Bolivia TV

The bid was won by Spanish company Industrias Electrónicas y Electromecánicas (INELEC), by means of Supreme Decree 8262 of February 20, 1968, for the television network in the cities of La Paz, Cochabamba, Oruro, Santa Cruz, Potosí and Sucre, at the total cost of US$2,487,900.

[9] Given the rumors of the closure of Congress and the desire of the government of that time to have power over the country to become a dictator,[10] President René Barrientos Ortuño signs the Supreme Decree 08395, on June 19, 1968, with which he founded the Bolivian Radio and Television Company (RTB), and later, with Supreme Decree 8571 (November 20, 1968) decides to change the name to Empresa Nacional de Televisión Boliviana (or by its acronym, ENTBOL).

At that time, a contract was signed with the Spanish company, INELEC, in order to advise and contribute to the installation of the State Television Channel.

[15] Initially, the coverage area was limited to La Paz, from a studio located in El Alto, with the signal reaching the capital and the mining centers.

[16] Ovando Candia's government signed Supreme Decree 9352 on August 20, 1970 giving the company to the Ministry of Information and a three-member board.

[8] Of a state nature, two years later it became the tool with which the dictatorship of Hugo Bánzer tried to neutralize the influence of the mining stations, and to prevent them from operating successfully.

However, before they were assigned, his regime suffered a coup by General García Meza, who promptly re-established the state monopoly on television, and appointed military rectors in the universities, so that its channels came under the close control of the Ministry of the Interior.

The government adopted PAL-M as the color television deployment in April 1976, following its introduction coming from Supreme Decree 13381 on February 20 that year.

However, the television station owned by the Juan Misael Saracho University of Tarija opted for the NTSC format from April 13 that year, contradicting the decree.

[20] During the governments of presidents Hernán Siles Zuazo (1982–1985) and Víctor Paz Estenssoro (1985–1989), Televisión Boliviana showed greater political plurality, including spaces for the opposition and more objective journalism .

The environment changed in 1984, as Siles Zuazo favored freedom of the press, contrary to what the Ministry of Information's stance of television as a medium under state control.

In the political turmoil that shook the country in the two years and two months that followed, the station was unable to adopt a defined information line and its programming showed a gradual deterioration that did not improve until the decline of its corporate identity.

[31] The network gives its social media success to its educational gameshow La Academía del Saber, whose individual TikTok profile surpassed a million followers.

A month later, in October of the same year, from its experimentation in the Folkloric Entrance of the Oruro Carnival, Bolivia TV launched its own signal in HD.

Before becoming Bolivia TV, Televisión Boliviana had the mission of educating, informing and entertaining and each general manager decided how many hours and which programs were aired.

The program invited international stars such as Julio Iglesias and Luis Aguilé, aiming to attract greater impact in its viewers, similar to entertainment shows in Argentina.

After 1987, the station was known as "the channel of the Holy Spirit" (el canal del Espíritu Santo) because, due to its low power and constant interference from other media outlets, the signal could not be fully received.

Having released a new 10 kW transmitter and new equipment donated by the Government of Spain, in a short time they began to show defects, needed spare parts and stopped working.

It was in each special event like the 1994 USA World Cup when TVB showed its power and coverage, reaching with its repeaters to places that were not covered by private stations.

As of 2012, the network takes up the cultural agenda with transmissions of folk festivals that took place throughout the country apart from the "Carnaval de Oruro", such as the "Integration Entrance" from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

From 2012 to the beginning of 2013, Bolivia TV broadcast Disney and Nickelodeon children's productions but it was not successful[clarification needed], especially in the city of El Alto due to the claims of social organizations.

[36] Upon Jeanine Añez's entry to government, the logo turned white with the slogans Un canal en transición (A channel in transition) and Semilla de la democracia (Seed of democracy).

On December 27, 2019, the new branding was officially presented: A rhombus formed by a pita or also called pitita with the three characteristic colors of the Bolivian flag (red, yellow and green) along with the B.

In the statement presented to the public, the following highlights: “With color, diversity and integration; channel 7 renews its image at 51 years of life.

In addition, it highlights the unity, integrity, hope and culture of the Bolivian people.”[38] Bolivia TV under the government of Evo Morales was known for having propaganda figures fronting programs instead of regular presenters.

[42] After the siege of the mobilizations on November 10, 2019, from 12:00 to 16:30 Bolivia TV cut its broadcasts and replaced it with a letter of adjustment with the current logo of the channel.

Bolivia TV had its broadcast interrupted, with the channel's then-current logo appearing as a static image, due to all these situations that have happened in the country.

On March 6, 2020, the communications minister of Jeanine Áñez's administration, Isabel Fernández, dismissed the manager of Bolivia TV, journalist Gonzalo Rivera.

[43] Arguing and holding Rivera responsible for “coordination errors”, and specifically a cut in one of the Constitutional President's speeches, according to Fernández's version.

[47] On May 7, 2020, the Minister of Communication, Isabel Fernández, revealed information that from 2011 to 2019, spending on advertising for Evo Morales' administration reached 1,718 million bolivianos, of which 111.2 million Bolivians went to the state channel, and the rest were mentioned to the national channels ATB, PAT, Red Uno, Bolivisión, Abya Yala TV, RTP Bolivia, Cadena A and Gigavisión that were involved in said multimillion-dollar waste,[48] followed by Unitel and other media in Bolivia.

Logo used from 2019 to 2020
Logo used from 2019 to 2020