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Channel 8 (Mar del Plata, Argentina)

From Alfawiki
Telefe Mar del Plata
Company typeTelevision station
IndustryBroadcasting
PredecessorDifusora Marplatense, S.A.; Emisora Arenales de Radiodifusión; Compañía de Televisión del Atlántico S.A.
Founded18 December 1960
FounderJuan Llamazares, Alfredo López, Ildefonso Recade
Headquarters
Mar del Plata
,
Argentina
Area served
Buenos Aires Province
ProductsTelevision broadcasting (Telefe affiliate)
OwnerGrupo Neomedia
ParentTelefe (affiliate)

Canal 8 Mar del Plata (call sign LRI 486 TV) is a television station operating on channel 8 in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It broadcasts content from Telefe and is owned by Grupo Neomedia.

Initial phase and government takeover

On 28 April 1958, the national government granted a license to Juan Llamazares, Alfredo López, and Ildefonso Recade to establish and run a television station on channel 8 in Mar del Plata. This station was one of the first two authorized outside Buenos Aires, along with channel 7 in Mendoza. The license holders created Difusora Marplatense, S.A. to operate the station, which commenced transmissions on 18 December 1960 as LU 86 TV, marking it as the city’s inaugural station and the second in Argentina’s interior after Córdoba’s channel 12. Initially, the studios and transmitter were located on Avenida Pedro Luro; two years later, the transmitter was relocated to Sierra de los Padres to enhance broadcast reach.

On 8 October 1973, channel 8 was nationalized alongside Buenos Aires channels 9, 11, and 13 and Mendoza’s channel 7 when the interim government declared their licenses void shortly before Juan Perón resumed the presidency. State authorities assumed control of all five stations on 1 August 1974 after previous owners sold their related assets to the government.

Return to private ownership

On 10 May 1983, Argentina’s Federal Broadcasting Committee (COMFER) opened a bidding process for the channel 8 license. Three contenders—Difusora Video Sur, Emisora Arenales de Radiodifusión, and Radiodifusora Mar del Sur—submitted proposals. The license was granted to Emisora Arenales de Radiodifusión on 28 October, which took over operations two weeks later. By 1985, the station's call sign had been updated to LRI 486.

In 1989, Televisión Federal S.A. acquired the license for Telefe (channel 11 in Buenos Aires) during its privatization; one of its shareholders was Televisoras Provinciales—a group that included Emisora Arenales. In April 1998, Atlántida Comunicaciones purchased Televisoras Provinciales’ stakes in Telefe and seven affiliated stations, including LRI 486 TV; this transaction was completed by September. The following year, Emisora Arenales de Radiodifusión merged into Compañía de Televisión del Atlántico S.A.

During this timeframe, LRI 486 TV took part in digital television trials. In February 1999, the Secretariat of Communications authorized experimental broadcasts of the ATSC digital standard—Argentina's initial digital TV selection—on channel 8 using VHF channel 9.

The Telefónica era

On 30 November 1999, Spanish telecom firm Telefónica announced its intention to acquire the remaining 70 percent of Atlántida, including Telefe, seven affiliates, and radio station FM Hit, for US$530 million. Concurrently, Telefónica agreed to purchase half of Azul Televisión—a Buenos Aires-based station—and its three repeaters, which included Mar del Plata’s channel 10. On 19 April 2000, Argentina’s antitrust authority approved both deals with the condition that one of the two Mar del Plata stations be sold within six months.

The mandated divestiture was postponed. In November 2001, COMFER ordered Telefónica to sell one Mar del Plata station as well as either Azul Televisión or Telefe within a year. Telefónica opted to keep Telefe and its affiliate channel 8 due to superior ratings and sold Azul Televisión along with channel 10 to a consortium led by Daniel Hadad and Fernando Sokolowicz.

Argentina adopted the ISDB-T digital television standard in 2009. On 30 August 2011, the Federal Authority for Audiovisual Communication Services (AFSCA) authorized channel 8 Mar del Plata to initiate ISDB-T trial broadcasts on UHF channel 35. By March 2015, AFSCA assigned UHF channel 20 for the station’s regular digital transmission operations.

Transition from Channel 8 to Telefe Mar del Plata

On November 3, 2016, Viacom declared its purchase of Telefe along with its affiliate stations for a sum of US$345 million, with the acquisition finalized by November 15. The deal received approval from the ENACOM on March 30, 2017.

In November 2018, Telefe introduced a rebranding initiative in line with Argentina's shift to digital television, moving away from channel numbers toward city-specific station names. As part of this change, the long-standing "Canal 8" adopted the new identity of Telefe Mar del Plata.

On June 3, 2019, Telefe Mar del Plata became the fourth regional Telefe outlet to begin producing content in high definition, significantly upgrading its broadcast quality and modernizing its infrastructure.

Acquisition by Neomedia

Neomedia de Gestión announced on July 7, 2022, that it had acquired Telefe Mar del Plata from Paramount, transitioning the station into a Telefe affiliate. While Paramount ceased ownership of the channel, it continued to manage national advertising sales. Neomedia also owns Canal 10 in Mar del Plata. The transaction was finalized the following day.

Regional Programming

In addition to broadcasting Telefe's Buenos Aires programming, Telefe Mar del Plata creates local content including newscasts such as Teleocho Informa and the weekly news roundup Tiempo Zonal. Other locally produced shows feature the sports program Goles de Medianoche and the fishing series Video Pesca.

Broadcast Repeaters

To broaden its coverage across Buenos Aires Province, Telefe Mar del Plata operates 14 repeater stations serving important regional areas.


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