Government officials continually call for more local programming on Cambodian television, which the Ministry of Information claims has tainted society with US action heroes, Chinese fantasies and Thai dramas. But programmers must balance official demands with the money local advertisers are willing to invest in Khmer programs.
In renewed efforts to comply with the Ministry of Information’s decree demanding that television stations broadcast 80 percent Khmer movies and programs, TV9, for example, is adding approximately five new Khmer productions to its television lineup beginning in December, but is challenged by financial constraints, said a spokesman for General Manager Khun Helena.
TV9 also will increase its weekday air time from eight hours to 12 hours by the end of the year. Twelve Khmer programs comprise only 10 percent of its program lineup.
Station representatives declined to give details concerning the content of new programs for fear that competing stations would steal their ideas. They did mention that a laugh track has been recorded for an upcoming comedy.
“We will try our best to follow the Ministry of Information,” the spokesman said, recognizing that limited funding may script a different reality. “The price for a talented staff would consume all your income for one month,” he said
Television stations are in a constant struggle to obtain enough funds to produce higher quality films. Advertisers generally shy away from investing in Cambodian programs, as foreign content draws the greatest crowds. As a result, “it will probably be real tough [to comply with the ministry’s order],” said TV9 Programming Director DJ DeMarco.
The Ministry of Information recognizes the stations’ financial constraints but refuses to take responsibility for the hardship.
“Sponsors would support local programming if producers made higher quality films and game shows,” said Liav Sinara, the ministry’s cabinet chief. “Stations can not reduce foreign films from the small screen if they don’t start.”
The TV9 spokesman said he was confident that advertisers eventually will make the correlation between improved programming, larger audiences and profit gain.
“When you increase the quality of television, you have more customers,” he said.
TV5 Deputy Director General Chen Marido is less optimistic, conceding that the transition would take time.
“Cambodian programs need a big budget and there is a particular shortage of sponsors,” Chen Marido said. “On the other hand, foreign movies already come with a cheap price, so how can I do it?”
Thai movies come prepackaged with Thai sponsors, while local shows must scramble for funding. TV5 admits its current Khmer lineup is of poor quality, but says upgrading to more attractive programming will seduce both viewers and advertisers.
Improved cooperation between advertisers and TV stations may be just a matter of time.
A spokesman for Orchid McCann, an offspring of the Phnom Penh advertising agency McCann Erickson, identifies a serious need for locally produced programming and feels audiences would be receptive to higher quality shows. Orchid McCann currently spends over $1 million a year on television advertising, the spokesman said.
“I do believe in [Khmer] programs and am trying to support more stations,” he said. “I wouldn’t be taking a risk.”
Established less than a decade ago, Cambodian television has been slow to develop its own programming, relying heavily on foreign movies to fill air time.
Government officials have cited concern that foreign films are tarnishing Khmer culture. TV9 admits that Chinese, Thai, and US movies are most popular with viewers, while Khmer music, social education programs and movies are slow to gain an audience.
Children’s programming, health and gender-oriented educational shows comprise the bulk of its Khmer line up, with the station’s 9 Minutes of Jokes producing the most audible response.
Mao Ayuth, Director General of TVK, agrees that foreign movies have seriously influenced Cambodian people, particularly its youth.
“It has been poisoning Cambodian culture,” he said. “But it’s very hard to produce Cambodian movies with such a shortage of sponsors.”
Aspara TV Director General Sok Ey San says most private stations import 70 percent to 80 percent of their programs from Thailand, requiring the majority of programs to be run with Thai commercials.
Minister of Information Lu Laysreng threatened in September to shut down television stations filling more than 20 percent of air time with foreign-made films or programs, but has since relaxed the warning. Stations unable to meet the ministry’s standard ultimately will not be closed, as the decree was a “suggestion, not an order,” Liav Sinara said. “We just wanted to see how hard they tried.”
This follows the ministry’s 1999 order urging television and radio stations to use dignified language and to limit their use of foreign words, like “OK.” In its continued campaign to preserve Khmer culture, television stations also were asked to play the national anthem twice a day.
