RCTI

RCTI (an abbreviation of Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia) is an Indonesian free-to-air television network. It is best known for its soap operas, celebrity news, general news, and sports programmes. The network was launched in 1989, initially operating as a local pay television service that mainly broadcast foreign programmes, before switching to a free-to-air terrestrial network a year later.

RCTI was originally co-owned by PT Rajawali Wira Bhakti Utama (later Rajawali Corpora) and PT Bimantara Citra (later Global Mediacom, now known as PT Media Nusantara Citra (MNC)), from which its name is derived. One of its commissioners at the time, Indra Rukmana, is the husband of Tutut Soeharto, the founder and former owner of its eventual sister network, TPI.

RCTI is now fully owned by MNC, which also operates GTV, MNCTV, and iNews, all of which are private Indonesian television networks.

The name RCTI originates from its founding companies, Rajawali Wira Bhakti Utama and Bimantara Citra. Although Rajawali was not the primary shareholder, the company's CEO, Peter Sondakh, explained that the name carries a specific philosophy:

Peter Sondakh, Peter F. Gontha, and Bambang Trihatmodjo were the founders of RCTI. Sondakh first proposed the idea of establishing Indonesia's first private television network, though the government initially rejected his proposal. The project eventually gained support through his collaboration with Gontha and Bambang, and in 1986, President Suharto approved the initiative. In October 1987, following a series of consultations and negotiations in the House of Representatives, the state broadcaster TVRI lost its monopoly when the government permitted private television stations to begin operations, albeit with limited coverage.

PT Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia was officially established on 21 August 1987. TVRI appointed RCTI as the first "Initiator of the Limited Channel Broadcast" (Pelaksana Siaran Saluran Terbatas, or SST), and the network received its broadcasting licence on 22 February 1988. The government granted the licence as RCTI was the only SST applicant and was considered financially capable of investing over Rp20 billion. Additional considerations included the company's strong capital and its ability to secure the technological and strategic functions of television as an information medium. The licence allowed RCTI to operate for 20 years, with up to 18 hours of daily broadcasting time.

On 23 June 1988, RCTI held a groundbreaking ceremony for its studio complex in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, attended by the then Governor of Jakarta, Wiyogo Atmodarminto. Installation of broadcasting equipment began the following month. To support its operations, RCTI recruited several key management figures, including Peter Langlois, Stephen Mathis and colleagues from the United States, Alex Kumara [id], and Zsa Zsa Yusharyahya [id]. Langlois, a former employee of KCRA-TV in California, played a significant role in shaping RCTI's programming, which was modelled after American private television networks.^{[citation needed]}

RCTI was initially scheduled to begin broadcasting in September 1988 for 2–3 hours per day, featuring primarily entertainment (mostly imported films) and educational programmes. Its free-to-air trial broadcasts in Jakarta began on 13 November 1988, airing from 17:30 to 22:30 local time. The trial broadcasts served as a public introduction to the network.^{[citation needed]} Technical issues were reported during the test transmissions.^{[citation needed]}