Caracol Televisión facts for kids
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| Type | Free-to-air television network |
|---|---|
| Country | Colombia |
| Broadcast area | Colombia |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Spanish |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 480i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Caracol Televisión S.A. (Valorem) |
| Key people |
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| History | |
| Founded | August 28, 1969 (as a television production company) |
| Launched | July 10, 1998 (as a television network) |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Analog VHF/UHF | Listings may vary |
| Digital UHF | Channel 14.1 (HD) Channel 14.2 (HD2) Channel 14.3 (SD) |
Caracol Televisión, often called Caracol, is a big TV channel in Colombia. It's a "free-to-air" channel, meaning you don't need to pay extra to watch it. It's owned by a company called Caracol Medios. Caracol is one of the top private TV channels in Colombia, like Canal RCN and Canal 1. This network makes and shares over 5,000 TV shows and has been seen in more than 80 countries!
Contents
Caracol's Story
Starting as a TV Producer
Caracol Televisión began its journey in 1954. Back then, a radio company called Organization Radiodifusora Caracol suggested a new idea to the only TV channel in Colombia, Televisora Nacional. They wanted to help the TV channel by creating and selling TV shows. This led to the idea of starting the first company just for making TV programs.
In 1955, this idea became real, and a company called TVC (Televisión Comercial Limitada) was formed. Later, in 1967, TVC was given 45 hours of TV programming time each week by the government's TV institute.
In September 1969, TVC changed its name to Caracol Televisión S.A. Their main goal was to create and sell TV shows.
A very popular comedy show called Campeones de la risa started in 1972. It later became Sábados felices (Happy Saturdays) and is still on TV today! Caracol TV kept making more and more shows. By the late 1980s, they were producing popular evening soap operas, also known as telenovelas.
Caracol TV was also part of a group called OTI Colombia. This group helped them get the rights to show big events like the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup in Colombia.
In 1987, the Santo Domingo Group (now called Valórem) bought most of Caracol TV. This helped the company get new technology and improve how it was run.
Becoming a National TV Channel
A new law in Colombia allowed private companies to run their own TV channels. So, on November 24, 1997, Caracol Televisión was given one of two special licenses to become a "national channel of private operation." The other license went to their rival, RCN Televisión.
Caracol TV started testing its new channel on June 10, 1998. They showed the opening ceremony of the 1998 FIFA World Cup live from France. They also re-aired some of their old shows. Caracol Televisión has been showing the matches of the Colombia national football team since 1992, under the name Gol Caracol.
Regular broadcasts for Caracol Televisión began on July 10, 1998. At first, you could only watch it in a few big cities. But soon, it expanded to the rest of the country. Caracol TV and RCN TV became the two main private TV channels in Colombia.
Caracol TV also made deals with other companies. In 2000, they worked with Tepuy, an international TV marketing company. In 2001, they partnered with Walt Disney International to create the La baby sister telenovela. That same year, Caracol TV also teamed up with RTI Colombia and Telemundo for content.
In 2003, Caracol Radio, which used to be a sister company, joined a Spanish group. Even though they separated, Caracol Televisión is still allowed to use the "Caracol" name.
Caracol TV's news program, Noticias Caracol, is part of a news sharing service called Alianza Informativa Latinoamericana. This group, started in 2005, includes the American network CBS.
In 2007, Caracol TV finished building its new main offices in Bogotá. It cost about 30 million dollars!
By 2008, Caracol Televisión became one of the five biggest TV production and distribution companies in Latin America. They had shows in over 50 countries. In February 2009, they launched a new cable channel called Novelas Caracol, which shows old and new telenovelas.
Digital TV broadcasts in Colombia started in 2010, using the DVB-T standard.
In August 2011, Caracol signed an agreement with Arirang TV from Korea. This allowed them to share news, sports, and other interesting topics. They also planned to work together to make TV shows.
In 2012, Valórem, the owner of Caracol TV, started a new radio business called Bluradio. A second music radio station, La Kalle, began in 2016.
In April 2014, Caracol TV temporarily stopped showing its HD channel on most cable and satellite TV providers. They wanted the providers to pay a fee. The HD signal came back briefly for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but then left again. It finally returned to providers in 2017 after a court decision.
Just before the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Caracol HD2 was launched. This is a digital subchannel that shows some sports events and also broadcasts the main HD channel at other times. On September 14, 2016, a third digital subchannel started broadcasting the programming from La Kalle radio station.
In November 2014, Caracol bought an app for an interactive TV game show called TOUCH. It was shown live every evening during prime time.
On June 12, 2015, Caracol Televisión launched Caracol TV Medios. This is a main brand that includes all of Caracol's TV channels and radio stations in Colombia.
In August 2016, the regular definition channel changed its screen shape to 16:9, which is wider.
After not showing them for many years, Caracol TV plans to bring the Olympic Games back to Colombian television, starting with Tokyo 2020.
Radio Stations
In July 2012, Caracol TV started its own radio network called Bluradio. This was their first step back into the radio business. Later, in 2016, they launched another radio station focused on music, called La Kalle.
WGEN-TV in the US
In December 2005, Caracol TV bought a part of a TV station in Miami, Florida, called WGEN-TV. This station showed Colombian and Brazilian telenovelas, plus a news program made in Colombia. It also created its own local shows.
WGEN-TV later became part of MundoFox (which became MundoMax), a network linked to Caracol's rival, RCN TV. This lasted from 2012 until 2016. After that, it joined Azteca América, and then became independent again in 2017.
In 2018, WGEN was sold and became part of Estrella TV.
See also
- Noticias Caracol
- Caracol Internacional
- Television in Colombia
- List of telenovelas of Caracol Televisión
