Venevisión
Encyclopedia
Venevisión is one of Venezuela
's largest television networks and a Venezuelan cable
and terrestrial
television network
, which is owned and presided over by Gustavo Cisneros
. In the United States
, many of Venevisión's popular programs have been seen on the Univision
network until 2009.
, which operated the channel 4 in Caracas and channel 5 in Maracaibo. When TELEVISA went bankrupt in 1960, Diego Cisneros purchased the remaining assets of the company. On February 27, 1961, Venevisión was officially inaugurated with a special inaugural show in which thousands of people attended, and took place in the stations parking lot
. Venevisión began with a capital of 5,500,000 bolívares
and 150 employees including artists, administrators, and technical personnel. Venevisión's original administrators were Diego Cisneros (president), Alfredo Torres (transmission manager), Héctor Beltrán (production manager), and Orlando Cuevas (general manager).
Initially, Venevisión broadcast live because they hadn't yet installed the videotape system
. Except for the news, the elaboration of their programs utilized the technical formats used in movies at that time. In a short period of time, Venevisión greatly expanded nationally, and was seen in most of Venezuela on many VHF and UHF channels.
In March 1961, the newly created Venevisión and the American
television network, ABC
, signed two agreements: one for technical support and the other for the rights to broadcast each others programs. Thanks to these agreement, Venevisión later began using the videotape system. In their first year of existence, Venevisión made approximately 800,000 bolívares a month in advertisements.
In 1976, Venevisión moved their transmitters, which were located on the top of a building in La Colina, a neighborhood in Caracas
where Venevisión's studios can be found, to Los Mecedores, near Venezolana de Televisión
's studios and CANTV
's installations. In Los Mecedores, a tower with an altitude of 100 meters was placed and a powerful new antenna was installed. With this new antenna, Venevisión's signal was able to reach Petare
, Caricuao
, and Guarenas
with better quality. In the 1970s, like other television stations in Venezuela, Venevisión began experimenting with color broadcasts. In 1978, the Ministry of Transport and Communications fined Venevisión 4,000 bolívares on two different occasions in one week for violating the regulations for color broadcasting.
In 1982, Venevisión began preliminary work in the city of El Tigre
(located in the Anzoátegui State
) to install equipment that would expand and improve their coverage in that region.
On November 1, 1986, Venevisión was the first television station in Venezuela to have their very own satellite dish.
On May 27, 1987, The president Jaime Lusinchi
, Venevisión begin broadcast license in Venezuela on 20 years.
On February 4, 1992, Carlos Andrés Pérez
addressed the nation from Venevisión's studios during a coup attempt
against his government.
Beginning on March 22, 1992, Venevisión would broadcast for 24 hours on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. In April 1994, it started broadcasting for 24 hours seven days a week. Today, Venevisión is on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In 1995, Venevisión was the first television station in South America to include news and movies with closed caption and the movies in Second audio program
sound.
Venevisión held the broadcasting rights to Venezuelan baseball
games during the 2004-2005 and the 2005-2006 baseball seasons.
Since Venevisión was inaugurated in 1961, their mascot
has been a tiger
.
In 2007, it started simulcasting Copa America
and Miss Venezuela
2007 in high-definition format.
, Venevision Plus
, Venevision International
a cable channel completely owned by Venevisión. Other channels, such as Univision
in the United States
and Televisa
in Mexico
, broadcast some of Venevisión's shows.
's government up until 2005, when its criticism was notably toned down. On April 11, 2002, Venevisión, along with most of the other private networks in Venezuela, simultaneously showed Chávez's address to the nation in split screen with the shooting of people in a demonstration prior to the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt. The next day, Isaías Rodríguez announced in a news conference
that Chávez had not resigned and that there had been a coup.
Opponents of Chávez claim that the government is abusing freedom of speech and press, especially after periodic inspections of the Venezuelan National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) and the implementation of the controversial Social Responsibility in Radio and Television Law (best known as Ley Resorte).
Lately, Venevisión has been criticized by the Venezuelan opposition and Anti-Chávez groups. Since the Presidential election in 2006
, Venevisión has quieted its opposition to Chávez, similar to rival Televen
after the 2004 recall referendum. For the presidential election, Venevision devoted 84% of its coverage to Chavez's positions, and only 16% to the opposition. Many in the opposition and the other anti-Chávez TV networks, RCTV
and Globovisión
, saw it as a betrayal, and accused Venevisión to submitting to Chávez. The criticism of Venevisión by the opposition increased during the closure of RCTV
by the Chávez government. RCTV was the most watched channel in Venezuela, and Venevisión was second. Many viewed Venevision of secretly supporting the closure since it would benefit itself. Cisneros, however, said he expected only around a 5% increase in advertising revenue, after accounting for inflation.
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
's largest television networks and a Venezuelan cable
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
and terrestrial
Terrestrial television
Terrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which does not involve satellite transmission or cables — typically using radio waves through transmitting and receiving antennas or television antenna aerials...
television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
, which is owned and presided over by Gustavo Cisneros
Gustavo Cisneros
Gustavo A. Cisneros Rendiles is a Venezuelan media mogul of Cuban descent. He is among the world's richest men according to Forbes magazine, which estimated his fortune at $4.2 billion in 2010 The New York Times calls Cisneros, "one of Latin America’s most powerful figures" and says he and his...
. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, many of Venevisión's popular programs have been seen on the Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
network until 2009.
History
The company's roots date back to May 4, 1953, with the establishment of Televisión Venezolana Independiente S.A, (Televisa)Televisa (Venezuela)
Televisa , officially known as the Televisión Independiente, S.A. became the first privately-owned television station to begin operations in Venezuela. It was the second television station to begin operations after the state-owned Televisora Nacional...
, which operated the channel 4 in Caracas and channel 5 in Maracaibo. When TELEVISA went bankrupt in 1960, Diego Cisneros purchased the remaining assets of the company. On February 27, 1961, Venevisión was officially inaugurated with a special inaugural show in which thousands of people attended, and took place in the stations parking lot
Parking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
. Venevisión began with a capital of 5,500,000 bolívares
Venezuelan bolívar
The bolívar fuerte is the currency of Venezuela since 1 January 2008. It is subdivided into 100 céntimos and replaced the bolívar at the rate of Bs.F. 1 = Bs...
and 150 employees including artists, administrators, and technical personnel. Venevisión's original administrators were Diego Cisneros (president), Alfredo Torres (transmission manager), Héctor Beltrán (production manager), and Orlando Cuevas (general manager).
Initially, Venevisión broadcast live because they hadn't yet installed the videotape system
Videotape
A videotape is a recording of images and sounds on to magnetic tape as opposed to film stock or random access digital media. Videotapes are also used for storing scientific or medical data, such as the data produced by an electrocardiogram...
. Except for the news, the elaboration of their programs utilized the technical formats used in movies at that time. In a short period of time, Venevisión greatly expanded nationally, and was seen in most of Venezuela on many VHF and UHF channels.
In March 1961, the newly created Venevisión and the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television network, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, signed two agreements: one for technical support and the other for the rights to broadcast each others programs. Thanks to these agreement, Venevisión later began using the videotape system. In their first year of existence, Venevisión made approximately 800,000 bolívares a month in advertisements.
In 1976, Venevisión moved their transmitters, which were located on the top of a building in La Colina, a neighborhood in Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
where Venevisión's studios can be found, to Los Mecedores, near Venezolana de Televisión
Venezolana de Televisión
Corporación Venezolana de Televisión or VTV is a state-owned television network based in Caracas, Venezuela, which can be seen throughout the country on channel eight...
's studios and CANTV
CANTV
CANTV is one of the first telephone service enterprises in Venezuela, founded in 1930. The company was re-nationalized in 2007.As of May 9, 2008, Cantv’s customer base numbered 10.1 million mobile subscribers, 5.2 million fixed telephony subscribers and 1,000,000 broadband subscribers.- Origins...
's installations. In Los Mecedores, a tower with an altitude of 100 meters was placed and a powerful new antenna was installed. With this new antenna, Venevisión's signal was able to reach Petare
Petare
Petare is a city in Miranda, Venezuela, and is part of the urban area of Caracas. It is the located in the Sucre Municipality, one of the five divisions of Caracas. The city was founded in 1621 under the name of San Jose de Guanarito...
, Caricuao
Caricuao
Caricuao is a district of Caracas, Venezuela. It is part of Libertador municipality.It is named after a powerful indigenous chief of the Caracas tribe, who fought bravely against the Spaniard Conquistadores; he and Tiuna chief were the first indigenous leaders to set up "armies" on their tribes to...
, and Guarenas
Guarenas
Guarenas is a city in Miranda, Venezuela. It was established in 1621 as Nuestra Señora de Copacabana de los Guarenas. On February 27, 1989, a morning protest in this city over the recent nationwide hike in bus fares, spread to Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, which resulted in several days of...
with better quality. In the 1970s, like other television stations in Venezuela, Venevisión began experimenting with color broadcasts. In 1978, the Ministry of Transport and Communications fined Venevisión 4,000 bolívares on two different occasions in one week for violating the regulations for color broadcasting.
In 1982, Venevisión began preliminary work in the city of El Tigre
El Tigre
El Tigre is a city in the eastern Venezuelan state of Anzoátegui. This city is the shire town of the Simón Rodríguez Municipality and, according to the 2001 Venezuelan census, the municipality has a population of 147,800.-History:...
(located in the Anzoátegui State
Anzoátegui
Anzoátegui State , is one of the 23 component states of Venezuela, located in the northeastern region of the country. Anzoátegui is well known for its beautiful beaches that attract many visitors. Its coast consists of a single beach approximately 100 km long...
) to install equipment that would expand and improve their coverage in that region.
On November 1, 1986, Venevisión was the first television station in Venezuela to have their very own satellite dish.
On May 27, 1987, The president Jaime Lusinchi
Jaime Lusinchi
Jaime Ramón Lusinchi is a Venezuelan politician who was the President of Venezuela from 1984 to 1989. His term was characterized by an economic crisis, growth of the External debt, populist policies, currency depreciation, inflation and corruption that exacerbated the crisis of the political...
, Venevisión begin broadcast license in Venezuela on 20 years.
On February 4, 1992, Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez
Carlos Andrés Pérez Rodríguez , also known as CAP and often referred to as El Gocho , was a Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela from 1974 to 1979 and again from 1989 to 1993. His first presidency was known as the Saudi Venezuela due to its economic and social prosperity thanks to...
addressed the nation from Venevisión's studios during a coup attempt
Venezuelan coup attempts of 1992
The Venezuelan coup attempts of 1992 were an abortive coup d'état led by Hugo Chávez in February 1992, and a second attempted coup in November 1992, directed by others. The coups were directed against the Carlos Andrés Pérez government...
against his government.
Beginning on March 22, 1992, Venevisión would broadcast for 24 hours on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. In April 1994, it started broadcasting for 24 hours seven days a week. Today, Venevisión is on the air 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In 1995, Venevisión was the first television station in South America to include news and movies with closed caption and the movies in Second audio program
Second audio program
Second audio program , also known as secondary audio programming, is an auxiliary audio channel for analog television that can be broadcast or transmitted both over the air and by cable TV.-Usage:...
sound.
Venevisión held the broadcasting rights to Venezuelan baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
games during the 2004-2005 and the 2005-2006 baseball seasons.
Since Venevisión was inaugurated in 1961, their mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
has been a tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
.
In 2007, it started simulcasting Copa America
Copa América
The Copa América —previously known as South American Championship—is an international football competition contested between the men's national teams of CONMEBOL, the sport's continental governing body...
and Miss Venezuela
Miss Venezuela
The Miss Venezuela contest is the national beauty pageant of Venezuela and has been held since 1952. It is responsible for selecting the country's representatives to the Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss Earth and Miss International pageants .Under the direction of Osmel Sousa, Venezuela has...
2007 in high-definition format.
International broadcasts
Many of Venevisión's programs can be seen in other countries on Venevisión ContinentalVenevisión Continental
Venevisión Continental is a Venezuelan television network owned by Venevisión and is seen through Latin America on DirecTV channel 774 until September 15 2006. It was inaugurated on August 28, 2000. Old shows from Venevisión are seen on it as well as newscasts from Caracol TV, a Colombian...
, Venevision Plus
Venevision Plus
'Venevision Plus is a cable television channel within the Grupo Cisneros, controlled by tycoon Gustavo Cisneros, which holds 100% stake channel. Venevision Plus is based in Miami and from December 1, 2007, its signal is transmitted in Venezuela, while in 2008 came to Chile, Mexico and Argentina...
, Venevision International
Venevisión International
Venevisíon International is a global television network which broadcasts Spanish content in the United States and in other locations around the globe....
a cable channel completely owned by Venevisión. Other channels, such as Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Televisa
Televisa
Televisa is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate, the largest mass media company in Latin America and in the Spanish-speaking world. It is a major international entertainment business, with much of its programming airing in the United States on Univision, with which it has an exclusive contract...
in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, broadcast some of Venevisión's shows.
Political position
Venevisión was a vocal opponent of President Hugo ChávezHugo Chávez
Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the 56th and current President of Venezuela, having held that position since 1999. He was formerly the leader of the Fifth Republic Movement political party from its foundation in 1997 until 2007, when he became the leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela...
's government up until 2005, when its criticism was notably toned down. On April 11, 2002, Venevisión, along with most of the other private networks in Venezuela, simultaneously showed Chávez's address to the nation in split screen with the shooting of people in a demonstration prior to the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt. The next day, Isaías Rodríguez announced in a news conference
News conference
A news conference or press conference is a media event in which newsmakers invite journalists to hear them speak and, most often, ask questions. A joint press conference instead is held between two or more talking sides.-Practice:...
that Chávez had not resigned and that there had been a coup.
Opponents of Chávez claim that the government is abusing freedom of speech and press, especially after periodic inspections of the Venezuelan National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL) and the implementation of the controversial Social Responsibility in Radio and Television Law (best known as Ley Resorte).
Lately, Venevisión has been criticized by the Venezuelan opposition and Anti-Chávez groups. Since the Presidential election in 2006
Venezuelan presidential election, 2006
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela held presidential elections on 3 December 2006, to choose a president for the six-year term to begin on 10 January 2007...
, Venevisión has quieted its opposition to Chávez, similar to rival Televen
Televen
Televen is a private Venezuelan national television network headquartered on the Caracas neighborhood of Horizonte. For this reason it's also called Canal de Horizonte. Televen was inaugurated as the ‘’TELEVEN Corporation’’ on July 3 1988 by Omar Camero and Radioven, S.A...
after the 2004 recall referendum. For the presidential election, Venevision devoted 84% of its coverage to Chavez's positions, and only 16% to the opposition. Many in the opposition and the other anti-Chávez TV networks, RCTV
RCTV
Radio Caracas Televisión Internacional is a Venezuelan cable television network headquartered in the Caracas neighborhood of Quinta Crespo. It was sometimes referred to as the Canal de Bárcenas. Owned by Empresas 1BC, RCTV Internacional was inaugurated as Radio Caracas Televisión on 15 November...
and Globovisión
Globovisión
Globovisión is a 24-hour television news network in Venezuela. It broadcasts over-the-air in Caracas, Aragua, Carabobo and Zulia on UHF channel 33. Globovisión is seen in the rest of Venezuela on cable or satellite and worldwide from their website...
, saw it as a betrayal, and accused Venevisión to submitting to Chávez. The criticism of Venevisión by the opposition increased during the closure of RCTV
May 2007 RCTV protests
The May – June 2007 RCTV protests were a series of protests in Venezuela that began in the middle of May 2007. The cause of the protests was the refusal by the government to renew the broadcasting license of Venezuela's oldest private television network, Radio Caracas Televisión , instead creating...
by the Chávez government. RCTV was the most watched channel in Venezuela, and Venevisión was second. Many viewed Venevision of secretly supporting the closure since it would benefit itself. Cisneros, however, said he expected only around a 5% increase in advertising revenue, after accounting for inflation.
See also
- List of programs broadcast by Venevision
- List of Venezuelan television channels
- Venevisión ContinentalVenevisión ContinentalVenevisión Continental is a Venezuelan television network owned by Venevisión and is seen through Latin America on DirecTV channel 774 until September 15 2006. It was inaugurated on August 28, 2000. Old shows from Venevisión are seen on it as well as newscasts from Caracol TV, a Colombian...
- Venevisión Internacional
- Venevision PlusVenevision Plus'Venevision Plus is a cable television channel within the Grupo Cisneros, controlled by tycoon Gustavo Cisneros, which holds 100% stake channel. Venevision Plus is based in Miami and from December 1, 2007, its signal is transmitted in Venezuela, while in 2008 came to Chile, Mexico and Argentina...