Weekly Report - 26 July 2007 (ISSN 1741-7422)

On 16 July RCTV, renamed Radio Caracas Televisión Internacional, resumed broadcasting round the clock via subscription-based cable and satellite channels. This means that it is addressing a much smaller market (20% of households), albeit one that is growing fast (14% last year). A few days earlier, Cisneros had felt compelled to defend himself against suspicions aroused by the fact that Venevisión - as anti-Chávez as RCTV, up to and beyond the abortive 2002 coup - had been granted a renewal of its broadcasting licence the same day that RCTV's expired. His argument that he believed TV "cannot and must not play a starring role in politics" did not convince.

Cisneros was forced to explain again when articles in the US press strongly suggested that he had struck a deal with Chávez at a meeting in June 2004 in the presence of former US president Jimmy Carter. He denied outright that any such pact had been struck, echoing similar denials by Chávez himself. However, after that date, Venevisión drastically cut down its anti-Chávez content and ceased airing the opposition's views. The other big open TV station, Televí¨n, followed suit, leaving Globovisión as the sole strong critic.

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