Saturday, September 16, 2006

Digital broadcasters | Indonesia | TV Networks Encouraged to Streamline

Digital Broadcasters Vendor News notes that in Indonesia, Trans TV has taken a nearly 50 per cent share in rival station terrestrial television station, TV7 owned and operated by Kompas Gramedia.

The present Indonesian Government has been concerned for some time over the proliferation of private nation-wide networks.

Through the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission, the country's industry watchdog, the government has been encouraging equity stake participation among the 11 rival national TV networks, fearful that the economy could not cope with such a proliferation of networks and their ability to remain viable and profitable.

Consolidation is well under way.

It has to be said that the previous administration of President Megawati Soekano Putri rapidly liberalised the broadcasting industry in the post Suharto reforms of 1998, failing to foresee the current over supply to the television broadcast sector.

Reports currently circulating in Jakarta say that Trans TV is looking also to purchase the digital terrestrial broadcaster, PT Indosiar network. This would take a different path where at the moment the networks are taking cross-ownership stakes in each other.

Partly sourced from the Straits Times, Singapore.

No comments:

Post a Comment