Transformation of Digital Television as A Media of Communication and Information in Indonesia

In this era of globalization with the advancement of science and technology, we can find out all kinds of information that exists in all corners of the world quickly and easily. All human life is always undergoing changes characterized by the processing, sending, and receiving of information. Every minute even every second of information is constantly evolving.

The existence of technology has resulted in all countries in the world being very influential in its development, especially in Indonesia. One of the technologies that has a great influence is television. According to Skomis (Anwas, 1999), compared to other mass media (radio, newspapers, magazines, books, and so on), television has a special nature. Television is a combination of listening media and moving images that are political, informative, entertainment and as educational media. Television has a powerful power in conveying messages. Because this media can present an experience that seems to be experienced by yourself with a wide range (broadcast) at the same time. The history of television in Indonesia, namely TVRI (Television of the Republic of Indonesia) began broadcasting on August 17, 1962 at that time TVRI broadcast the commemoration of the independence of the Republic of Indonesia.

Talking about television itself, especially Indonesia, there was a shift from analog TV to digital TV not long ago. KOMINFO or the Ministry of Communication and Informatics and the government have socialized the public to switch from analog TV channels, to digital TV channels and then on November 2, 2022, the implementation of the termination of terrestrial analog television broadcasts or known as Analog Switch Off (ASO) was realized.

The Ministry of Communication and Informatics monitors the number of broadcasters that have migrated to digital broadcasting or simulcast, which is 566 out of 693 analog broadcast permit holders. As stated in article 60A of Law No. 32 of 2002 concerning Broadcasting through Law No. 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation, although it has been campaigned for a long time, but apparently there are still many people who ignore it. As a result, when analog TV channels were turned off, many people complained. In fact, analog TV channels with tube TVs can be easily moved to digital TV channels. There is no need to buy a new digital TV, it is enough to use a tv set top box. STB is also called a set-top box, and some circles also refer to it as a receiver and converter. The point of STB is as a tool to convert digital signals into images and sounds that can be displayed on ordinary analog TV. There is no need for a special satellite dish in receiving digital signals, but only enough with a UHF-VHF television antenna. This tool is also not difficult to find, it is found in the nearest electronics store, or buy it through the online store site.

There are pros and cons related to the transition of analog TV to digital TV aka analog switch off (ASO). Commissioner of the Central Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) Mohammad Reza in a discussion themed Set Top Box said that some of the advantages of digital TV range from clear images to more diverse broadcasting content and the availability of child supervision features or parental locks. So that if parents do not want their children to watch certain content, the set top box can be protected by using a password. Then there are the advantages of developing telecommunications from 4G to 5G and digital TV broadcasting is more sophisticated than analog broadcasting which has been on the air for about 60 years, because there is an Early Warning System (EWS) feature or disaster early warning system.

Kominfo and multiplexing organizers will distribute free set top boxes to the poor. The ministry also counted the number of poor people eligible to receive this assistance. In the process of distributing set top boxes to poor households, Kominfo refers to the Integrated Social Welfare Data (DTKS) from the Ministry of Social Affairs. However, there are obstacles in the distribution process such as the discrepancy of the recipient's data with the number of set up boxes. In addition, the simultaneous switching of inu makes everyone buy at the same time, most likely the STB in the region is not available or is not sufficient. When switched off to digital, there is automatically a lost market share, one of which has an impact on advertising and people who use analog cannot watch TV. In addition, the remote will be two, making people confused between the TV remote and the set top box remote.

In response to this, there was an opposite response, namely from MNC Group CEO Hary Tanoesoedibjo in a stock listing event on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) at that time he said that the policy of migrating analog TV broadcasts to digital TV or analog switch off (ASO) would only harm the majority of residents in Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi or Jabodetabek. Because, that way, residents cannot enjoy television broadcasts without a Set Top Box (STB).

Through an open letter uploaded on his social media @hary.tanoesodibjo, Friday, November 4, 2022, Hary said that it is estimated that 60 percent of people in Jabodetabek can no longer enjoy analog television broadcasts, except buying a new set top box or replacing digital television or subscribing to satellite dish TV. In addition, Hary Tanoe said that only a handful of parties will benefit greatly from the migration policy to digital television, namely STB factories or sellers, because their merchandise must sell well. On the contrary, the disadvantaged are people who still use analog TV, which is generally a small people. Hary argued that the acceleration of ASO migration was considered inappropriate because people seemed to be forced to buy Set Top Boxes (STB) to watch digital TV, especially with the economic conditions of some of these people who were not well affected by the pandemic. Hary Tanoe also considered that the decision to implement ASO did not have a definite legal basis because it was contrary to the decision of the Constitutional Court Number 91 / PPU-XVIII / 2020 concerning the Job Creation Law which stated that the Constitutional Court suspended all actions/policies of the Job Creation Law that were strategic and had a broad impact.

Apart from the pros and cons of this transformation, we must be able to adapt to the development of science and technology in the era of globalization for the betterment of the country.