Tempo Allocates Rp100 Billion to Develop Tempo TV

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Tempo Inti Media has allocated Rp100 billion for the development of Tempo TV, which will be operated by its' subsidiary, Media Inti Televisi Nusantara. The budget will be disbursed in increments over three years. Tempo's Director of Finance, Toriq Hadad, said that the funds will be used to develop Tempo TV's programs, as well as the construction of its' studios.

"The funds will be sourced from both internally as well as externally," said Hadad on Monday, March 30, 2015.

According to Hadad, Tempo TV has already acquired the license to air its' programs in Jakarta, and it is currently in the process of applying for broadcast licenses for other areas outside of the capital. Hadad also said that in order to be granted general broadcast licenses like other, more-established TV stations, Tempo TV will have to go through a probationary period, which lasts for one year.

Tempo Inti Media - through its' subsidiaries Tempo Inti Media Impresario, and Temprint Inti Niaga - has already established several subsidiaries which will operate its' TV broadcasts outside of the capital, which includes Televisi Tempo Bandung, Televisi Tempo Surabaya, Televisi Tempo Yogyakarta, Televisi Tempo Balikpapan, as well as Televisi Tempo Batam.

The company - which is most famously known for Tempo weekly news magazine and Koran Tempo paper - had begun its’ venture into the television broadcast industry in 2008. After intensive cooperation and coordination with Radio 68H, the company established Media Televisi Nusantara, which became the legal entity which will have the right to operate Tempo TV. The channel, which is slated to be a dedicated news channel, will gradually expand its' broadcast across 52 areas, as well as through satellite TV, through which it aims to present the latest news and updates in social issues, politics, culture, as well as the environment.

The Executive Director of Tempo Media, Bambang Harymurti, said that throughout 2014, the company booked a profit increase of more than 100 percent - totaling at Rp 14.19 billion, up from 2013 profits, which stood at Rp 7.35 billion - which is driven by a 20 percent increase in gross income in 2014, which stood at Rp 316 billion, compared to 2013's income which totaled at Rp 262 billion.

"Our print media experienced a 165 percent increase in sales throughout 2014," said Harymurti through a press briefing released at the Indonesian Stock Exchange (IDX) on Monday.

Harymurti said that the company's gross income slipped by eight percent because the cost of goods sold rose by 47 percent in 2014 - however, it is balanced out by the income of the company which rose by 68 percent, driven by the company's other operations that brought in an income of Rp 12.7 billion in 2014, up from Rp 1.5 billion in 2013. "Rp 10.1 billion of which were acquired through the sale of some of the company's assets," Harymurti said.

Hadad added that the company's profits in 2014 is also boosted by the sale of the company's property in Kebayoran Lama, South Jakarta. That said, around 60 percent of the company's profit is derived from advertisement placed in its' publications. "Although the income from such ads had somewhat dipped in previous years, we predict that it will be a major contributor to the company's gains in the years to come," he said.

According to Hadad, around 40 percent of the company's total profits is derived from the sale of its' products, which includes Tempo magazine, Koran Tempo, as well as profits derived from its' online portal. "We are planning to increase the profits from our digital publications - as such, there will be some changes in the days to come," he said.

FAIZ NASHRILLAH