Anti-Chávez RCTV plans new international channel
February 23rd, 2010 - 11:09 UTC
by Andy Sennitt.
A Venezuelan cable TV station known for fierce opposition to President Hugo Chávez says it has accepted new broadcast rules to get back on the air again, after the government last month suspended it. RCTV Internacional was dropped by cable providers in January on government orders for refusing to broadcast some of Chavez’s frequent, lengthy speeches.
RCTV Internacional will now “begrudgingly†broadcast the speeches when required, station-owner Marcel Granier told a news conference. He also announced the launch of a new station, RCTV Mundo, that will broadcast mainly overseas content and will not be subject to the same rules.
Broadcasting authorities must approve the agreement, but it was immediately applauded by Diosdado Cabello, who heads the government’s telecommunications watchdog Conatel. Cable broadcasters which carry more than 30 percent of content produced in Venezuela are now subject to the same rules as non-cable networks, which can have their broadcasts interrupted by presidential speeches at any time.
RCTV International, which produces some of the country’s favorite soap operas, had previously argued it was not a national producer. “If RCTV has gone to Conatel to admit they are national audiovisual producers, they deserve a round of applause,†Mr Cabello said.
Free speech activists and foreign governments have criticized President Chávez for pressuring the RCTV group and other private media outlets. Parent network Radio Caracas de Television disappeared from the airwaves in 2007 when the president refused to renew its license, triggering protests which contributed to Chavez’s first electoral defeat in a referendum later that year.