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Venezuelan Court Rules for TV Station
NewsMax.com Wires Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that an
opposition-aligned TV channel will remain on cable for now, acting just
hours before a government-set deadline that could have yanked it from the
cable lineup.
The Supreme Court of Justice said in a statement that it suspended the
telecommunications commission's order for Radio Caracas Television and other
cable channels to register as national producers, a category that would
require them to interrupt programming to carry some of President Hugo
Chavez's speeches.
With its ruling, the court -- which was selected by the Chavez-dominated
National Assembly -- defused a political standoff and opened the way for it
to consider which cable and satellite channels should be bound by rules
requiring domestic stations to transmit government-mandated programming and
commercials.
The court's constitutional branch said it decided to take up the case,
brought by cable and satellite TV channels, in part due to a lack of
regulations clearly defining "national audiovisual production services" and
which channels fall under that classification.
The channel RCTV International, which has begun transmitting by cable after
being forced off the broadcast airwaves, says it disagrees with the
requirement to register and intends to be an "international channel." The
telecommunications commission had given the channel until midnight Wednesday
to register.
Venezuela's Chamber of Subscription Television asked the court to intervene
and clarify which stations are considered national producers and what
requirements they face, chamber president Mario Seijas said.
He said other channels could be affected and they should not have "to guess
if they are obliged to register" or not.
Hours before the court decision, top RCTV executive Marcel Granier accused
the government of abusing its power.
"We're talking about crimes against human rights here," Granier said. "They
are crimes for which they're going to have to pay. ... We'll see how far it
goes."
Telecommunications Minister Jesse Chacon told Union Radio that RCTV, even as
a cable channel, is still clearly a "national audiovisual production
service" and is required to be properly registered.
Chacon said if RCTV refuses, "it is more for political than economic
reasons."
"It's false that the government is taking it off cable," Chacon told Union
Radio. "The only thing it has to do is register itself to be able to be on
cable."
The country's oldest private channel, RCTV began transmitting on cable and
satellite on July 16, about six weeks after Chavez forced the station off
the air by refusing to renew its broadcast license. The president accused
the station of supporting a 2002 coup that briefly removed him from power
and of repeatedly violating broadcast laws, replacing RCTV with a
public-service channel.
Many of Venezuela's media outlets are still privately owned and critical of
Chavez. But the RCTV case has drawn criticism because only one other major
TV broadcaster, Globovision, remains firmly sided with the opposition.
Chavez, who insists freedom of expression is being fully respected,
regularly takes over the airwaves for marathon speeches, requiring channels
to carry portions of them in what is known under Venezuelan law as a
"national network."
RCTV said being forced to carry such mandatory programming would make its
operations "economically nonviable."
While other nations have similar provisions, few presidents use it as often
as Chavez.
Venezuelan Court Rules for TV Station
NewsMax.com Wires Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Venezuela's Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that an
opposition-aligned TV channel will remain on cable for now, acting just
hours before a government-set deadline that could have yanked it from the
cable lineup.
The Supreme Court of Justice said in a statement that it suspended the
telecommunications commission's order for Radio Caracas Television and other
cable channels to register as national producers, a category that would
require them to interrupt programming to carry some of President Hugo
Chavez's speeches.
With its ruling, the court -- which was selected by the Chavez-dominated
National Assembly -- defused a political standoff and opened the way for it
to consider which cable and satellite channels should be bound by rules
requiring domestic stations to transmit government-mandated programming and
commercials.
The court's constitutional branch said it decided to take up the case,
brought by cable and satellite TV channels, in part due to a lack of
regulations clearly defining "national audiovisual production services" and
which channels fall under that classification.
The channel RCTV International, which has begun transmitting by cable after
being forced off the broadcast airwaves, says it disagrees with the
requirement to register and intends to be an "international channel." The
telecommunications commission had given the channel until midnight Wednesday
to register.
Venezuela's Chamber of Subscription Television asked the court to intervene
and clarify which stations are considered national producers and what
requirements they face, chamber president Mario Seijas said.
He said other channels could be affected and they should not have "to guess
if they are obliged to register" or not.
Hours before the court decision, top RCTV executive Marcel Granier accused
the government of abusing its power.
"We're talking about crimes against human rights here," Granier said. "They
are crimes for which they're going to have to pay. ... We'll see how far it
goes."
Telecommunications Minister Jesse Chacon told Union Radio that RCTV, even as
a cable channel, is still clearly a "national audiovisual production
service" and is required to be properly registered.
Chacon said if RCTV refuses, "it is more for political than economic
reasons."
"It's false that the government is taking it off cable," Chacon told Union
Radio. "The only thing it has to do is register itself to be able to be on
cable."
The country's oldest private channel, RCTV began transmitting on cable and
satellite on July 16, about six weeks after Chavez forced the station off
the air by refusing to renew its broadcast license. The president accused
the station of supporting a 2002 coup that briefly removed him from power
and of repeatedly violating broadcast laws, replacing RCTV with a
public-service channel.
Many of Venezuela's media outlets are still privately owned and critical of
Chavez. But the RCTV case has drawn criticism because only one other major
TV broadcaster, Globovision, remains firmly sided with the opposition.
Chavez, who insists freedom of expression is being fully respected,
regularly takes over the airwaves for marathon speeches, requiring channels
to carry portions of them in what is known under Venezuelan law as a
"national network."
RCTV said being forced to carry such mandatory programming would make its
operations "economically nonviable."
While other nations have similar provisions, few presidents use it as often
as Chavez.
