The Central Valley is getting a new television station, and it will be offering
a five-minute news summary in English each weekday night at 10 p.m., the news
director said Wednesday.
The station is Channel 9, which will go live
Monday Ocotber 17th at 7 p.m., according to the station announcement. At first, the signal
only will be available through the air because the transmissions are not yet on
cable.
The station is a private venture by Asmedia, identified as a
Mexican media firm. The location is in Santa Ana.
Abby Daniell, who just
left The Tico Times, a weekly newspaper in English, where she was associate
publisher, will present the news in English, according to the station
announcement. Ms. Daniell has been living in Costa Rica since 1994 and is a
veteran newswoman, the station said.
This will be the only television
news in English.
The announcement was in the name of Freddy
Serrano
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Vargas, the news director. He has had a 14-year career
in broadcasting, including a year-long stint in Colombia. He said the
English-language show would “include the news you need, such as scheduled power
outages, road closures, rate increases as well as breaking news important to
those living and working in Costa Rica.”
Ms. Daniell in her most recent
employment at The Tico Times spent 10 years there as general manager and later
as associate publisher.
The new station enters a highly competitive
market. Channel 7, Teletica, appears to be the dominant television station with
Repretel's channels 4, 6 and 11 close behind.
El Diario Extra operates
Channel 42. All of these stations are on the various cable systems, as is a
station operated by the Universidad de Costa Rica on Channel 15. The Internet
lists 20 separate Costa Rican channels, although some, like TV Sur, Channel 14,
and TV 36 in Guanacaste, are regional. There also are religious stations.
Television via the Internet still is in its infancy. |