Buyers Briefing: Indonesia

Indonesian content is under the spotlight at this year’s Asia TV Forum & Market. TBI hears from leading channel programme commissioners and acquisitions executives to find out what’s working in a major territory of more than 260 million people

Name: Cynthia Purnama Sari
Company/channel: Transmedia
Job title: Programme acquisition and international media licensing for the Trans TV & Trans 7 programming division

What channels and platforms are you buying for? For TransTV, a free-to-air channel

What are the profiles of your main channels and platforms?
We are focusing on the middle to upper class in terms of social category. As for the target audience, TransTV is more skewed to females and family, but the overall demographics are teen, youth and adult.

How much programming and how much is acquired?
With TransTV, we mostly do in-house production. In terms of acquisition, we’ve been buying blockbuster movies from Hollywood distributors such as Sony, Paramount, Warner Bros., MGM and Lionsgate, and also a minimum number of hours from local distributors for TV movies.

What rights do you need?
Mainly free-to-air.

What types of shows are working well on the channel?
TransTV is known as the local trendsetter. Our variety shows, comedy and magazine programmes always work well for our audience. For the drama genre, we package them in a special way, so they are different from regular drama shows.

What genres or shows are you looking out for and why?
Our audience prefers shows that are light, uncomplicated and humorous, as they are easier to digest. For animation, non-dialogue is favourable, as it reaches a wider audience demographic.

TransTV has a very strong brand for its blockbuster movie block – for the male audience, action and creature features create the biggest appetite, and we refrain from dramas and rom-coms.

How have SVOD services changed or challenged your business model?
The SVOD services are a kind reminder for us that technology is keeping up with the industry and the FTA business has to evolve to adapt, with changes in viewership and audience habits.

Although FTA has its loyalists and SVOD has its own customers, we understand we should lease our programmes to different platforms.

The benefits of having several media platforms all together is that the advertising sales are not only integrated, but are also more targeted between our FTA channels TransTV and Trans 7, pay TV net Transvision, online services detik.com and CNNIndonesia.com and news channel CNN Indonesia, as each of these platform varieties have different perks.

Are you interested in international coproductions and have you entered into them in the past?
We are always open to coproduction opportunities. In the past we have done several copros both national and international partners. Nationally, we coproduce on our travel and cooking shows, and sometimes on our TV films with different sectors, whether it is with government or private investors.

Internationally, we have been asked to join several coproductions aimed at supporting tourism, and product and brand launches. TV films often have casts of internationally recognised actors that we like.

Name: David Setiawan Suwarto
Company/channel: SCTV
Job title: Deputy director of programing

What channels and platforms are you buying for, and what profiles are you buying for?
SCTV, and we buy specifically for females and teens.

How much programming do you cover and how much is acquired?
The channel runs from 5am-1pm during normal months, and is 24 hours during Ramadan.

In recent years, the acquisition level has varied. The Turkish series Elif in 2015 and the Indian series Meri Aashiqui Tum Se Hi in 2016 have performed well for us. Aside from that, we acquire sports such as La Liga, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, the Olympics and the Southeast Asian Games. The rest is locally produced at our own production houses or outsourced.

What is a good programme for SCTV?
Something unique and fresh that can break through the competition, while still being relevant to the audience.

What types of shows are working well on the channels?
Drama, in all of its various forms.

What genres or shows are you looking out for specifically and why?
Scripted series and movies, because they are usually produced with high production values, create a good image, and contain drama, which viewers want. Scripted series have the added advantage of stickiness.

How have SVOD services changed or challenged your business model?
It will take more time for our audience to pay for their content in Indonesia. Advertiser VOD is more of a challenge. Younger people are spending more time online viewing AVOD, and we need to be strong on those platforms as well.

Are you interested in international coproductions?
Yes. Local relevance is an important factor, but collaboration can help.

Name: Natarista Sembiring
Company/channel:  MNCTV (PT Cipta Televisi Pendidikan Indonesia)
Job title: Programming division head

What channels and platforms are you buying for?
We are buying for the MNCTV channel, but require rights for all media platforms within the MNC Group, which are free-to-air TV, pay TV, IPTV and OTT.

What are the profiles of your main channels and platforms?
MNCTV is an entertainment TV with multiple genres of programmes, mostly airing drama series, variety and game shows, and also animation series. Our viewers are mostly families of parents with their kids.

How much programming do you air per year?
Around 5,000 hours a year.

What rights do you need?
The aforementioned free-to-air TV, plus pay TV, IPTV, OTT and other media platforms.

What genres or shows are you looking out for and why?
We are looking for local and international drama; game show, talent and variety formats; and animated programmes. These are all the genres that run well on our platforms.

How have subscription video-on-demand services changed or challenged your business model and what are you doing to react?
SVOD indeed affects the way people access TV, but mostly affect the younger viewers and viewers in big cities or second-tier cities.

In Indonesia, free-to-air TV is still the main choice for our population, as well as for advertising, as FTA is still the main media to boost the reach of advertising campaigns.

Are you interested in international coproductions?
At the moment we have no plan for international coproductions, but we are open to that.