RCN Television

RCN Televisión

Logo used since 16 January 2016
Founded	March 23, 1967
Founder	Carlos Ardila Lülle
Headquarters	Bogotá, Colombia
Products	Broadcasting, cable TV, radio, publishing, Internet
Number of employees	24,362
Website	www.canalrcn.com

RCN Televisión (Radio Cadena Nacional) is a Colombian private television network. It started as a production company programadora in 1967. Since 1998 it became a network by acquiring one of the two licenses granted by the Colombian government (the other Colombian private TV network is Caracol TV).

RCN reaches 97% of the Colombian population through 13 stations. Its main shareholder is Carlos Ardila Lülle. It produced Yo soy Betty, la fea, one of the most successful Colombian telenovelas.

RCN Television was created as a part of RCN Radio. In 1967 RCN Radio took part in the bidding for spaces in the official television network, getting one hour a day which was distributed into two series: one made in Colombia named El Hogar (The Home) and the American television series Bewitched. In 1973 RCN Radio and its subsidiary RCN Television were purchased by Carlos Ardila Lülle, who three years later relaunched RCN as a television production company (or programadora) with several spaces into the official channels schedule. RCN was the first company that broadcast a television program both live and in color, the 1980 Miss Colombia beauty contest; since that year RCN has held the rights to broadcast this event.

RCN produced television series with high remembrance among viewers like Cusumbo and El Taita in 1984, which was the first Colombian telenovela filmed in exterior locations. In August 1988, RCN became part of OTI Colombia, gaining the rights to broadcast the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup. Other members included Caracol, RTI, Producciones PUNCH, Producciones JES and Datos y Mensajes.