TVRI

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 at the time is that it 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.[3]

As a part of the preparations for the 1962 Asian Games to be held in Jakarta, in 1961 the Indonesian government decided to include the establishment of a national television station. Later that year, the Television Preparation Committee was formed by the Ministry of Information. On 23 October, President Sukarno ordered to build a studio in the land originally planned for Academy of Information (AKPEN) in Senayan, Jakarta and two television towers, as well as preparing programs and human resources.

TVRI was formed based on the Decree of the Minister of Information of the Republic of Indonesia No. 20/SK/VII/61, then it became part of the Bureau of Radio and Television under the Asian Games IV Organizing Committee later on 1962 Asian Games. TVRI broadcast its first test transmission on the Independence Day celebrations from the Merdeka Palace on 17 August 1962. TVRI went on air, airing the 1962 Asian Games opening ceremony on 24 August 1962. It broadcasts the Asian Games event; live broadcasts were held from the morning to evening and delay broadcasts were held from 20:45 until 23:00 WIB.[4] With TVRI's presence, Indonesia became the sixth country in eastern Asia that has television station, behind Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, China and South Korea.

TVRI began broadcasting advertisements starting March 1963. Later on 20 October 1963, the Yayasan TVRI (TVRI Foundation) was formally created as the official governing authority for the station with President of Indonesia as Chairman. The foundation experience several changes and lasted until late 1990s.

Two years later, the first regional TVRI station opened in Yogyakarta. Later many regional TVRI stations were opened, including Semarang, Medan, Surabaya, Makassar, Manado, Batam, Palembang, Denpasar and Balikpapan. In years to come, TVRI were operating as a network of these regional stations.

In 1974, eight years after President Suharto took office, TVRI became a part of the Information Ministry, with the status as a directorate. Its role was to inform the public about government policies. A year after, a decree instituted TVRI a dual status, as a part of the TVRI Foundation and a part of the directorate. In 1976, it began to be broadcast all over Indonesia via Palapa satellite.

The first colour television signal was transmitted via satellite transmission in 1979. The first colour news bulletins were Berita Nasional (National News), Dunia Dalam Berita (The World in News), breaking events segments on Laporan Khusus (Special Report) and Berita Terakhir (Last News).

TVRI in the late 1970s and 1980s became a well-defined mass media component of the Department of Information, in early years it generating income from advertising slots. After enjoying income from advertisements for years, President Suharto in its speech abolished the advertisement on TVRI in 1981 in order to "better directing television to help the development programs and avoid negative effects that do not support the spirit of development". This policy would later be revoked after the reform era.

During the era, the government-backed TVRI progressively established television production studios and television stations in many provinces across the country. As of 1998, all provinces in Indonesia had their own TVRI regional station or production studio; including East Timor.

TVRI launched a second channel TVRI Programa Dua (TVRI Programme Two, later TVRI Jakarta) in 1989[5] to attract Jakarta urban audience, with a single English-language news program Six Thirty Report for half an hour that began at 18:30 WIB. However in the same year TVRI lost its monopoly when the government's sixth Five Year Plan allowed private television stations to begin broadcasting, the first commercial television station being RCTI.

In 1994, TVRI launched its teletext service TVRI-Text, in partnership with PT Pilar Kumalajaya, about four months after RCTI launched the first teletext in the country.[6]

Starting from 16 November 1998, TVRI introduced the weekday morning broadcast from 05.30 WIB to 09.30 WIB; previously TVRI aired the morning broadcast only on Sunday, national holidays and state events. This airtime addition would continue until 14 July 2001, where TVRI began its full daytime broadcasts while continuing to close at night.

After the start of the reform era, especially in 2000, TVRI's status was changed. Under a service corporation (Perusahaan Jawatan or Perjan) form, it became responsible firstly to the Ministry of Finance and was then turned into a limited company under the authority of the State Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises for organizational matters and Ministry of Finance for financial matters. Under this arrangement, TVRI broadcasts in accordance with the principles of public television such as independent, neutral and public interest-oriented. Later in 2002, the status of TVRI has changed again to a limited company (Perseroan Terbatas or PT), still under the two ministries.

The enactment of the Act No. 32/2002 on Broadcasting designated TVRI, along with RRI, as the public broadcasting institution (Lembaga penyiaran publik or LPP) and were removed from any direct governmental control. TVRI was given a transition period of 3 years from PT to public broadcasting form. The status then reaffirmed by Government Regulation (Peraturan Pemerintah) No. 13/2005. TVRI officially became LPP on 18 March 2005.

On 12 October 2004, Ministry of Education and Culture (then Ministry of National Education) launched the educational satellite channel TVE (later TV Edukasi). Possibly as a part of widening TVE's reach to larger Indonesian audiences, TVE partnered with TVRI — under the partnership TVRI agree to relay daytime TVE broadcasts starting in 2004. The partnership ends in the early 2010s.

Following the government plan to introduce digital television in Indonesia, TVRI launched its digital broadcasting on 21 December 2010. Initially launched in Jakarta, Surabaya and Batam, TVRI also launched two digital terrestrial channel: TVRI 3 (currently TVRI Kanal 3) and TVRI 4 (currently TVRI Sport HD). The channels were the first digital terrestrial channel in Indonesia. The launch was attended by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Minister of Communications and Information Technology Tifatul Sembiring.[7][8]

In 2017, the TVRI board of supervisors installed a well-known television figure Helmy Yahya as the chief director and Apni Jaya Putra (former programming director at Kompas TV) as the news and programming director. In the leadership era of Helmy Yahya and Apni Jaya Putra, TVRI began to remodel its programming on a large scale.

On March 29, 2019, at the concert special Menggapai Dunia (Reaching the World), TVRI adopted its new logo as a part of the rebranding efforts. The new logo was actually decided to be released in the fourth quarter of 2018, but for several reasons, it was postponed at the end of March 2019. At the same time, all TVRI regional stations have changed their logo in front of their respective studios.

In August 2019, TVRI together with two national private networks (Metro TV and Trans7) and Ministry of Communication and Information Technology officially launched digital television broadcasts for border regions in Nunukan Regency, North Kalimantan. With the launch, the government hoped that people in all regions of Indonesia can watch the best, high quality shows that are broadcast on all national and local TV with sharper and clearer images than analog television, without the need for fees such as buying a television (only paying to buy an antenna and set-top box).[9]

As the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia urging the government to appeal Indonesians to "work, study, and pray at home", the Ministry of Education and Culture renewed again its partnership with TVRI, this time to broadcast educational programming on a dedicated block on the TVRI network starting 13 April 2020. Titled Belajar dari Rumah, the block consists of kids program Jalan Sesama for young children, instructional programming for elementary and high school students, and a parenting program on weekdays; as well as national movies at several weeknights and children, talkshow, and documentary programs at weekends. The block is aired every day at 08.00 to 11.00 WIB and 21.30 to 23.30 WIB on several weeknights, and also broadcast on TV Edukasi.

A proposed new Broadcasting Act currently in the making, replacing Act No. 32/2002, would merge TVRI with RRI into RTRI (Radio Televisi Republik Indonesia, Radio [and] Television of the Republic of Indonesia).[10]

TVRI currently operates three national channels and a dedicated regional channel, some of them currently broadcast in digital (DVB-T/T2) only:

• TVRI (or TVRI Nasional to distinguish from other TVRI channels): The main channel with nationwide coverage, currently networked with TVRI regional stations in its analog channel. The channel broadcasts information and educational content as well as entertainment from as early as 03:45 to as late as 01:30 WIB the next day, except during sports occasions and the Ramadan season where it broadcasts throughout the night.
• Kanal 2: Currently TVRI Jakarta serves in Jakarta as a local station in both analog and digital terrestrial broadcast. "TVRI Kanal 2" exists in digital as host for TVRI regional stations by their respective on-air names, with the hope that all regional programming will no longer be carried on TVRI Nasional in the future.
• Kanal 3: The digital-only channel, currently broadcasts cultural programming.
• TVRI Sport HD: The digital-only channel, currently broadcasts sports programming as well as simulcasting live sports events from TVRI Nasional in High Definition.
• TVRI World: A planned cable and satellite-only channel targeted for international audience and Indonesians living abroad.

TVRI has 30 regional stations covering all provinces of Indonesia, shown below in their native names and broadcast area:

A former regional station for East Timor, TVRI Dili, ceased operation in 1999. East Timor national broadcaster RTTL currently takes place.

TVRI currently maintain two online services. TVRI Klik is the primarily online streaming service for all TVRI channels, as well as its regional stations. TVRI VoD is the network's video-on-demand service. Both services could be accessed from their dedicated Android and iOS apps as well as their website.

Besides TVRI Klik, the channels and regional stations streaming service can also be found on the network's official website.

In 2013, TVRI Director of Finance Eddy Machmudi Effendi was sentenced to 8 years 6 months in prison due to programming broadcast scandal. The scandal involved Director of News and Programming Irwan Hendarmin and Indonesian senior comedian Mandra, which the term "Mandragate" was coined.[12][13]

On June 6, 2013, TVRI aired a delayed broadcast of the Muktamar Khilafah (Caliphate Conference) organized by Hizb ut-Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) in Gelora Bung Karno Stadium, Jakarta.[14] The Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) Commissioner, Idy Muzayyad assesses that TVRI as a public broadcasting institution has "experiencing national disorientation" by broadcasting this event because "HTI's ideology is questioning the state ideology and nationalism, as well as rejecting democracy"; but HTI spokesperson Ismail Yusanto says that "TVRI is a public broadcaster, and HTI is also a part of the public" and the broadcast is "a part of the public's right to be broadcast and heard".[15] TVRI was called and was open to the possibility of being sanctioned by KPI.[16]

Later on September 15, TVRI aired a delayed broadcast of Democratic Party convention for more than 2 hours, the political party of which was founded by the incumbent president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The broadcast again caused KPI sanctioning, due to the violation of political independence principle according to the law.[17] However, TVRI directors secretary manager Usi Karundeng says that the network was never intervened or paid for by the party.[18]

On December 6, 2019, Helmy Yahya has been temporarily dismissed as President Director for the 2017-2022 period by the TVRI Board of Supervisors lead by Arief Hidayat Thamrin and replaced by acting President Director Supriyono. According to news sources in almost all mass media on January 16, 2020, Helmy Yahya was officially dismissed from his position by the board permanently and unilaterally; citing the "too expensive" purchase of broadcast rights for the Premier League from Djarum-owned premium multiplatform network Mola TV, a problem during Siapa Berani quiz show, and other problems.[19][20] The dismissal made most of the public (including netizens) disappointed and wanted to defend that Helmy Yahya remained legitimate in leading TVRI until 2022, but unfortunately the board continued to refuse Helmy Yahya's defense until the election for the new president director to replace him.[21]

In January 17, 4,000 TVRI employees declared motion of no confidence to the Board of Supervisors. One day before, Board's room was sealed.[22]

As of March 27, 2020, another three directors (including News (Editor in Chief) and Program Director Apni Jaya Putra) were temporarily dismissed for less than a month by the TVRI Board of Supervisors regarding the Helmy Yahya case.[23] Unfortunately, after the dismissal of the three directors the conflict was still revoked. On May 13, all of them (including Apni) were permanently dismissed.[24]

On May 27, 2020, the TVRI Board of Supervisors has appointed Indonesian advertising practitioner, journalist, and filmmaker/film director Iman Brotoseno as the new President Director for the remainder of the 2017-2022 period, replacing Helmy Yahya.[25] The appointment caused controversy thanks to his endorsement for incumbent president Joko Widodo in the 2019 election, but he stated that he "would be independent and impartial".[26] He's also criticized for his past posts on Twitter which included an Indonesian colloquial term for "porn", and porn films.[27]

In October 5, 2020, the Board of Supervisors Arief Hidayat Thamrin was dismissed by first commission of People's Representative Council.[28] However, Arief was suspended from power since May 11.[29]