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Television in Bolivia arrived in 1967 and is one of the media that integrates the national population. Currently there are 185 stations or television stations in the national territory, most of which are installed in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra with 37 television media outlets. Currently there are 8 networks that cover the entire national area. There are also themed and cable channels.
Following the 1966 Bolivian general election, plans were already underway for a national television service owned by the government. Up until then, Bolivia was served by a small number of closed-circuit experimental systems. Provisions were made for the government to provide a one-year monopoly to the first TV station in Bolivia, scheduled to start before the end of 1966. The state had already reserved three frequencies, channel 5 in La Paz, channel 4 in Cochabamba and channel 3 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. After the prospective first year period ended, the state would allow the creation of private television stations. [1]
Given the rumors of the closure of Congress and the desire of the government of that time to have power over the country to become a dictator, [2] President René Barrientos Ortuño signs the Supreme Decree 08395, on June 19, 1968, with which he founded the Bolivian Radio and Television Company (RTB), and later, with Supreme Decree 8571 (November 20, 1968) decides to change the name to Empresa Nacional de Televisión Boliviana (or by its acronym, ENTBOL). [3]
Due to the death of Barrientos (caused by a helicopter accident in Arque), his vice president, Luis Adolfo Siles Salinas, assumes the presidency, and therefore, continues Barrientos' project before passing away. At that time, a contract was signed with the Spanish company, INELEC, in order to advise and contribute to the installation of the State Television Channel. Many of the members of the technical team were members of the Spanish company, as well as the Bolivian Air Force, in addition to several equipment parts being brought from Spain. [4]
After several test broadcasts, on August 30, 1969, the first television broadcast took place in Bolivian territory, with the creation of Televisión Boliviana based in La Paz and broadcasting in black and white. [5] [6] The monopoly was broken in 1973, when a television station was granted to the Higher University of San Andrés - Sistema Integrado de Televisión Universitaria. [7]
Starting in 1976, more television channels were installed. In 1979 in Bolivia there were already 9 channels, 8 university television channels with regional coverage and one (channel 7) with national coverage. By decree of February 20, 1976, Bolivia adopted the PAL standard for color broadcasts, which, however, presented difficulties for existing equipment, and due to this, on August 1, 1978, it was established that Televisión Boliviana changed its color transmissions using the NTSC system. [8] In April 1984, private channels began to appear and soon reached 35, in urban areas 18 and 17 had provincial coverage (10 private channels in La Paz and 25 channels in the rest of the country).
A microwave link connecting four cities (La Paz, Oruro, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz) known as the Red Troncal de Microondas (Microwave Trunk Network, "Trunk" as in the term "trunk axis" that connects these cities) was set up in 1977. There was intervention from the university stations, with the same law creating an umbrella network for these stations and creating one for Tarija. [9]
Development of private television lagged significantly. The first private television station to be registered, Telesistema Boliviano in La Paz, was founded on November 22, 1983, [10] launching in 1985. [11] The first commercial television station to launch, Red ATB, opened on October 20, 1984, ending the government's monopoly on television. [7] Both ATB (Paceña de Televisión), led by Raúl Garafulic and TSB, led by Carlos Cardona, were among the first such stations to do so. [12]
At the time, shortly after the restoration of democracy in Bolivia, some private channels lacked regulation, opening illegally, and relied heavily on piracy to survive, such as Tele-Sat, channel 5 in La Paz, founded in April 1984. At the same time, the appearance of channel 13 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra (the current Red Uno de Bolivia) did the same. [7] This led to the signing of Decree 21.060, aiming to liberalize the market and give commercial channels a license. [12] In 1986, the government had received seven bids for private television stations in La Paz, of which only five could be legalized as both the state and the university already had their channels. [13]
A new phase began in the 1990s, with the emergence of new media outlets. This led to the domination of at least four commercial television networks, where the bulk of their programming was imported from abroad. [7]
SITEL, the current ATT, held a symposium in 2007 regarding the possibility of introducing digital terrestrial television to Bolivia, "Hacia la TV Digital Terrestre". [9]
In 2009, the government announced a phased roll-out of digital terrestrial television starting in 2012, with a prospective shutdown date of the analog signals scheduled for 2019. The initial plan was to select which system to adopt, granting a US$30 plan to install converter boxes. [14]
After a memorandum of understanding signed with the Japanese government signed on July 20, 2010, the ISDB-T standard was selected as the country's default. [9]
On April 8, 2018, ATT granted requests for sixteen television stations to begin digital terrestrial broadcasts in the trunk axis, with a deadline set for June 30. [15]
With the exception of Unitel, which usually broadcasts from its headquarters in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, most of the channels have their operations concentrated in the Government Headquarters (in the department of La Paz). The channels Unitel, ATB, Red Uno, Bolivisión and (to a lesser extent) Bolivia TV; usually broadcast local newscasts, at least in the cities that make up the main axis (La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz). The only public network is Bolivia TV, the rest being controlled by private businessmen. [16]
Their transmitting plants are commonly located in Ciudad Satélite, located in El Alto. This practice began when Telesistema Boliviano (today, Unitel) established its transmitting antenna in that place. The channels also own their own affiliates, with several exceptions; Red Uno does not operate in Tarija, Chuquisaca and Potosí, but licenses its operations to the company Comunicación Integral S.R.L., while Unitel operates through affiliates in the regions, in order to focus on the main axis, Oruro, Beni and Pando.
| Logo | Name | Type | Slogan | Launch date | Owner | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolivia TV | Generalist | Haciendo historia | August 30, 1969 | Government of Bolivia | Empresa Estatal de Televisión Boliviana |
| Bolivia TV 7.2 | Entertainment | El canal de los deportes | May 29, 2012 | ||
 | Red Uno de Bolivia | Generalist | Para todos | July 1, 1985 | Grupo Kuljis | Red Uno de Bolivia S.A. |
 | Bolivisión | Generalist | Somos parte de ti | September 1, 1985 | Albavisión | Antena Uno Canal 6 S.R.L/Galavisión S.R.L |
 | Unitel | Generalist | Unidos por la tele | September 1, 1987 | Grupo Monasterios | Ecor Ltda. |
 | Cadena A | Generalist | Somos Bolivia, somos Cadena A | 2000 | Compañía Comercial Minera RICACRUZ Ltda | |
 | Red ATB | Generalist | ATB, la red que Bolivia ve | October 20, 1984 | ATBMedia | Illimani de Comunicaciones S.A. |
 | RTP | Generalist | La comunidad de la vida | 10 May 1985 | Sistema RTP | Radiodifusoras Populares S.A. |
 | PAT | Generalist | Siempre junto a ti | 15 September 1990 | Abdallah Daher | Periodistas Asociados de Televisión PAT Ltda. |
Channels with a presence in two or more departments but that, due to their technical or economic limitations, do not cover the nine departmental capitals of the national territory or do not have 90% coverage, excluding cable, satellite or internet television.
| Logo | Name | Type | Launch date | Owner | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F10 HD | Generalist | November 2020 | FFTV Comunicaciones S.R.L. | ||
Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz de la Sierra is Bolivia's largest international airport. Viru Viru handles domestic, regional, and international flights from Bolivia, North America, South America and Europe and serves as a focus city for Bolivia's biggest airline Boliviana de Aviación. The airport is able to handle large aircraft such as the Boeing 747-400, Airbus A340-600 and Boeing 777-300ER.
Cochabamba is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 630,587 according to the 2012 Bolivian census. Its name is from a compound of the Quechua words qucha "lake" and pampa, "open plain." Residents of the city and the surrounding areas are commonly referred to as cochalas or, more formally, cochabambinos.
UNITEL is a Bolivian commercial television network headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. It was founded in 1987 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra as Teleoriente, which in 1997 created the current network and bought two Telesistema Boliviano stations. It is owned by businessman Osvaldo Monasterio Nieme. The company broadcasts sports, entertainment, political programs, and daily news programs nationwide in the South American country.
The Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of Bolivia is a national representative organization of the Bolivian indigenous movement. It was founded in October 1982 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra as the Confederation of Indigenous Peoples of the Bolivian East, with the participation of representatives of four indigenous peoples of the Bolivian East: Guarani-Izoceños, Chiquitanos, Ayoreos and Guarayos.
Bolivisión is a commercial Bolivian television station based in Santa Cruz. The channel was launched on June 17, 1997, following the dissolution of Telesistema Boliviano, the creation of Unitel and the beginning of its relations with Galavisión in Santa Cruz. The network is owned by Albavisión since May 2007.
Televisión Boliviana is the first television channel of Bolivia and serves the only means of television communication from the government. The channel was established in August 1969 under the government of Luis Adolfo Siles after years of planning by the government of then-recently deceased René Barrientos. It is a state-owned broadcasting network.
Boliviana de Aviación, legally incorporated as Empresa Pública Nacional Estratégica Boliviana de Aviación and commonly known as BoA, is the flag carrier airline of Bolivia and is wholly owned by the country's government. Founded in October 2007 and headquartered in Cochabamba, it operates most of its domestic network out of its primary hub at Jorge Wilstermann International Airport and maintains focus cities at El Alto International Airport and Viru Viru International Airport. Almost all international flights, including long-haul services to Madrid and Miami, operate out of Viru Viru airport in Santa Cruz de la Sierra due to the severe limitations of El Alto International Airport in La Paz, located over 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) above sea level.
Red UNO de Bolivia is a national Bolivian television network owned by businessman Ivo Kuljis. It started operations in April 1984. Its most notable programming is Notivisión (news) and "El Mañanero ". It also maintains affiliation deals with three channels in Potosí, Sucre and Tarija.
Red ATB is a television channel in Bolivia. Its origins date back to 20 October 1984 in La Paz, when Paceña de Television began broadcasting. In the late 1980s the name was changed to ATB. The channel is one of the largest networks in Bolivia.
Oscar Miguel Ortiz Antelo is a Bolivian businessman and politician who served as minister of economy and public finance from July to September 2020 and as minister of productive development from May to July 2020. As a member of the Social Democratic Movement, he previously served two terms as a senator for Santa Cruz from 2015 to 2020 on behalf of the Democratic Unity coalition and from 2006 to 2010 on behalf of the Social Democratic Power alliance. Nearing the end of his second term, Ortiz was his party's presidential candidate, attaining fourth place in the annulled 2019 general elections. During his first term, he served as president of the Senate from 2008 to 2010, the last opposition legislator to preside over the upper chamber as of 2024. Outside of national politics, Ortiz served as president of the Union of Latin American Parties from 2018 to 2021 and has been the rector of the Bolivian Catholic University at Santa Cruz since 2021.
Events from the year 2022 in Bolivia.
María Isabel Fernández Suárez is a Bolivian journalist and politician who served as minister of communication from January to June 2020. Fernández was the final official to serve in that post, with the Ministry of Communication being abolished during her term. She subsequently served as vice minister of communication from June 2020 until the conclusion of the transitional government of Jeanine Áñez in November 2020.
María Elva Pinckert Vaca is a Bolivian businesswoman, lawyer, and politician who served as minister of environment and water from 2019 to 2020. Pinckert developed her career in Santa Cruz's agro-industrial heartland, during which time she rose to key positions of regional economic and political influence, including presiding over the Montero Civic Committee and serving as vice president of the Santa Cruz Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Elected to the Montero Municipal Council as a member of the Revolutionary Nationalist Movement in 1999, Pinckert later switched to the New Republican Force, with which she won reelection. In 2009, the party promoted her to the Senate as a substitute senator under Germán Antelo. Amid the disunity brought about by the fragmentation of her parliamentary caucus, Pinckert aligned with the Social Democratic Movement, which nominated her for a full Senate seat. Elected in 2014, Pinckert held office until 2019, when she joined the Áñez administration as head of environmental and water policy. As with many former Áñez ministers, Pinckert faced judicial consequences for her collaboration with the transitional government, leading her to seek refuge in Brazil less than a year after leaving office.
The following is a chronology of notable events from the year 2023 in Bolivia.
RTP, is a Bolivian free-to-air television channel, based in La Paz. It was launched in 1985 by Carlos Palenque and is owned by Sistema Nacional de Radiodifusión Boliviana.
PAT, also called Red PAT, is a Bolivian over-the-air television channel founded in August 1990 by the politician and journalist Carlos Mesa.
Televisión Universitaria, also known as TVU, is a Bolivian over-the-air television station, launched on March 1, 1973, by the Gabriel René Moreno Autonomous University. It broadcasts on VHF channel 11, as part of the Red Universitaria Boliviana de Información in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
Televisión Universitaria Cochabamba is a Bolivian terrestrial television station owned by the Higher University of San Simón. The station is part of Red RUBI.
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