Venevisión

Venevisión (Spanish pronunciation: [beneβiˈsjon]) is a Venezuelan free-to-air television channel and one of Venezuela's largest television networks, owned by Grupo Cisneros.

The company's roots date back to May 4, 1953, with the establishment of Televisión Venezolana Independiente S.A, (Televisa), which operated the channel 4 in Caracas and channel 5 in Maracaibo. When TELEVISA went bankrupt in 1960, Diego Cisneros purchased the remaining assets of the company. On February 27, 1961, Venevisión (a portmanteau based on Televisión Venezolana from Televisión Venezolana Independiente) was officially inaugurated with a special inaugural show in which thousands of people attended, and took place in the station's parking lot. Venevisión began with a capital of 5,500,000 bolívares and 150 employees including artists, administrators, and technical personnel. Venevisión's original administrators were Diego Cisneros (president), Alfredo Torres (transmission manager), Héctor Beltrán (production manager), and Orlando Cuevas (general manager).