RCTV, Venezuela’s oldest and most popular television channel before it was shut down 28 May by President Hugo Chávez, will resurface this month on cable, RCTV Director General Marcel Granier said yesterday.
Granier said the privately-owned Radio Caracas Television will broadcast on subscription television from July 16, some six weeks after being shut down when Chávez refused to renew its broadcasting license on grounds the network was conspiring to overthrow him. Granier said RCTV would meanwhile continue to fight for the right to broadcast openly “so that we can reach all of the Venezuelan population without charging anyone.”
“RCTV’s going back on the air is not a victory in the battle against President Hugo Chávez, but a triumph for the public which wants to enjoy our programmes,” Granier said at a press conference. On cable RCTV will offer shows similar to those it used to broadcast, but it will not be investing in new programming, according to Granier, claiming that the government had “stolen” some $140 million worth of equipment.
With its soap opera-heavy programme schedule but also a firmly independent political line often critical of Chávez, RCTV was the country’s most viewed channel, and its shutdown in May provoked widespread protests.
(Source: AFP/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)