TVRI Dili (officially known in Indonesian as Stasiun TVRI Dili) was a regional television station that once broadcast in Dili, East Timor (now Timor-Leste) when it was still a province in Indonesia. This station was owned and run by TVRI, which at that time still had the status of a directorate under the Ministry of Information.
History
This station was initially inaugurated as a relay station in Maribia, Dili on 16 July 1978 during the first visit of Suharto to Dili. After Dili, subsequent relay stations were established in Maliana, Baucau, Lospalos, Suai, Viqueque, and Oecusse in 1979-1980 and 1982–1983. TVRI's presence preceded that of RRI, which only established a radio station in Dili in 1981.
On 10 June 1980, TVRI Dili was attacked by a group of troops from Fretilin. The attack carried out in the early hours of the morning was successfully neutralized by the East Timor Regional Police Mobile Brigade, but two police officers were killed.
Apart from terrestrial, TVRI Dili also broadcast via satellite, however, according to a Kompas Daily report on May 25, 1999, since December 1998 TVRI Dili has not broadcast via satellite due to budget limitations. This was seen as hampering the socialization of the then-upcoming referendum, where the station was expected to promote the autonomy option.
It is not known when exactly did TVRI Dili closed its broadcasts, but it is believed that this station was closed before ABRI troops began to withdraw from East Timor on 24 September 1999 due to the results of the referendum seeking independence from Indonesia. It is known that TVRI Dili closed first before RRI Dili closed broadcasts on 23 September 1999.
RTTL, Timor Leste's national radio and television broadcaster, whose broadcasts began in 2002, is believed to be the "successor" to TVRI Dili by utilizing its remaining former assets. Until now, the old equipment used by TVRI Dili in the RTTL office is still being used, such as the uplink satellite dish with the TVRI logo and the box generator with the TVRI logo. The TVRI tower in Maribia, which was the forerunner of TVRI in Bumi Lorosae, is currently abandoned and no longer used, although the building and tower along with the VHF panels still remain.
The former TVRI transmission station in Viqueque is now used by a local radio station, Rádio Povo Viqueque. It is not yet known whether the former TVRI tower is still there or not.
Programming
Until May 1999, TVRI Dili was known to broadcast 90 minutes of local broadcasts per week, namely every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for 30 minutes (18.00-18.30 WITA). The rest was relay broadcasts from TVRI's central station.