Emphasis on national television production: TVES is one year old

Caracas Daily Journal (Jeremy Morgan): The changeover from private sector to state control of Channel Two happened a year ago today, when Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) shut down after more than half a century of broadcasting to make way for TVes, a new public channel.

President Hugo Chavez had declined to renew RCTV's broadcasting license. Officials said TVes would be information based and use independent national productions to nurture the television industry.

On the eve of the debut anniversary, TVes President Lil Rodriguez said Monday it started with 33 independent producers and more than doubled this to 78. They had made 229 productions and put forward 702 program proposals, she added. Any country, she said, needed television made for and by its people. "We're fighting for a television where we show what we are and how we are," she declared. However, there was a hint that a re-think might be under way at TVes. "We must incorporate more international productions, humor and reality shows," she said. The station is broadcasting more sports events.

At the time of takeover, the government's critics claimed TVes would be wall-to-wall propaganda. Some appeared to hit the button before even seeing how things turned out. Industry figures suggest TVes got off to a wobbly start, with audience share dropping into low single digits in the months after the changeover. Just how it's doing now is a matter of debate.

As to RCTV, its enforced move to cable coincided with a change in the pattern of television viewing in Venezuela. The number of cable TV subscriptions rose by 23.5 percent last year. Cable stations' audience share rose last year to 20 percent, and 23 percent last month. This may have reflected rising living standards in an expanding economy. RCTV re-invented itself as a cable station a month after it shut down. It's said to have gotten off to a strong start in a market where the biggest company was Venevisión, and to have since taken over the top slot.