As an avid movie buff, I have a few axes to grind this Monday morning. The Academy Awards - the biggest cinematic event on the globe annually ……..if not in sheer innate value, but at least in the ability to displace Iraq, Osama and Recession from the headlines ( even if just for a day )…………is not being broadcast live in the 4th most populous country in the world !! Yes - sitting in Jakarta this morning - you gotta rely on web updates on the much blogged / written about David Vs Goliath battle that “The Hurt Locker” is fighting with “Avatar” !!

It does seem ridiculous that in a country - where the US Presidential debates ( yes the rather lame-duck ones between a professorial Obama and “Joe the Plumber” chanting McCain ) were carried live on multiple terrestrial stations would be deemed “not worthy” of the live Oscar footprint !

Are we missing a point ( or perhaps the whole book ) here ? Granted in all the relevant markets around Asia - Pay TV has the lowest penetration in Indonesia. That is a dangerous statistic - depending how we intend to use it. Yes as a “percentage” it is the lowest ………about 3-4% at the last count. However we need to remember - that itself accounts for about 2 Million subsrcibers……….yes 2 Million - and given the relatively high cost of Pay TV ( USD 10-15 per month vs nothing for terrestrial TV ), these are 2 Million “affluent” households. And any regional broadcast of a premium event that does not cover the premium audience in Indonesia is really missing a substantial chunk of a relevant audience.

Is anybody listening ? Oh well……..

This entry was posted on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 9:35 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.