StarAntv; The Deeming Star

Today this station is known as Starantv. Before, Cakrawala Andalas Television or Antv. Star, the biggest network on broadcasting owned by king of media, Rupert Murdoch, bought twenty percent of its share in 2006. If it were cancer, that time Antv was already in stadium three. The damages have long been there and when that finally being realized, the tumor grew strong and could not be cured anymore.
Unlike most national television channel based in Jakarta, Antv first aired in Lampung. Started as local TV station in the owner –Bakrie family— hometown. Antv soon became national channel and removed to Jakarta. For years they rented the top floor of Sentra Mulia building, located on prestigious Kuningan area. At first, Antv was quite successful with shows targeted for young consumers and sports freak. They landed Special Pake Telor and Hari Harimau that launched the succes of Indonesia’s famous presenters today, Farhan and Nico Siahaan. They started the success of television drama, Pondok Indah, which ‘inspired’ from Aaron Spelling’s Beverly Hills 90210. The show brought actress Wulan Guritno into her popularity. And thanks to Antv, the youngsters without satellite plate at home (cable tv were not known in the nineties) could watches MTV for free in the afternoon.
Antv would always be remember as first national station that put the popular music network into the eye of Indonesian viewers. But what seemed like their smart moved also been starting point of its downfall. The MTV shows had not worked well. The shares and ratings of MTV were way under any other national channel including Indosiar, two years her junior. Indosiar the station with flying fish logo, only needed three years to removed firstborn national TV station, RCTI, from top and raised to number one.
While Indosiar raising into top spot, Antv slowly stepping down from the short stardom. Eventually Antv visits into the unknown area happened until 2002, when the prince of Bakrie kingdom, Anindya, took over. Antv brought at that time BDI’s production, Campur-Campur, to filled in the noon schedule. Apparently learning from mistakes done by former MTV schedule, Antv put the shows that could meet the housewives taste and thirst on celebrities. It works!
Campur-Campur, talk show with enormous prizes from sponsors became famous. Bad not hold for long. BDI production sold Campur-Campur’s right to Avant Garde while they were developing another show with similar format for TransTV. Antv kept Campur-Campur as its thropy show while TransTV’s Ceriwis came up with a better presenter and far better picture quality. Until today, Indy Barends proves her skill as a day time talk show queen with partner, presenter-comedian, Indra Bekti. While Ceriwis remains on TransTV schedule, Campur-Campur has long gone from Antv’s daytime schedule.
Not long after, reality shows trend began. Started from the instant stardom of Akademi Fantasi Indosiar in 2004, and RCTI various reality shows scheduled on weekends, Antv joint the club with their Penghuni Terakhir, famously be shorted as Petir. The concept are simple, a dozen of elected finalists would stay together in one house without television, newspaper and internet. They are completely isolated yet they are forced to face their differences in order to win the viewers’ sympathy. The winner of this reality show would be given a house worth one billion rupiah.
The shows became a hit and the finalists of Petir, like any other reality show contests that time, gained instant popularity. Petir which only lasts in their season three became another success story after Super Deal One Billion landed. Later the version of Super Deal Two Billion and Super Deal Three Billion also made, all were stripping from Monday to Friday, sixth until ninth pm in the row.
Did it work? It shortly had put StarAntv on the top spot map, but only shortly. Not only stripping programs in Indonesia are in danger on sending viewers into earlier boredom, it’s also could send the creative team into deadlock. The shows cost great amount of money since they were offering billion rupiah prize, yet they were not drama program. Super Deal Billion Rupiahs’ turned to be one of the biggest mistake in Indonesia television programming history.
The rules on programming are simple; do not put a television non drama show to compete with big budget high rating drama on prime time hours, and unless you are a filthy rich American, do not placing the same shows with two of its prequel hammocks five days a week. In Indonesia, one local talk show one local quiz airing everyday already enough in making people get bored faster than they are expected, don’t asked how it was going to end up with triple hours a day.
The Oprah Winfrey Show might be a successful program for many years in the US. But Oprah had so many segment producers and dozens of production assistants that responsible for making every episode worth to see (despite many critics the show got for various sentimental exploitation they were putting).

Maintaining a good program depends so much on its people quality. The shows are like human face, this fact making the department responsible for creating and featuring in-programs the most important tools in the company.
And in Antv case, that’s where the tumor lies.

1st sample:
TransTV is now become the most reputable television station for its entertainment shows, not only for the brand they set in to be Indonesia version of HBO, but also for their great in-house programs. In some ways, they set their eyes for the latest favorites in cable channels. We can say TransTV is new in the national broadcasting world. They were came up after MetroTV and Lativi in early 2000’s. TransTV began the company by recruiting fresh graduate and college student. They also was hiring top creative worker and television executives from Indosiar, at that time was crowned as number one national channel. The fresh graduate employees got three months training before contracted as full time staff. This method is believed as the one thing that brought TransTV to their current position.

2nd sample:
Born in 1995, the member of Indofood group, Indosiar, was fast in claiming the stake of number one tv station from late nineties to early two thousand. While TransTV climbing their way by following any potential shows in other networks, Indosiar came up with widely acclaimed programs which offered original idea and succeeded to meet the local viewers’ taste. To name a few; Kiss, the first infotainment with concept of two presenters, Quiz Siapa Berani, an acquisition programs from Triwarsana, Allez Cuisin’, Ketoprak Humor, and various magazine shows that were aired on Saturday morning. Not only leading in scoring numerous successful shows, at the past time Indosiar also had been a champion for high visual qualities on their in-houses’.

Indosiar has the same story like TransTV. From any other national channel started airing in the nineties, Indosiar was the youngest. Understanding what it is needed to build a strong broadcasting company, they not only recruiting from television students in Jakarta Arts Institute, but also provided broadcast training program for their employees. They settled an agreement for professional training with TV-B, a prestigious channel in Hong Kong.

The workers that responsible in delivering shows to the screen were like an arrow. They needed to love what they are doing so they can be dedicated and creative. So, the top television channels tend to sharpen their tools before they begin; new employees are first being prepared to understand the insightful of broadcasting world. But above that, this skilled people are also being guarded with effective management and work culture.

Media Nusantara Citra noted as the biggest media corporation in Indonesia where RCTI, TPI, and GlobalTV belongs. GlobalTV which used to be MTV Indonesia channel before joined MNC group is the youngest from the bunch. While RCTI always one of the top three national stations in Indonesia known for their upper class sinetrons and TV shows, TPI is the only television station targeted for lower class viewers. MNC television network are strong players in television business, but they never heard providing any training for their employees. They are known for their way hijacking strong players in television.

It was not like Antv never tried to fix their problem. In 2004, Antv recruited Titan Hermawan from Indosiar. Not long after, Titan asked his former workmates at TransTV to joint Antv. In the paper, TransTV people supposed to be smart and tough tv employees. Besides, they were not worked alone, Antv also accepted many experiences creative people to joint production department. In the top level management came big names in national television professionals such as Ratna Mahadi, Alex Kumara, and Karni Illyas, that having heard also brought along some of their ‘trusted staff’ from former office.

There is unspoken fact in the working world; that workplace is also the labyrinth of socialization where new people try to get in with their new working environment. In media business where seniority determines by how long someone have working on particular field, the very same fact often become a bullet that brings down top media companies. Seniority caused what is called as office politics where popular group becomes dominant. So it is not always about who does the best work but more like, who is having a good connection with powerful clique’. An unhealthy culture brings unhealthy work place where skill is no longer count, this later affect the low quality and low aesthetic shows as seen in the screen today.

Is it danger? Well, it definitely will strain the strength of production department. In television, the shows are like the face of human anatomy. People behind the production department were scorer that determined whether targets would work successful, or tripped.

Not like the top management of Starantv does not understood how important the strength of production department. When Antv became Starantv, they brought Farhan, who had been successful creating shows like Extravaganza and Lepas Malam on TransTV, and PamPam, ‘the brain’ behind production house Indigo ‘success’ in infotainment, to joint production team.

The people behind Starantv surely had work hard but improvement never gone as expected. After two years of trying, Titan Hermawan accepted new position at MNC and Bakrie family together with JakTV’s shareholder Eric Thohir, decided to purchase Lativi, name then change into TVOne. The then top executives from Starantv such Alex Kumara and Karni Ilyas got transfer to TVOne. Lativi rebirth as TVOne was publicly introduced in late 2007. Karni Ilyas is now incumbent CEO of TVOne.

Now why does Antv/Starantv constantly failed in trying to get to the top spot?
Here are several possibilities:
1. THEY WAIT TOO LONG TO FIXED THE PROBLEM. The television business has turning into though competition. Cable television subscribers have increased, local TVs have aired and the numerous national channels have been more than enough. If watching television is about habit, so does in choosing channels. When one station decreased from popularity, viewers starts seeing another channel that offers more interesting shows. Eventually if they turned on the TV, they will first choose channels they see the most. Choosing channel is about habit too. The longer a channel let their shows down then the longer they let themselves being forgotten. Then the more difficult to reach the top spot ever again.
2. DESPITE OUR NATIONAL FLAG, INDONESIAN VIEWERS DOES NOT FOND TO SEE RED AND ORANGE COLOR ON SCREEN. Yes, it has proven working well for Hong Kong and Chinese TV station. Most of their programs are red graphics and backdrop dominance. But the Chinese believe red is a good color. Red symbolizes luck. It is different for a country that long has been dominated by Javanese culture. For us, red symbolizes as bravery or even spirit to be different. In the country where boldness does not well accepted, red is not the color that most people can feel warm and related. Therefore, eager to see.
3. IT IS NOT ENOUGH HIRING SEVERAL NEW PEOPLE, WHOLE HUMAN RESOURCESS SHALL BE INTRODUCES INTO A WORK CULTURE. Specially the ones who have worked for more than ten years in the company. See, they recruited ‘though television expert’ like Farhan or Pampam, and former TransTV creative people. But as new person, instead of bringing down the former work culture and work ethics they had from their past experience, the new people needed to adapt. They need to be accepted by ‘the old crew’. This is where all the problems lie. New people come, unhealthy work culture stay. So no matter how good the plan and programs placement, audiences watching StarAntv’s shows would always feel like they are watching things not one hundred percent being done.
4. As soon as viewers sense the different, they will skipped and choose another channel. They are only thinking to give it a try anyway, they always like the other one anyway, the one dominates by blue color and full of drama. In television, timing means everything. We can steal or lose an audience in a matter of a second (scene).