Turner Latin America, VTR Sign Strategic Accord to Launch CNN Chile

Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) Latin America, Inc., the division of TimeWarner, Inc. responsible for CNN’s commercial operations in Latin America, and VTR, a division of Liberty Global Inc., will partner to launch CNN Chile, the first 24-hour, pay television news network specifically programmed for the Chilean market. The channel is scheduled to debut this year on VTR and will be available to other pay television systems.

CNN Chile will be produced and presented by Chileans for Chileans and broadcast from studios in Santiago. In addition to a fully staffed local news production center, CNN Chile will have complete access to CNN Worldwide’s newsgathering resources including the support of 4,000 journalists based around the globe. Both joint-venture partners are committed to producing a news channel that is objective, independent and of the highest professional standards. CNN Chile will be operated by a locally based management team following all CNN’s globally acclaimed journalistic and editorial guidelines.

TBS Latin America and VTR are equal partners in CNN Chile, which represents the first joint-venture of its kind in Latin America for both companies. CNN Worldwide has successful partnership channels in other parts of the world, including CNN+ in Spain; CNN Turk in Turkey; CNNj and CNN.com.jp, both in Japan; and CNN-IBN in India.

“We are happy to be able to provide Chile with a 24-hour pay television news channel and add more plurality to our program offering,” said Mauricio Ramos, president of VTR GlobalCom. “There is pent-up demand for this product, and we are pleased to respond with the high quality and attractive product that CNN, the world’s news leader, can guarantee.”

“This is a significant strategic step for CNN and clearly demonstrates our commitment to Chile, where we already offer CNN en Español and CNN International,” said Juan Carlos Urdaneta, president of TBS Latin America. “Turner has enjoyed a long and successful relationship with VTR, and we consider them the ideal partner to help us launch this important new venture.”

Additional information about the channel and operating plans will follow in the coming weeks.

North American company Liberty Global Inc. owns 80% of VTR and Cristalería Chile owns the remaining 20%. VTR is the leading telecommunications company in Chile, and offers a wide range of products including broadband, cable television and telephony, reaching over a million subscribers.