Devi Asmarani, Jakarta – Several regional TV stations that have sprouted across Indonesia during the past year are now on the verge of collapse due to low ratings, inability to attract advertisements and high operational costs.

TV Pematang Siantar, based in a small town of the same name in North Sumatra, is one of the tiny local TV stations started last year that ceased operations recently. With virtually no steady income, it had relied solely on donations from local residents and a small subsidy from the city administration.

Similarly, numerous other television stations across Kalimantan and Sumatra are in dire straits but have managed to continue so far by squeezing expenditure. Most of these stations relay popular programmes from national television networks for several hours a day, without producing their own.

But even as some are barely surviving, more are emerging. The Jawa Pos group, which owns more than 50 publications across the country, runs two of them.

In East Java, the Jawa Pos Televisi (JTV), started in November, is currently running eight hours of entertainment and news programmes across the province. All its programmes are in Bahasa Indonesia, although some are infused with the local Javanese dialect.

JTV general manager Agus Mustofa told The Straits Times: "Jawa Pos initially wanted to have a TV station nationwide but we didn't get the licence from the central government. With the regional autonomy, we obtained a licence from the governor, which is easier. And we see opportunities that the national TV cannot provide – emotional ties that we sell through our programmes and localised news."

Over the next few years, the group plans to open at least eight other stations that operate provincially in major cities across the country. But JTV had not been earning much from advertising despite having invested 30 billion rupiah (S$5.8 million), Mr Agus said.

One of the reasons, he said, was that local advertisers were still not eager to switch from the customary print and radio to television. "But we are optimistic we will grow because we think we have that competitive edge – our local rate," he said.

Jawa Pos' other station, Riau Televisi (RTV), was kicked off in May last year. It operates within the provincial capital of Pekanbaru and receives financial backing from the Riau administration.

The 1998 media liberalisation led to the establishment of hundreds of print publications, but the government issued licences to set up only six new television stations, to add to the existing six.

But under the regional autonomy policy, local administrations are now in charge of issuing broadcasting licences, making it possible for new stations to operate in the provinces.