Venezuela TV set for cable launch

RCTV's owner said cable broadcasts would start 16 July

An opposition-aligned TV station in Venezuela which lost its terrestrial licence in May says it will start broadcasting on cable from Monday.

President Hugo Chavez refused to renew the licence of RCTV, which backed a failed coup against him in 2002.

Radio Caracas TV, Venezuela's oldest private channel, is still challenging his move in the courts.

Cable reaches about 30% of households, but at about $20 (£10) a month is too expensive for many Venezuelans.

"Venezuelans want RCTV and they will have it," RCTV's owner Marcel Granier told a news conference at which he announced that cable broadcasts would begin on 16 July.

"Until we achieve the goal of regaining our signal, we must try to return to the air as soon as possible through alternative means," he said.

RCTV: KEY FACTS Venezuela's oldest private broadcaster, founded in 1953 Only opposition broadcaster with national reach n 2002, broadcast opposition calls to overthrow Chavez Airs large numbers of soap operas and reality shows

RCTV's frequency and its equipment were taken over by a new state-funded channel, TVES.

The end of RCTV's broadcasts on 28 May sparked demonstrations both for and against its demise.

President Chavez's supporters criticised the channel for having openly backed attempts to remove him from power, while critics denounced his refusal to renew RCTV's licence as an attack on freedom of expression.

Criticism

RCTV and the other three major TV channels, Venevision, Globovision and Televen, are all owned by high-profile businessmen.

Mr Chavez previously referred to these tycoons - whose channels promoted an eight-week general strike at the end of 2002 - as the "four horsemen of the apocalypse".

Venevision and Televen have since broadcast less criticism of the government while Globovision has maintained its critical stance, correspondents say.

Venevision's owner, Gustavo Cisneros, who is one of South America's richest businessman, made a televised speech on Wednesday saying his channel would not take sides.

Mr Cisneros said the events of 2002 and a subsequent referendum in 2004, when voters decided Mr Chavez should serve out his term, had convinced him "that a TV channel cannot nor should be a protagonist in a political conflict".