Text of report by Venezuelan newspaper El Universal website on 29 January
[Report by Reyes Theis: "Four Cable Channels That Went Off Air To Be Reactivated"]
Of the six subscription TV channels that went off the air by order of the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel), only RCTV will be left with the status of national audiovisual producer (PNA).
Conatel reported that channels Momentum, TV Chile, American Network, and Ritmoson did not qualify as PNA and therefore could return to the cable operators’ transmission grid.
The go-ahead from the agency that governs the country’s telecommunications came after these TV stations had sent the required documentation, which enabled Conatel to verify the percentage of international programming they were carrying.
The deadline to receive the documentation was two weeks ago. TV Chile’s case even required Chile’s diplomatic efforts.
The only two channels pending a return to the screen are America TV and RCTV International. The former is a Peruvian TV station that has not turned in revenues in full; as soon as the money arrives at Conatel, America TV will be allowed to transmit via cable.
Objections rejected
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro Moros dismissed criticism from sectors and spokesmen in other countries of the measure applied to a number of cable channels in Venezuela.
In a Foreign Ministry press release, he declared, “We do not accept any institution, any government wherever it is, whichever it is, to interfere in Venezuela’s internal affairs.” He claimed: “We do not meddle in the internal affairs of other governments.”
Maduro said that, in respect to those abroad who have opined on the matter, “we have given them a clear, convincing reply in public and in private, and we expect some of these spokesmen to rectify a stance absolutely divorced from the principles of coexistence and the laws that should govern international relations.”
(Source: El Universal website, Caracas, in Spanish 29 Jan 10 via BBC Monitoring)
Related stories:
- RCTV Internacional: government leaves us no options
- Venezuelan TV chief defends suspension of TV Chile
