Channel 13 (Río Cuarto, Argentina)

Canal 13 Río Cuarto

Company type	Private
Industry	Television broadcasting
Predecessor	Canal 2 de Circuito Cerrado de Televisión
Founded	August 15, 1964 (1964-08-15) in Río Cuarto, Córdoba Province, Argentina
Founder	Imperio Televisión S.A.
Headquarters	Río Cuarto , Argentina
Area served	Southern Córdoba Province
Key people	Gabriel Yenaropoulos, Carlos Alfredo Dalmasso (former partners)
Products	Television programming, retransmission of Telefe content
Owner	Imperio Televisión S.A.

Canal 13 Río Cuarto (call sign LV 86 TV), also identified as Imperio Televisión (license holder), is an Argentine TV station licensed in Río Cuarto, located within Córdoba Province. It caters to the southern area of the province and retransmits content from Telefe.

History

On 23 January 1964, Imperio Televisión S.A. obtained permission to establish a cable television network in Río Cuarto. Official transmissions commenced on 15 August 1964 under the name Canal 2 de Circuito Cerrado de Televisión, initially reaching approximately 4,000 residences from its original premises at the former “El Americano” confectionery. Early programming comprised feature films alongside locally produced shows such as Intermedio femenino and Río Cuarto nocturno.

In 1968, the station connected to the national microwave network and shifted from using film to videotape technology. By 1973, the original owners had departed, leading 18 employees to form a corporation to maintain operations.

On 28 December 1977, the Federal Broadcasting Committee approved transmissions for the upcoming 1978 FIFA World Cup with a broadcast radius extending up to 50 km. In June 1978, the service transitioned to over-the-air broadcasting as LV 86 TV Canal 13 de Río Cuarto, replacing the cable channel.

A decree in August 1979 permitted a competitive process for awarding the Channel 13 license. The station began color transmissions on 1 May 1980. Another licensing competition was announced in May 1981; on 8 March 1982, Imperio Televisión secured the license. At that time, ownership included six partners, among them Gabriel Yenaropoulos and Carlos Alfredo Dalmasso.

The influx of new capital in 1982 facilitated construction of a new facility; by January 1984, broadcasts originated from this location. In 1986, the closed-circuit signal was merged with Channel 13's broadcast for a period of four years. Ownership changed hands in 1987.

On 30 March 2004, COMFER authorized Imperio Televisión to establish a relay transmitter in Adelia Maria on UHF channel 25. Subsequently, digital test transmissions using ISDB-T on UHF channel 29 were approved on 27 December 2010.

Canal 13 began high-definition programming in May 2014; by September 2015, it received clearance to broadcast over-the-air HD content on channel 29.1.

Following legal resolutions, Canal 13 was incorporated into DirecTV’s Río Cuarto analog lineup in October 2018.

Programming

The majority of its schedule consists of retransmissions from Telefe’s Buenos Aires feed.

Local productions include the news program Telediario, culinary show Sabores con humor, general interest segments Tu compañero ideal and Todo para vos, automotive program El acelerador TV, and cultural feature Vivir mejor.

Telediario

Telediario broadcasts two weekday editions at 13:00 and 20:00 hours, presenting local, national, and international news coverage. It frequently ranks as the highest-rated program within the region. Since its launch on 12 September 2016, Telediario Federal operates as a national counterpart aimed at diversifying news sources.

The news show has undergone several rebrandings: initially titled Sucesos Teledos, renamed to Telex 13 until 1978, then Noticias ITC with the introduction of color TV in 1980, followed by Telemundo in 1984, before adopting its current title Telediario on 18 August 1992.

Relayers

Canal 13 maintains a network of 13 relay stations spread throughout the southern region of Córdoba Province. These stations receive broadcasts from the channel's teleport, which transmits signals via the ARSAT-2 satellite.