign programs with local ones
because of the ruling.

"When the announcement was made two-and-a-half months ago, we
were already hunting for professional dubbers," Andreas said.

"We have 11 on our payroll now. Most of them are fluent in
English. A dubber needs to get into the role of the character to
express effectively. Here, we face a few problems, but none
beyond that," he said.

Indosiar is dubbing into English 20 episodes of the Latin
American miniseries Divina Obsession, and 30 episodes of the
Taiwan-made Thousand Words.

Indosiar will also dub Indian, Japanese and Mandarin films in
due course.

SCTV, second on the list with 32.5 hours of a week of foreign
programs, will shoulder 1,000 hours worth of dubbing expenses.

Public relations officer Budi Dharmawan said SCTV had already
dubbed 2,000 hours of foreign programs into Indonesian when the
announcement was made.

"We are not dropping programs. In fact, we are through with
dubbing 1,000 hours of foreign programs into English. Now, we are
dealing with the next 1,000," he said.

SCTV has its own dubbing studio but it is contracting
professional English dubbers.

"Spending Rp 4.5 million to Rp 6 million per hour for dubbing
is common. SCTV has its own people to do the subtitles."

RCTI, with about 30 hours of foreign programs a week, is
replacing only 10 percent of its non-English foreign programs
with local ones beginning next year.

RCTI has Thai, Chinese, Indian and Hong Kong films, and it
contracts dubbing and subtitling to outside agencies.

"Unlike other stations, we prepare one or two months ahead
before dubbed programs go to air," RCTI public relations manager
Eduard Depari says. "We spend US$3,500 for three hours of dubbing
and Rp 120,000 for an hour of subtitling."

ANteve also uses dubbing agencies for its French and Thai
features.

Zoraya says ANteve pays $2,000 for dubbing expenses per half-
hour, and Rp 750,000 for subtitling per half-hour.

TPI, the third among networks in the number of foreign
programs (29 hours a week) is dropping 80 percent of its Latin
American and Indian movies in the process.

TPI Senior Vice President of Broadcasting, Ishadi SK, says
almost all foreign programs will be replaced with local ones.

"We have decided to air mostly local programs in the coming
year. We will also reduce dubbing in English for foreign programs
to the maximum," Ishadi said.

"It is not about cost but rather about fulfilling viewers'
needs. Our viewers will not watch (non-English) programs dubbed
in English."