Politics
For 53 years, people had at home the free signal of TV channel RCTV. However, on May 27, 2007, following an order issued by President Hugo Chávez at Tiuna Fort a couple of months earlier, the channel went off the air. But people resolved to pay for the signal and subscribed to cable TV.

In short time, the new enterprise, RCTV Internacional, ranked first, especially in low-income sectors, which had been its main fans. Two years and a half later, the government retaliated again and removed the new signal, based on regulations that make economic survival unfeasible.

The reasoning came from RCTV Internacional general manager Daniela Bergami, who has been for 20 years responsible for the complex TV business. What is the reason for the government merciless attacks on the channel, whose evolution has been witnessed by so many generations of Venezuelans?

The explanation is manifold. However, the president himself has expressed time after time his fear for what he regards as a dangerous foe -the media. "Owners of TV channel should be imprisoned, behind bars, for being coupsters and terrorists. Where is (the National Communications Commission) Conatel? They already started to call a coup d'état on TV channels, as well as a march without return until Chávez steps down (…) Why don't you punish TV channels; you have the power. Do it! And if you don't dare, I will sign the appropriate decision."

The government substantiated its decision not to renew the broadcast concession for RCTV upon the grounds that such signal was needed to set up a channel for public service. Thus, TVES was born. Despite having taken possession of the whole RCTV transmission network, the largest in the country, just in three years TVES turned into the major communications failure ever, with an audience below 2 percent.

RCTV new status made it change and take an international approach through the cable.

With RCTV Internacional, a 25-year-old business based in the United States, it opted to open a subscription TV producer. The payroll was cut from 3,000 in-house and 2,000 outsourced staff to 1,500 employees. Internal reengineering led it to open new windows looking over the international market. Now, it had to compete with 140 TV stations.

Against all odds, in less than four months, RCTV International ranked first in the rating of subscription TV and became the most watched channel with 124 percent above AGB, the second channel. Only in one month, RCTV Internacional summed up 12.1 million watchers from all social classes.

There are presently in Venezuela more than 130 cable TV operators of every size and volume, including small operators slotted in underprivileged barrios with a supply of four channels only.

Another ambush
On December 22, a new rule for subscription TV was released in the Official Gazette. The directive makes a distinction between domestic and foreign producers. Domestic producers, for instance, should meet multiple requirements which make national production and the whole business unfeasible. In addition to airing obligatory simultaneous broadcasts and government propaganda, spots are limited to the end of each program.

In the opinion of Daniela Bergami, the regulation arrests any possibility of international adaptation for a business that was born with an international vocation. "Why was this measure taken? Because 40 percent of the E class (the underprivileged) has access to subscription TV. Why do they want to consider us a domestic production business? Because in this way, they can control or restrain contents, newscasts, talk shows; they can enforce a law which is absolutely discretionary, absolutely subjective and that ordered cable TV operators to close us."

"We occupied the first place in absolute terms and this annoyed the government," Bergami said. "Domestic production in Venezuela is being destroyed in all areas. On the contrary, its people have always had a great production capacity, particularly in the field of television. Venezuelan soap operas have set the guidelines everywhere in the world, and have been replicated. RCTV is a school. There is talent which, due to these measures, will be unable to be exported, because foreign channels will opt for Argentinean, Colombian or Brazilian products."
folivares@eluniversal.com

Translated by Conchita Delgado

Francisco Olivares
EL UNIVERSAL