Contenidos Públicos (State Company of Public Content) defines itself as a state-owned company that manages the television broadcasters Encuentro, Paka Paka, Deportv and the streaming platform Contar. Some of the productions of these channels are also aired on the public television Channel 7. The channels specialize in educational content (Contar), children’s content (Paka Paka), documentaries and fiction series (Encuentro) and sports (Deportv).
Media assets
Television: Canal Encuentro, Paka Paka, Deportv, Contar
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
Contenidos Públicos is governed by regulations that are included in a decree of creation and statute.
Contenidos Públicos is a state-owned body that is subordinated to the Ministry of Media and Public Communication, which in turn reports to the Head Office of Ministers. The ministry appoints the management of Contenidos Públicos.
The Encuentro Channel, created by the Decree 533/2005, was originally only a content producer, later “recognized” by the National Education Act 26206 and subordinated to the Ministry of Education. Today, it is, like all of Contenidos Públicos channels, under the Ministry of Media.
The three members on the company’s board of directors are appointed by the government, based on nominations from the Ministry of Media.
Source of funding and budget
In 2023, Contenidos Públicos received state funding totalling ARS 1.15bn (US$ 3.3m), according to a government report. The state funding is the main source of financing for Contenidos Públicos.
Editorial independence
As the directors of the channels that are part of Contenidos Públicos are appointed by the government, the editorial decision-making process is tightly controlled by the government. However, some of these channels offer some room for independence and diversity because part of the production is delegated to third-parties, which means that various programs are produced with the involvement of academics, universities, documentary-makers, journalists and independent producers.
Many of these productions are favoring left-leaning views and ideas, as those promoted by the government. This being said, they are based on solid research and are made using high quality standards. For example, the series Watch The History that reviews the history of Argentina has been produced with great technical and research skills, but it is visibly biased in favor of Nestor and Cristina Kirchner who ruled when the documentary was made. On the website of Contenidos Públicos it can be read that “the state does not cede its place as a story builder.”
No domestic statute and no independent mechanism to assess or validate the editorial independence of Contenidos Públicos have been identified.
August 2023