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Local television channels based in Jakarta need to focus more on local-content programs that reflect the lives of their viewers, not shows depicting extravagant lifestyles that are out of reach for most people, an industry observer said on Thursday.

Nina Mutmainah Armando, from the University of Indonesia and a member of a panel hired by the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) to make recommendations regarding program standards, said improvements were needed in the quality of local television — referring to those channels that focus on local audiences as opposed to Jakarta-based national broadcasters.

She said Jakarta’s stations had so far failed to maximise content that expressed the city’s local and cultural wisdom.

“Many of them give priority to high-end or lifestyle programs, while in fact, there are only a few members of our society that belong to that group,” Nina said.

She pointed to a local city channel that had showed an intimate scene from a Western movie at 7:30 p.m. “Is that the local wisdom of Jakarta? A film that shows a topless woman and sexual intercourse? Yes, it happened two years ago.”

Nina said the capital’s local television channels had failed to replicate the success of regional local-content channels, which have expanded rapidly — there are now about 200 local channels across the country — since broadcasting regulation changes in 2002. The capital has six local stations, including the soon-to-be- launched B-Channel.

Nina said the purpose of local television was to bring local creativity and culture to the screen in order to avoid national cultural uniformity.

“People in Manado [North Sulawesi], do they need to watch Srimulat [a traditional Javanese comedy group]?,” Nina said.

However, she acknowledged that local channels in Jakarta faced more challenges than those in other areas given the capital city’s more complex society. However, she said that this didn’t mean local identity or culture should be left behind.

Nina suggested that a comprehensive study was needed to find out exactly what Jakarta’s citizens needed.

“Just don’t be afraid to be different,” she said. “Why do you think ‘Si Doel Anak Sekolahan’ [a soap opera in the 1990s that depicted Betawi culture] became so famous and so loved. Local wisdom is attractive, as long as you know how to package it.”

Jimmy Silalahi, executive director of the Indonesian Local TV Association, said surveys were already being carried out.

“We do surveys continuously but we need time,” Jimmy said. “Even the national stations, which have been operating since the late 1980s, are still grappling with what audiences want.”

However, he said that some channels, such as Jak TV and O Channel, were already producing programs that reflected the local culture. “For example, there’s ‘Berita Ala Gue’ [‘My Type of News’] and another, ‘Bandar Jakarta,’ is presented in the Betawi language,” he said.