Merida, August 4th 2011 – This week Latin American television network teleSUR expanded its distribution capacity to allow the Caracas-based news channel to reach over 100 million homes across the United States. In an agreement signed with Globecast WorldTV, teleSUR is now available free of charge to all viewers of WorldTV, a digital network that sells satellite radio and television to people across North and Central America as well the Caribbean.

TeleSUR, which celebrated six years of non-stop programming last month, was first established in 2005 as an alternative to US-based programming on Latin American news and events. Before signing the agreement with WorldTV this week, teleSUR was already available to some 250 million viewers in all of Latin America, Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

The station’s live streaming television programming has always been available free of charge to those with internet access.

TeleSUR’s association with WorldTV means that the 24-hour Spanish language news channel is now potentially available to 116 million households in the United States. WorldTV, which sells satellite television and radio services worldwide, affirms that 60 million homes in the United States with access to their network speak a language other than English.

Founded by member states Venezuela, Argentina, Cuba and Uruguay, teleSUR uses the motto “Our North is the South” as part of a stated editorial policy of “showing Latin America through the eyes of Latin Americans” instead of through U.S.-based networks such as CNN, Voice of America, and others.

The pan-Latin American news network has been described by Nicaragua’s La Voz del Sandinismo network as “an example of integration and the voice of the people in their struggle for social justice”, and by the Ecuadorian and Latin American Public News Agency (ANDES) as “Latin America’s multimedia means of communication, with a social vocation and an orientation towards the processes of unity between the people of the South.”

TeleSUR reporters have been some of the only journalists on the ground during a number of recent important news events, including the military coup in Honduras (2009), the failed coup in Ecuador (2010), the devastating earthquake in Haiti (2010), the Israeli attack on the humanitarian shipment of aid to Gaza (2010) and the Egyptian people’s successful protests against former leader Hosni Mubarak (2011).

Just yesterday, teleSUR was the only international media outlet present at popular protests in Madrid, Spain, as the so-called “indignant” youth and student movements repeated their calls for new policies of social inclusion in economically-troubled Spain.

In many cases, such as in Honduras and in Egypt, teleSUR reporters suffered physical assaults by security forces.

At its 25 July 2005 launch, Venezuelan Minister of Information and President of teleSUR Andres Izarra explained that the network “is an initiative against cultural imperialism and against imperialism in any of its expressions. But this should not be interpreted as an initiative against the people of the U.S.” 

Uruguayan journalist and teleSUR Information Director Aram Aharonian explained that teleSUR aims to “construct an audio-visual medium with global reach that disseminates a real vision of our social and cultural diversity. It is about a global high quality structure for the transmission of progressive contents; for presenting the reality of the continent in an immediate, truthful, believable, balanced, contextualized form, which stimulates public opinions that are favorable for the integration of our peoples.”

Aharonian affirmed that teleSUR is an important step towards “the democratization of the television spectrum.”

According to the promotional information on the WorldTV website:

TeleSUR is a 24-hour Spanish language news channel from Latin America. It delivers high quality news focused content from Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Uruguay and Venezuela. With 26 news correspondents in 12 cities, teleSUR's network of correspondents is the largest in all of the Americas. Programming line-up includes news, documentaries, opinion and analysis programs, sports coverage and more.

PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS:

TeleSUR Noticias - Brings viewers breaking news from Latin America and around the world.

Deportes teleSUR - Full coverage on the world of sports including highlights, interviews and special features.

Impacto Economico - Daily report and coverage of Latin America's economy featuring Abraham Istillarte, Lorena Gil and special guests.

Source: Venezuela Analysis