Unitel Bolivia
UNITEL (UNIVERSAL DE TELEVISIÓN) is a Bolivian commercial television network headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. It was founded in 1987 in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. It is owned by businessman Osvaldo Monasterio Nieme. The company broadcasts sports, entertainment, political programs, and daily news programs nationwide in the South American country.
| Country | Bolivia |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Bolivia |
| Headquarters | Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | Spanish |
| Picture format | 1080i HDTV (downscaled to 480i for the SD feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Empresa de Comunicaciones del Oriente Ltda. |
| Sister channels | Canal Rural Bolivia |
| History | |
| Launched | 1985 (La Paz) 1987 (Santa Cruz de la Sierra) 1989 (Oruro) |
| Replaced | Telesistema Boliviano (La Paz) Teleoriente (Santa Cruz de la Sierra) |
| Former names | Telesistema Boliviano (La Paz, 1985–1997) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Digital VHF | Channel 2.1 (La Paz) |
| Analog VHF/UHF | See the section below |
The channel has broadcasting rights for sporting events such as the Bolivian Professional Football League and the World Cup since 2002. However, no league matches are broadcast live, but sold through streaming rights in Bolivia.
It broadcast several beauty projects, such as Miss Santa Cruz, Miss Bolivia, Reina Hispanoamericana, Miss Universe and Miss World from 2001 to 2017.
Since 2006, Unitel began broadcasting 24 hours of daily programming.
In mid-2013 it became the first Bolivian television station to broadcast, with its own production, an international format of the production company Endemol, Yo Me Llamo Bolivia.
Since August 2014, the channel broadcasts the youth program specialized in TVN Chile license games, called Calle7 Bolivia.
In 2018, the channel acquired the transmission licenses for Bolivia for the 2018 FIFA World Cup matches.
From 2 April 2018, the channel launched its own high-definition signal within the digital terrestrial television system under test, until 15 April, when it began broadcasting with the name of Unitel HD.