Currently, the broadcaster operates three channels: 24 hours (dedicated to news), TV Educa Chile (focused on education and culture) and the TVN main channel (with a generalist profile). TVN has a national coverage of 93%. In 2021, the broadcaster launched NTV, a culture-focused channel.
Media assets
Television: TVN, 24 Hours, Educa Chile, NTV
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Public/State-Managed (CaPu)
Ownership and governance
TVN is regulated by Law 19.132 on National Television of Chile that was promulgated in 1992 and amended in 2018. TVN was created as a state-run autonomous company.
Article 4 of the Act stipulates that the company is governed by a board of seven members. The head of TVN is directly appointed by the country’s President, and the other six members are proposed by the President who must seek agreement by the Senate on their appointment for an eight-year mandate. In theory, according to the law, authorities should ensure that the board is diverse and gender-balanced.
Since 1992, TVN has operated based on a self-financing model that gives it some financial independence but does not cut the link between its top managers and the presidential administration. Although the role of the Senate dilutes to some extent the power of the presidential administration over TVN, giving the broadcaster a certain level of editorial freedom, it is still a fragile independence.
Source of funding and budget
According to the law that governs its activities, TVN should not be granted state funds, but operate as a self-sustaining enterprise. In 2016, TVN was faced with a financial crisis that was allegedly caused by the fall in its audience rating. The loss totalled at least CLP 20bn (US$ 25m) as the broadcaster fell to the fourth place in the top of the most viewed channels. In 2018, the Chilean Congress passed Law No 21.085, which amended the Law No 19.132 that governs TVN. The reform included an “extraordinary” government capitalization of up to US$ 47m, which allowed TVN to launch an additional channel (with educational, cultural and children-focused content). The Chilean Ministry of Finance also granted TVN an additional US$ 22.3m for technological upgrades. In 2020, TVN had revenues of some CLP 41.2bn (US$ 55.3m), more or less the same as in the previous year, according to data from the company’s annual report. Most of the income was generated by advertising. Unlike 2019, when it suffered losses, TVN had a profit of CLP 900m in 2020.
The company continued to boost its sales in 2021 and 2022. It had total sales of CLP 55.6bn (US$ 59.7m) in 2022 with net earnings worth CLP 3bn (US$ 3.2m), according to a company report.
Editorial independence
According to a 2020 survey carried out by the National Television Council (Chile’s media regulator), only 15% of people described TVN as “credible.” The bias in favor of authorities is to be blamed for much of that.
The coverage of the 2019 massive street protests in Chile that were triggered by the decision of the Sebastian Piñera’s government to increase the public transport riding fees was very biased, failing to report human rights violations against the demonstrators and focusing instead on the discomfort faced by locals as a result of the demonstrations. The TVN programs also ignored the protesters’ criticism of the media, claiming that they were “intoxicated” by content posted on social media. The station allows views of the opposition in its programming but only when their criticism doesn’t target the president. On the other hand, the content related to the authorities, especially the president, is always favorable (as in this interview with the president where he was hardly challenged by the reporter).
The pressure and censorship continued at TVN. In one of the latest developments, the departure of journalist Matias del Rio, was sharply criticized by the opposition as a result of the censorship still in place at the station.
According to Law 19.132, amended in 2018 by Law 21.085, TVN is guaranteed autonomy from the state. According to the law, the station has to ensure pluralism and objectivity in its programming.
Every five years, the TVN board has to approve and publish a document that makes commitments to the audience about the station’s editorial policy. This document, according to article 2 of the law, is known as Commitment of Compliance with the Public Mission. It is an editorial guidance document for the content aired by TVN’s main channel. However, there is no independent mechanism to assess or oversee TVN’s editorial performance.
August 2023