Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV)

World Screen Weekly, January 25, 2007

At the end of December, Hugo Chávez, the president of Venezuela, announced that the broadcast license of Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) would not be renewed when it expires at the end of May.

“There will be no new concession for this coup-plotting channel, known as Radio Caracas Televisión [RCTV]!” Chávez proclaimed, in a tone reminiscent of dictatorial regimes that the free world thought were confined to the pages of history. “The measure has already been prepared, so they might as well go ahead and turn off their equipment,” continued Chávez. “No media will be tolerated that is at the service of coupism, against the people, against the nation, against the dignity of the Republic. Venezuela is to be respected!”

RCTV, which has been on the air since 1953 and is Venezuela’s oldest private TV station, has been a consistent opponent of the Chávez government. The broadcaster and the president have not only been at odds over policy, they also disagree over the terms of the license. RCTV maintains that its license is valid until 2022, while the government claims it was granted in 1987 for 20 years and therefore will expire in May.

Chávez was re-elected in a landslide victory in December, garnering 63 percent of the vote. After deciding to nationalize several of the country’s services, including the telco CANTV, he seems intent on transforming Venezuela’s media landscape. In fact, once RCTV’s license expires on May 28, Chávez wants to switch it to a “community” station, which in his view, would help democratize the airwaves by offering “communication power to those who almost never have a voice.”

This action has drawn national attention and concern, prompting statements from the Organization of American States, the Roman Catholic Church, the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders and the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.

Nowhere, however, has reaction been more immediate than in Venezuela and within the Latin American TV industry.

“RCTV is going through a very interesting time and this is a crucial moment in the history of Latin American media,” says Eladio Lárez, the president of RCTV. “Legally, [denying the renewal of our license] would be an abuse, since we have the license until 2022. What has happened is a verbal threat on behalf of the Venezuelan authorities.”

Lárez adds that revoking the license would be absurd. “RCTV is the audiovisual history of a nation and it is impossible to wipe it out. The decision not to renew our license was made for political reasons. We have 3,000 employees who depend on us. We received extraordinary solidarity from our friends abroad.”

One message of support came from Mario San Román, the CEO of TV Azteca in Mexico, who says that in today’s competitive media environment, “it’s a shame to see a country that was making so much progress in television as well as in other sectors, now start moving backwards. I don’t think that any in country media should be under the control of the state, because this prevents people from expressing differing points of view.”

Alejandro Parra, the CEO of Telefe International, the commercial arm of Argentina’s leading broadcaster Telefe, shares San Román’s concern. “At this stage we have to wait and see how things will develop,” says Parra. “We can’t interfere, but as a network we understand that plurality and independence are fundamental in our industry. We are very aware of this situation and very worried about RCTV.”

Marcel Vinay, Jr., the CEO of Comarex, found Chávez’s announcement to be a “shocking surprise.” He adds, “We are saddened for our friends, beyond the fact that they are clients. We support RCTV 100 percent and hope that the situation will be solved in the best possible way.”

RCTV holds the rights to product from Buena Vista International Television (BVITV). Henri Ringel, the VP of sales at BVITV Latin America, expressed support for the broadcaster and echoes Vinay’s wish. “We hope that the situation will be resolved quickly and to the benefit of the entire free-TV industry in Venezuela,” says Ringel.

Germán Pérez Nahim, the general manager of Televen, a private broadcaster in Venezuela, adds, “RCTV is a station that has a history in the television industry and should be praised for what it has accomplished in Venezuela and in the rest of the world,” he says. In fact, numerous telenovelas produced by RCTV have been sold successfully to international markets.

As the May 28 deadline approaches, it remains to be seen whether the top management at RCTV and Chávez’s government can reach some sort of agreement to keep the broadcaster on the air. As RCTV’s Lárez explains, “From a legal standpoint, we are convinced we are right and we continue to work as always.”