Television performance in Indonesia: steering between civil society, state and market

Abstract

This article looks at the television landscape in Indonesia that has undergone a major transformation in recent decades. As one of the 'Asian Tigers,' Indonesia introduced commercial television in two waves between 1989 and 2002 as a complement to the traditional state broadcaster, TVRI. During the Reformasi movement, commercial TV stations contributed to the emerging civil society in the period 1998-2000 by supporting the movement for democratic reform that led to the resignation of President Suharto. An assessment of the current Indonesian television scene shows that most commercial TV stations, after a short coalition with civil society, went 'back to business' again in the context of a relatively young but highly competitive Indonesian market.