Pay-TV in Indonesia finally taking off: CASBAA

While industry players as well as international content and service suppliers highlighted the country’s potential and said it is big enough to support multiple players, they also cautioned that there are still hurdles to overcome in order to ensure continued expansion.

At the forum entitled “Indonesia in View: Growing Pay TV forum”, Simon Twiston Davies, CEO at the Cable and Satellite Broadcasters’ Association of Asia (CASBAA), noted that the global pay-TV community realises the importance and potential of this key market in the Asia-Pacific. “The forum enabled business leaders, both local and international, to truly understand the dynamics of pay TV in Indonesia.”

The forum, held in Jakarta on 29 February, attracted over 250 speakers, delegates and media to discuss the future of the market and prospects for further growth.

Among the speakers who participated in the forum were Ezki Tri Rezeki Widianti, vice chair at Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI); Titon Dutono M. Eng, director of resource planning at Ministry of Communication and Information Technology; Syamsul Lussa, director of film at Ministry of Culture & Tourism; Suzy Sayers, CEO of content producer at PT Tiga Citra Sinema; Arya Mahendra Sinulingga, Secretary General at APMI; and Campbell Walker, territory head, Indonesia at Fox International Channels.

Davies said industry players are developing commercial offerings that appeal to a host of new consumers, adding that important issues still need to be resolved in order for the pay-TV landscape to continue to thrive.

Dadang Hidayat, member and former chair of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI), told one panel that regulation of pay-TV programming had been more lenient than free-TV content, but there was increased scrutiny likely in the future.

“The regulatory environment, relatively positive and market-friendly to date, has some risks, as political forces undertake revisions of key broadcasting legislation.”

Commenting on the difficult competition pay-TV faces from the country’s strong free-to-air TV industry, John Riady, director of Jakarta cable operator Lippo Group noted that local content is king.

“His panel discussed indigenous content options, and agreed pay-TV has to develop differentiated content of its own that can attract viewers. Meanwhile, representatives of international networks spoke of plans already underway to ramp up production of localised content.”

Piracy also remains a problem, with weak and inconsistent protection for legitimate players. Budi Setiyanto, operator of Sumatran cable system Smart Media, said he had built a business based on licensed content, only to find a competing network hijacking his customers by offering dirt-cheap prices based on distribution of pirated content.