Venezolana de Televisión

Venezolana de Televisión
Launched	August 1, 1964
Owned by	State-Owned Enterprise under administration of the Ministry of Communication and Information
Picture format	480i (SDTV)
Slogan	All Venezuelan's Channel (Spanish: El Canal de todos los Venezolanos)
Language	Spanish
Broadcast area	Venezuela
Affiliates	ANTV Avila TV Buena Televisión teleSUR ViVe
Headquarters	Caracas, Venezuela
Website	VTV.gob.ve
Availability
Terrestrial
Local UHF Venezuela	Channel 8 (Caracas and most of the country)
Satellite
Direct TV Venezuela	Channel 108
Cable
Intercable Venezuela	Channel 8
NetUno Venezuela	Channel 7
Supercable Venezuela	Channel 8
Internet television
VTV	Watch live (Windows Media stream)

Corporación Venezolana de Televisión (Spanish for: Venezuelan Television Corporation) or VTV (Spanish pronunciation: [beteˈβe]) is a state-owned television network based in Caracas, Venezuela, which can be seen throughout the country on channel eight. Programs that can be seen on VTV include Aló Presidente and Noticias TeleSUR.

VTV has produced a number of telenovelas, including titles such as Infigenia, La Doña Perfecta, and La Dueña. 1984's La Dueña was perhaps its most successful and popular production. In 2004, VTV produced another telenovela, Amores de Barrio Adentro, but it was only seen once a week and lasted only a few months. In August 2004, VTV celebrated its 40th anniversary.

History

Private channel (1964 - 1974)

Cadena Venezolana de Televisión (CVTV) was inaugurated as a privately-owned television station on August 1, 1964, at 7:30 p.m.^[1] President Raúl Leoni was chosen to be the one to cut the ribbon. Despite its name, however, it was not a nationwide television network.^[2]

State channel (1974 - present)

In September 1974, CVTV, after prolonged financial problems due to its competition with the better established privately-owned television networks in Venezuela, Radio Caracas Televisión and Venevisión, was purchased by the Venezuelan government and rebranded as Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).^[3] Between 1974 and 1980, VTV was funded in whole by the government, but due to an internal economic crisis, VTV was forced to air advertisements for extra revenue (this has no longer been occurring since Hugo Chávez became president in 1999).^[4]

After June 1, 1980, VTV, as well as the other television networks in Venezuela, were allowed, by the government of President Luis Herrera Campins, to transmit completely in color.^[5]

In 1989, VTV, after a government decision to close the Televisora Nacional, the other state-owned television channel in Venezuela, began simulcasting on channel 5, system M, color NTSC. This simulcast lasted until December 4, 1998, when the government handed over the signal of channel five to the Archbishopric of Caracas, which gave birth to Vale TV.

In 1999, VTV used a logo identical to the nicknamed "Exploding Pizza" ident used by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Politics

VTV has several times been targeted during coup attempts. VTV was a target in the 27 November 1992 coup attempt. Military officers, in rebellion against President Carlos Andrés Pérez, attacked the station, and ten station employees were killed. On the evening of the 11 April 2002 coup attempt against Chávez, Enrique Mendoza, then governor of Venezuela's Miranda State, while being interviewed by Venevisión announced "a esa basura de canal la vamos a cerrar" ("We are going to shut down that trashy channel"), referring to VTV. Hours later, the Miranda state police occupied VTV and forced it off the air. It remained off the air until April 14, 2002, when Chávez was returned to power.^[6]

In 2005, the program Dossier was cancelled after its host and producer, Walter Martinez, accused the government of corruption.^[7]

During the Presidency of Hugo Chávez, it is alleged^[who?] that VTV has been used by the government as an instrument to campaign against Venezuela's opposition and Venezuela's privately owned media (Venevisión, Globovisión, Televen, and Radio Caracas Televisión), which have been strongly opposed to Chávez and played a significant role in the 2002 coup. On January 25, 2010 university students from the opposition entered the Channel and had a meeting with VTV's president, to tell him to balance their information and to respect the opposition.

Slogan

Coach bus operated by VTV bearing the channel's logo: “El Canal de todos los venezolanos”.

VTV's slogan is "El Canal de todos los Venezolanos", or "The channel of all Venezuelans".^[8] It had changed temporarily to "Desde adentro", or "From inside" but it has since been changed back.

Presidency

• VTV's current president is Jesús Romero Anselmi. Former VTV presidents include Vladimir Villegas (who is the brother of Ernesto Villegas), Andrés Izarra, Blanca Eeckout, Maripili Hernández, and back in the 1980s, journalist Marta Colomina.
• Jesús Romero Anselmi was the president of VTV before Vladimir Villegas became its president in 2002. In 2005, Romero Anselmi returned to the presidency of VTV.
• During Rafael Caldera's second term as president, there were plans to privatize VTV. It failed when it was realized that VTV would probably not be profitable.

See also

• List of Venezuelan television channels
• Media of Venezuela
• Television in Venezuela
• Avila TV
• Buena Televisión

References

1. ^ Mayobre, José Antonio (1993) (in Spanish). La labor de Sísifo: los intentos de reformar la televisión en Venezuela. Monte Avila Editores Latinoamericana. p. 154. ISBN 978-9800106266. 
2. ^ Leoni, Raúl (1968) (in Spanish). Documentos presidenciales: 11 marzo 1964-11 marzo 1965. Oficina Central de Información. p. 176. 
3. ^ Hernández Díaz, Gustavo (2008) (in Spanish). Las tres “T” de la comunicación en Venezuela. Televisión, teoría y televidentes. Universidad Catolica Andres. p. 67. ISBN 978-9802445509. 
4. ^ Alvaray, Nathalie; Arenas, Zamawa (1992) (in Spanish). La oferta de la televisión venezolana: estudio de un día de programación en 13 televisoras. Tkachenko, Anacristina. Fundación Carlos Eduardo Frías. p. 41. 
5. ^ Mayobre, 1993, p. 152.
6. ^ Human Rights Watch (2008). A decade under Chavez: political intolerance and lost opportunities for advancing human rights in Venezuela. Human Rights Watch. p. 74. ISBN 978-1564323712. 
7. ^ Sreeharsha, Vinod (November 22, 2005). Telesur tested by Chávez video. The Christian Science Monitor.
8. ^ "Comunicación", Volumes 133-136. Boletín "Comunicación". 2006.

External links

• Official Site (Spanish)
• VTV's programming chart for the current week