Indonesia was the third country in Southeast Asia to create a state-run station, TVRI which began broadcasting on August 24th 1962 during the opening ceremony of the 1962 Asian Games. TVRI held a television monopoly in Indonesia until 1989 when the first commercial station, RCTI began as a local television station and was subsequently granted a national license a year later. Indonesian television is regulated by both Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) for frequency matters and Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) for content matters. Each of the networks have a wide variety of programs, ranging from traditional shows, such as wayang performances, to Western-based programs such as Indonesian Idol, Family Feud, MasterChef, Top Model and The Voice, as well as Filipino-based programs such as Eat Bulaga! and It's Showtime. One typical television show common to almost every network is called a sinetron. A sinetron is usually a drama series, following the soap opera format, but can also refer to any fictional series. Sometimes it can be comedic, like the popular Bajaj Bajuri series, featuring a bajaj driver and the people he drives around. There are a number of awards given for excellences in Indonesian television, notably Panasonic Gobel Awards (defunct) and Indonesian Television Awards (since 2016), as well as Anugerah KPI held by the KPI.
History
Early years
The first time the Indonesian public was exposed to television was in 1955 in Yogyakarta, during a municipal fair commemorating the city's bicentennial (Republican spelling Indonesian: Pekan Raja 200 Tahun Kota Jogjakarta). These first television sets were brought to Indonesia from the Soviet Union. However, the initial idea to establish a television station in Indonesia was put forward by then Minister of Information Maladi as far as 1952. The argument is that the station would be useful for the socialization of the upcoming 1955 general election, but the idea was failed because the idea was deemed as too expensive by the cabinet. On July 25, 1961, Maladi, who has become Minister of Information, signed an agreement (SK Menpen) to create a committee for the preparation of the establishment of television in Indonesia. This was established as a part of the preparation for the fourth Asian Games. There was only a year to create a studio, broadcast tower, and other technical equipments in the former site of the Information Academy at Senayan. In that short period of preparation, Sukarno had a very prominent role, going as far as to personally choosing the equipment and where they should be imported from. The first experimental TV broadcast was the live coverage of the celebration of the 17th Anniversary of Indonesia's Independence on the morning August 17, 1962 from Jakarta's Merdeka Palace. At 14.30, August 24, 1962, the citizens of Jakarta witnessed the live broadcast of the opening ceremony of the 4th Asian Games from Gelora Bung Karno. This broadcast was held by the Television Division of the Radio and Television Organizing Committee Bureau. This day is now recognized as the birth of Televisi Republik Indonesia or TVRI, the first television network in Indonesia, as well as its main channel TVRI. On October 20, 1963, President Sukarno issued a Presidential Decree on the formation of the TVRI Foundation (Jajasan TVRI, later spelled Yayasan TVRI) as its governing body. In the first year of the TVRI broadcast, there are 10,000 television owners in Indonesia. Since then, the Foundation allotted a tax for television-owners until 1969, when the television property tax was transferred through mail and air deliveries nationwide. From 1963 to 1976, TVRI established television stations in Yogyakarta (1965), Medan (1970), Makassar (1972), Balikpapan (1973), and Palembang (1974). TVRI then quickly formed as a network made up of 12 television stations and 8 production studios, one national and 7 regional. Color broadcasting was introduced on September 1, 1979 on TVRI's national and local stations, which expanded to other provincial capitals. Advertisements were introduced to TVRI on March 1, 1963, to cope with the increasing broadcast hours. This advertisement was known as Siaran Niaga (literally "advertisement broadcast"). Currently television advertisements and other general advertisings are known simply as iklan ("advertisement"). On August 16, 1976, the Domestic Satellite Communication System (Sistem Komunikasi Satelit Domestik or SKSD) through Palapa A1 was inaugurated. This communication satellite was the first satellite owned by Indonesia and one of the first satellite operated by a developing country. Palapa A1 had 12 transponders which allows TVRI to distribute its broadcast reach nationally. On January 5, 1981, President Suharto issued an instruction to remove the Siaran Niaga advertisements from TVRI. The reason for this is from the belief that advertisements may create negative effects for the development of Indonesia during that time. This instructions had created pros and cons, especially because there is no research behind this statement. One month later, the Department of Information's Research and department division decided to perform a research about the effect of advertisements to national development programs aired within the TVRI network. In March 1981, the ban on commercial advertisements was in force on TVRI, making it funded by both the licence fee and government budgets for years.
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