Launched in 1999 by producer Yair Dori, it brought Latin American telenovelas to the Israeli market, which are still the backbone of the channel's schedule, though more recently, similar productions from Korea, India and Turkey also made it to its offer.

[1] In 1987, while working at Hagim (חגים), he and his brother Daniel started importing Argentine cultural content to Israel.

Initially limited to cassette tapes of Latin American musicians, the introduction of cable television saw his business grow to the video market.

[2]: 153-154  In 1992, Dori secured Israeli rights to Canal 13's Antonella, achieving huge success to such an extent that it led, in 1994, to the visit of its lead actress Andrea del Boca.

[2]: 158-159 [3] This was followed by the visits of the Argentine and Brazilian national football teams as well as a string of Latin American celebrities.

Viva claimed that the lack of advertising was "artificially limiting the channel's sources of income" with the aim of reducing its output to the viewing audience.

[7] The rising interest in the Spanish language led to the creation of Viva el Español (ויוה אל אספניול) in 2004, produced for the channel with assistance from the Tel Aviv Cervantes Institute.

At launch time, the channel aired additional telenovelas that didn't fit on Viva's schedule as well as teledramas or movies on Thursdays, which were repeated on Fridays and Saturdays.

[18] Viva Premium (ויוה פרימיום) airs a wide assortment of telenovelas and related drama series from around the world.