National Broadcasting Day in Indonesia Date in the current year: April 1, 2024

The history of broadcasting in Indonesia dates back to the Dutch colonial era. The first broadcaster in the Dutch East Indies was NIROM (Nederlandsch-Indische Radio Omroep Maatschappij, Dutch East Indies Radio Broadcasting Corporation). It was founded in Amsterdam in 1928 but didn’t start broadcasting in the Dutch East Indies until 1934.

The first Indonesian-owned broadcasting institution in the Dutch East Indies was Solosche Radio Vereeniging (SRV). Its establishment was initiated by Prince Mangkunegara VII, the ruler of Surakarta Sunanate in Central Java, which was a vassal state of the Dutch colonial empire at the time. SRV started broadcasting on April 1, 1933; this day is regarded as the birthday of public broadcasting in Indonesia.

During World War II, Indonesia was occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army. The Japanese used local radio stations for propaganda and military purposes. Shortly after the end of the war and the proclamation of Indonesian independence, delegates from six local radio stations established the national radio network of Indonesia, RRI (Radio Republik Indonesia). The country’s national television network, TVRI, was established in 1962.

In addition to public broadcasting institutions (RRI, TVRI and local broadcasters), Indonesia has private radio stations and television networks, both national and local. Indonesian broadcasters are regulated by the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (Komisi Penyiaran Indonesia, KPI), which was established in 2002. It is an independent agency that is supposed to be free from any influence by the government, private investors, or people in power.

The idea of designating April 1 as National Broadcasting Day was first voiced by Hari Wiryawan, a member of the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission, in 2010. It received the support of many Indonesian broadcasters and other stakeholders, but it took some time for the holiday to achieve official recognition. April 1 was formally designated as National Broadcasting Day by a presidential decree signed by President Joko Widodo in 2019.

The celebration of National Broadcasting Day in Indonesia is coordinated by the KPI. Every year, the KPI chooses a new province to host the festivities, which, by the way, may be moved to another day if the holiday falls during the holy month of Ramadan.

In addition to National Broadcasting Day, Indonesia has two more holidays celebrating its public broadcasting institutions, Television Day and National Radio Day. Television Day (Hari Televisi) is observed on August 24 to commemorate the first broadcast of the first television network in Indonesia, TVRI. National Radio Day (Hari Radio Nasional) is celebrated on September 11 to commemorate the day when Indonesians took over Japanese radio stations and established Radio Republik Indonesia.