An affiliate station in Jakarta provides a critical missing link for Sindo TV, a network of local TV stations, owned by the country’s largest broadcaster, MNC Group.

Access to residents in Indonesia’s wealthy capital boosts Sindo’s appeal to advertisers, while completing a platform for national campaigns, which account for the lion’s share of TV spend.

Indonesia’s regional TV networks have traditionally been too small to mount a serious challenge for national spend, competing for budgets with local newspapers and radio stations instead.

Brands opting for regional TV tend to be swayed more by extras on offer – such as sponsorship deals, or bundles with events or digital properties – than minor differences in ratings performance.

Sindo TV, aligned with MNC’s print, radio and online assets, is well positioned here.

As leading regional networks steadily improve transmission and reach however, the opportunity to start nibbling national TV budgets will grow.

Some, such as current leaders RTV, formerly known as BChannel, and Net.TV, are attracting a modest share of ratings, albeit on the back of significant investment in entertainment programming.

Sindo, which currently airs a mix of cheaper content such as light news, magazine shows and sports content, has lower ratings but is eyeing a different prize.

The channel plans to dial down its entertainment shows in October to take on Indonesia’s two national news networks, Metro TV and TVOne.

Sindo TV still needs sustained ratings growth to catch these established offerings, but just 3% of viewing for its top shows will put it on par in the news category.

This article first appeared in Media Business Asia magazine, Q2 2014.