Canal 9 Litoral
| Company type | Free-to-air television broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television broadcasting |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters | Paraná , Argentina |
Area served | Entre Ríos Province and adjacent regions |
Key people | Reynaldo Adrián Puig (director), Alfredo Pintos (news chief), Tati Vieyra (commercial director) |
| Owner | Grupo Neomedia |
Canal 9 Litoral is an Argentine free-to-air television broadcaster affiliated with El Trece, transmitting from Paraná and reaching a significant portion of Entre Ríos Province along with adjacent regions through repeater stations. The channel is mainly managed by Grupo Neomedia.
History
The Federal Broadcasting Committee granted authorization on 23 May 1984 for the provincial government to set up a repeater in Paraná to relay the state network ATC. Operated by the provincial authorities, the channel also featured a limited amount of original content. Official transmissions commenced on 22 April 1985 under the call sign LRI 450 TV Canal 9 de Paraná. Prior to this, Entre Ríos did not possess its own television station and depended on broadcasts from Santa Fe or Buenos Aires. The station’s launch was supported by governor Sergio Montiel (1983–1987) and led by director Reynaldo Adrián Puig, with key personnel including news chief Alfredo Pintos and commercial director Tati Vieyra.
Initial programming was produced in modest premises, with broadcast quality outside Paraná initially substandard until repeaters were implemented.
On 25 November 1997, Prime Television Ltd., an Australian corporation, acquired Canal 9 Libertad along with its associated stations, including Canal 9 Paraná, for approximately US$150 million. By January 1998, half of the network's ownership was transferred to Torneos y Competencias; by March 1999, this stake was jointly held with Atlántida Comunicaciones via AC Inversora.
In October 1999, Canal 9 obtained permission to carry out digital terrestrial test transmissions on VHF channel 8 utilizing the ATSC standard.
Prime Television divested its remaining 50% interest in Azul Televisión to JP Morgan Chase for US$67.5 million on 6 August 2001; however, JP Morgan had no intention of retaining either the Buenos Aires station or regional outlets such as Canal 9 Litoral. Subsequently, Grupo Neomedia purchased Canal 9 in 2004.
Canal 9 became affiliated with Artear's Canal 13 network in January 2005.
The Federal Authority for Audiovisual Communication Services (AFSCA) authorized digital terrestrial test broadcasts using the ISDB-T standard on UHF channel 43 during September 2010 and August 2011.
High-definition programming commenced on Canal 9 on 3 January 2014.
On 31 March 2015, Canal 9 was assigned physical channel 35.1 by the Federal Authority for Audiovisual Communication Services for its standard HD digital terrestrial transmissions.