Canal Uno

Canal Uno (Spanish for: "Channel One") is the first Colombian national television channel. It started 13 June 1954 on channel 8 in Bogotá. It is state-owned, operated by RTVC Sistema de Medios Públicos, and privately run, with programming companies known as programadoras bidding for time slots with the Colombian state.

In 1963, it became operated by Inravisión (until then, it was operated by the Radiodifusora Nacional de Colombia); later it would move from Channel 8 to Channel 7 in Bogotá. Until 1966, when private local channel Teletigre went on air, the then Canal Nacional was the only television channel in Colombia.

In 1972, it became the Primera Cadena ("First Network") since Teletigre's successor, again in state hands, became a national channel. In the 1980s it would become Cadena Uno ("Network One", sometimes spelled Cadena 1) and acquired its current name on 1 January 1998.

Since July 1998, when private channels Caracol TV and RCN TV (formerly programadoras) started operations, ratings for the state-owned channels Canal Uno and Canal A have steadily dropped (see below chart). This and the economic recession of the late 1990s severely affected the programadoras, which one after other declared bankruptcy or became merely production companies for Caracol TV and RCN TV. Canal Uno was less affected than Canal A, which became Canal Institucional, a state-controlled channel, in November 2003. RTI Colombia, the only programadora remaining on Canal A, was moved to Canal Uno and stood there until 2008.

As of 2014, Canal Uno is programmed 25% each by four groups: Jorge Barón Televisión/Sportsat, CM&, Colombiana de Televisión/NTC Televisión and RTVC Sistema de Medios Públicos.

In February 2014 the channel was relaunched with a new logo, the removal of infomercials and a 24-hour program schedule.