MNC to launch Sindo TV

JAKARTA. Media conglomerate PT Media Nusantara Citra (MNC) will be launching next month its TV network, dubbed Sindo TV, which will be aired throughout the country.

“Next month, we will launch Sindo TV, which has between 40 and 44 local TV channels,” MNC’s newly appointed finance director, Faisal Dharma Setiawan, said on Thursday.

Sindo TV will have the right to broadcast programs on the 40 to 44 local TV channels acquired by MNC.

Faisal stated he had not yet estimated how much the TV network would contribute to the firm’s total revenue, saying it needed to strengthen the business first.

He said that to expand its business, MNC would continue developing offices and studios for its free-to-air TV stations namely RCTI, MNC TV and Global TV through the second quarter of next year.

Faisal refused to reveal the firm’s total capital expenditure for 2015, saying that it usually comprised regular expenses and other expenses. MNC’s regular expenses stand at around US$20 million.

The firm booked Rp 3.3 trillion ($272 million) in the first half of this year, a 6.5 percent increase compared to the same period last year.