Televisión Nacional de Chile (TVN) is a Chilean public service broadcaster. It was founded by order of President Eduardo Frei Montalva and it was launched nationwide on 18 September 1969. Since then, the company has been reorganized on several occasions and its operations areas have increased over the years, becoming one of the leading television broadcasters in Chile and South America. Law 17 377 of 1970 established that TVN must be a public, autonomous, pluralistic, and representative public service.[1] TVN's public mission determines the obligation to promote the national cultural identity, the values of democracy, human rights, care for the environment and respect for diversity.[2] Furthermore, Televisión Nacional governs the programming of its services according to criteria established by the National Television Council (CNTV).[3]
Televisión Nacional has been a pioneer in introducing technological advances in Chile. It was the first television network to have national coverage, satellite broadcast, colour television, stereo sound, and high-definition television. Several of their soap operas have reached the highest ratings in the history of Chilean television, and are recognized both in that country and abroad for their social content, realism and settings, while its news programs have been crucial in catastrophes such as the 2010 earthquake and aftermath, when TVN news teams arrived in the affected areas before the National Army and government authorities. Currently, TVN has higher pluralism in its programmes and is the second most credible television news brand in the country.
Its headquarters are located in Providencia, Santiago Metropolitan Region and it employs 638 total staff.[4] Furthermore, TVN has nine additional television centres in the country. The company is directed through a chairperson appointed by the President of the Republic, which has a duration of four years, synchronized with the presidential period. The other six members of the board of directors are appointed three times per period in an agreement between the Senate and the President of the Republic for eight years. To them, a seventh member is added who is chosen democratically by the staff. Currently, the chairperson of Televisión Nacional de Chile is Andrea Fresard, while the executive director and legal representative is Alfredo Ramírez.
Televisión Nacional is the only publicly owned television company in Chile and competes with other private broadcasting networks, having a self-financing scheme based mainly on the advertising sales that it has preserved since its inception and later regulated by Act 19,132 of 1992.[5] TVN, under Act 20,694 of 2013, can fulfill the tasks of the exploitation of television services and the production of audiovisual or broadcasting content, as well as acting as a concessionaire of telecommunications services.[6] Additionally, it is affiliated with the Asociación Nacional de Televisión or Anatel (National Association of Television) and the Council of Self-Regulation and Advertising Ethics, among others.
Worldwide, the channel is gaining recognition thanks to their original TV series 31 Minutos being acknowledged and loved by people outside of Latin America.
History
The origins of television in Chile took ground after the promulgation of the Television Law 7,039 on 28 October 1958, which was the first legislation of its kind in that country. This regulation was decreed and implemented by the government of then President Jorge Alessandri given the need to regulate the only three existing channels in the national territory: Canal 13, Canal 9 and UCV Television, which at that time were university property and therefore were private broadcasters.
The essential need to own a channel belonging to the Chilean State took relevance from the 1960s, as the great challenge that the government of Eduardo Frei Montalva wanted to face, believing ideally, the existence of a public television station with national coverage, capable of transmitting in a territory of large geographical features. To this end, a limited liability company was created whose original partners were the entrepreneurship agency CORFO, the production company Chilefilms and Entel, all of which were public companies at the time, establishing Televisión Nacional de Chile on 31 January 1969 through the telecommunications trunk network of that country and a series of test transmissions that remained until several years later.
1968–69: Development of Televisión Nacional
Establishment
Programming
With diverse programmes, Televisión Nacional de Chile has produced and created its own spaces, as well as in association with various production companies. In addition, it has broadcast information, fiction, foreign content, and sporting events since its inception. Every day the nationwide channel starts its broadcasts with the news programme 24 AM, followed by a space that occupies a large part of the morning programming; During the afternoon two main news programmes are broadcast, 24 Tarde at 1:00 pm and 24 horas central at 9:00 pm, where the last one is considered as the flagship evening news.
The soap operas and series of own production or foreign origin have usually occupied since the beginning of the channel, the afternoon schedule, however, also since 2004, TVN has broadcast soap operas at night. Additionally, in the afternoon, apart from the dramas, programmes such as Rojo are broadcast. In the evening, after 24 horas central, the weather forecast is broadcast on TV Tiempo and then programmes or soap operas. Next, the midnight newscast Medianoche is broadcast. During the weekends, cultural, children's, or political discussion programmes such as El informante and Estado nacional are presented.
The news from Chile and the world is presented under the brand 24 horas since 1990, with several daily editions, and all the news programmes are part of the 24-hours news channel Canal 24 horas that breaks into the national channel's usual programming in an emergency, delivering news bulletins, including live broadcast during earthquakes. Previously the news carried the name of Telediario, Martini al instante, Noticiero, the controversial 60 minutos, TVNoticias, and finally Noticias before its current name.
Special programming
Services
Among its signals is considered a main channel of free reception which transmits by satellite to several repeaters that are located in Chilean territories, having a reach of 98% of the population. It also has nine regional channels with its own production centres, an international service called TV Chile; the news channel Canal 24 Horas and its internet counterpart 24Play; online presence with several sites, the music label TVN Records and a free streaming service called TVN Play.
Regional services
- TVN Red Antofagasta (Antofagasta Region).
- TVN Red Atacama (Atacama Region).
- TVN Red Coquimbo (Coquimbo Region).
- TVN Red Valparaíso (Valparaíso Region).
- TVN Red O'Higgins (O'Higgins Region).
- TVN Red Maule (Maule Region).
- TVN Red Biobío (Bío Bío Region and Ñuble Region
Headquarters and regional centres
The official headquarters of Televisión Nacional de Chile is located in Providencia, Santiago Metropolitan Region. The complex is the home of the national channel, the internet and worldwide services, music label, and Fox Sports Chile. Inaugurated in 1970, the renovation of the building began in 1999 and was completed in 2005. On 1 December 2004, the station suffered a fire due to an electrical failure. The incident caused the interruption of the main channel for one hour. There were no injuries or deaths and four fire companies controlled the fire.
The centre is familiar to many Chilean citizens and is currently a site visited by tour guides. Within the enclosure is an esplanade known as "Patio de las Comunicaciones", occasionally used for corporate events and television programmes. The complex also includes 3 studios for the drama area, a center for domestic, global, and online news divisions and the sports area, a video editing room, an auditorium, warehouses of props, files of documentation, a cafeteria, dressing rooms for artists and technical staff, technical areas, office areas for the board of directors, general management, general secretary, administration and finance, press, as well as 2 levels of underground car parks.
Televisión Nacional de Chile has production centres with newsrooms and studios in Antofagasta, Copiapó, La Serena, Valparaíso, Rancagua, Talca, Concepción, Temuco and Punta Arenas. In addition, a commercial office in Arica y Parinacota Region.
Structure and governance
Chairpersons of the Board of Directors
• 1969–1970: Mario Mosquera
• 1970–1973: Eugenio González Rojas
• 1992–1994: Jorge Donoso
• 1994–2000: Luis Ortiz Quiroga
• 2000–2001: Jorge Navarrete Martínez
• 2001–2004: Marco Colodro Hadjes
• 2004–2006: Carlos Mladinic
• 2006–2007: Francisco Vidal Salinas
• 2008: Pablo Keller Huberman
• 2008–2010: Mario Papi
• 2010–2012: Leonidas Montes Lira
• 2012–2013: Carlos Zepeda Hernández
• 2013–2014: Mikel Uriarte Plazaola
• 2014–2018: Ricardo Solari
• 2018: Francisco Orrego
• 2018–2019: Bruno Baranda
Corporate identity
Mascots
From 1970 to 1973, the network had a mascot named Tevito, accompanied by "Charagua" as characteristic music that was composed by Víctor Jara and performed by Inti-Illimani. After the coup d'état on 11 September 1973, Tevito was suddenly removed from the advertisements, several video tapes where it appeared were destroyed by the Chilean Army, and finally, it was replaced by other characters. However, Tevito was again used symbolically on 11 March 1990, on the day of the presidential inauguration of Patricio Aylwin. Currently, "Charagua" in Chile is usually related to Televisión Nacional as de facto institutional theme.[12]
Tevito
Tevito was a smiling cartoon dog personified in various ways. Sometimes, he was a boxer, sometimes he wore reading glasses, and also disguised himself as a vampire. He played the trutruca, a typical instrument of the Mapuche indigenous people of southern Chile. More often, Tevito, in the manner of a chinchinero, carried on his back a bass drum
See also
- List of television stations in Chile
- Television in Chile
- Public broadcasting
External links
References
- Ley N° 19.132 TVN.cl, retrieved 4 November 2016^
- Ley-21085 03-ABR-2018 Ministerio Secretaria General de Gobierno – Modifica la ley N° 19.132, de Televisión Nacional de Chile Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional, 3 April 2018, retrieved 6 September 2018^
- Consejo Nacional de Televisión: Normas generales sobre contenidos de las emisiones de televisión