INDONESIA: INDONESIAN TELEVISON RUNS "COUNTRY ROAD" PROGRAMME FEATURING A PARADE OF INDONESIAN GROUPS PLAYING MOSTLY U.S. COUNTRY HITS IN THE ORIGINAL ENGLISH

Record ID: 753329

  • Title: INDONESIA: INDONESIAN TELEVISON RUNS "COUNTRY ROAD" PROGRAMME FEATURING A PARADE OF INDONESIAN GROUPS PLAYING MOSTLY U.S. COUNTRY HITS IN THE ORIGINAL ENGLISH
  • Date: 11th November 2002
  • Summary: MCU (English) "COUNTRY ROAD" PRODUCER IRIANTI SAYING: "The reason why we have this program, because the community of country music is quite big and while there is no other television had this program." SLV/SV CONTROL ROOM (2 SHOTS) SV OPERATOR IN CONTROL ROOM MCU (English) "COUNTRY ROAD" PRODUCER IRIANTI SAYING: "(The audience is) from many provinces and from abroad such as Singapore, Australia, Thailand. They are us watching us" CU/SV/MCU OF CONTROL ROOM (5 SHOTS) TILT DOWN FROM TOWER TO STUDIO
  • Embargoed: 26th November 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: JAKARTA, INDONESIA
  • Country: Indonesia
  • Topics: Entertainment,Quirky,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVAD307VPVIQJPX81RHFUC3HO0K1
  • Story Text: It's prime time on a Thursday night in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, and millions are tuning in to state-owned TVRI to watch -- good old boys in cowboy hats belting out Country and Western tunes.
    The program is "Country Road" and for two hours a week it features a parade of Indonesian groups and individual singers who play mostly old U.S. hits in the original English, to appreciative studio audience members clad in checked shirts, jeans and boots, many of whom do a mean line dance.
    That may not mesh with the images of Indonesia most recently seen on television news abroad -- a bloody bomb blast on the tourist island of Bali, anti-American demonstrations in front of the U.S. embassy, and Muslim militants saying the United States is the real source of global terrorism.
    But despite such scenes U.S. culture has some deep roots in Indonesia.
    "Country Road" -- whicheach program with a rendition of the John Denver classic sung by the house band, guest musicians and audience -- has helped people identify the songs with the genre.
    It was one of several weekly live music programs TVRI began a little more than a year ago.
    The image of country movie stars riding their horses in western movies during the '70s, was very popular in Indonesia.
    "Because I like music, the country music. Also my husband like (country music). Therefore I go to the club, Country Road Indonesia Club," said Mary Warouw, a Country Road" audience member, jammed into an outdoor studio set that looks like a cross between a barn and a ranch house.
    Aside from sparking the creation of a fan club, "Country Road" has drawn a heavy response in emails and phone calls, its producers say, and is second among five TVRI weekly live music programs in advertising revenue.
    Irianti, the program's producer, says "Country Road" is one of a kind.
    "The reason why we have this program, because the community of country music is quite big and while there is no other television had this program," she says. Like many Indonesians, Irianti only uses one name.
    The viewers are "from the provinces and from abroad such as Singapore, Australia, Thailand. They are us watching us,"
    she added.
    However, although few of the other 10 Indonesian networks match the TVRI country-wide reach achieved in the days when its state backing gave it a near monopoly, the producers say they don't have a system that actually measures competitive ratings.
    And no one is claiming the program's popularity is making massive headway among the country's youth, whose dominant choice when it comes to music from the West is rock and pop, not country and western.
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