US basic cable, internet and satellite business news television channel CNBC and PT Trans Media Corpora announced a strategic partnership in Indonesia. Meanwhile, the government has indicated that it will study possible impact on the market before taking any action in response to the expansion plans of US-based on-demand film and video streaming service Netflix Inc
CNBC and Trans Media will launch CNBC Indonesia
CNBC and the media company own by tycoon Chaerul Tanjung will launch new media services CNBC Indonesia, a dedicated business, financial TV and digital news service in Bahasa. The partnership agreement was signed in Jakarta by Mark Hoffman, chairman of CNBC and Chairul Tanjung, founder & chairman of Trans Media Corpora’s parent company, CT Corp. Specific launch dates for the digital and TV services are expected to be announced later this year.
According to Hoffman, the collaboration with Trans Media is a strong addition to the suite of strategic partnerships underpinning CNBC’s emerging markets strategy.
“We are pleased to bring CNBC’s unique and robust content proposition to millions of Indonesians in their local language, further opening the world of international business and finance to a growing economic powerhouse,” said Hoffman.
“The primary objectives of the CNBC Indonesia venture are to facilitate global business conversations in Bahasa Indonesia, to educate our growing middle class, and to facilitate better information flow for decision making. This will help realize the full potential of the capital markets and businesses, accelerating the economic development of Indonesia,” added Tanjung.
Netflix’s presence might affect existing players
Communication and InformationTechnology Minister Rudiantara said, Netflix’s presence might affect existing playres in the entertainment industry and other online businesses. Hence, his ministry would seek advice from the Culture and Education Ministry to look into the content available on Netflix to gauge its impact on society.
“If the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, then something must be done to fix that. We have to study the Netflix entrance carefully as we do not want to hinder technology for the sake of the public,” he stated.
However, Rudiantara was confident that the country’s internet infrastructure would be ready, especially mobile broadband networks to support a service like Netflix.
Netflix’s listed Indonesian rates are Rp 109,000 per month for its basic service, Rp 139,000 a month for its standard service and Rp 169,000 a month for its premium service.
Netflix was founded in 1997 with headquarter in in Los Gatos, California. In, 2007, the company grabbed headlines as it delivered its billionth DVD in the United States. The on-demand streaming service was later often cited by media as one of the factors that led to the bankruptcy of video rental chain Blockbuster.
Currently, Netflix is already available in 60 countries worldwide and aims to cover 200 countries by the end of 2016.
