Peter Frans Gontha (born 4 May 1948 in Semarang, Indonesia)[1] is an Indonesian businessman, commercial television pioneer, and jazz musician.
[3] After attending Jakarta's Kanisius College, he was in 1967 sent by his mother to the Netherlands, where he worked as a driver for the Indonesian Embassy and for Garuda Indonesia in Amsterdam.
[13] Gontha co-founded Indonesia's second commercial television network, Surya Citra Televisi (SCTV) in 1990, followed by satellite pay TV company Indovision in 1994.
[14] Gontha was a shareholder and spokesman for PT Matahari Lintas Cakrawala (Malicak), which persuaded the government to allow CNN and ESPN to start broadcasting in Indonesia in mid-1992, despite initially facing opposition from the Information Ministry.
[15][16] In 1996, Gontha purchased a controlling stake in the English-language daily newspaper, The Indonesian Observer[17] and developed SCTV's news and current affairs show Liputan 6.
His departure from Datakom was attributed to a power struggle between Gontha and then-emerging media tycoon Hary Tanoesoedibjo, as well as differences of opinion with SCTV co-owner Henry Pribadi.
[23] On 11 December 2018, Gontha received Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland from President Andrzej Duda in recognition of his contribution to bilateral relations.
[29] Gontha has said that during the Suharto era, then-information minister Harmoko invited him to join the ruling political body, Golkar, but he declined as he preferred to remain focused on business.
Gontha eventually decided to join Nasdem, saying he respected Paloh's strong commitment to upholding Indonesia's nationalism and diversity.
[31] Although born in the Central Java capital of Semarang, Gontha is a member of the Minahasan ethnic group, native to North Sulawesi, as his parents hailed from there.