Political position[edit]

On April 11, 2002, the network along with most of the other private networks in Venezuela, simultaneously showed Chávez's address to the nation in split screen with the shooting of people in a demonstration prior to the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt. The next day, Isaías Rodríguez announced in a news conference that Chávez had not resigned and that there had been a coup.^[4]


After the Presidential election in 2006, Venevision softened its opposition to Chávez. For the presidential election, Venevision devoted 84% of its coverage to Chavez's positions, and 16% to the opposition.^[3] Critics saw the change, which created rifts in the Venezuelan elite, as a way of maintaining its broadcasting licence by avoiding a confrontation with Chávez. The criticism of Venevisión by the opposition increased during the refusal to renew the broadcasting license of RCTV by the Chávez government in 2007. Critics said Venevisión would benefit from the closure of RCTV, which was Venevisión's main rival. Cisneros however, said he expected only around a 5% increase in advertising revenue, after accounting for inflation.^[3]