Empresas 1BC (also known as Grupo Phelps, Centro Corporativo 1BC, and Grupo 1BC), is a privately owned Venezuelan corporation which operates diverse media enterprises such as

Radio Caracas Televisión Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) was a Venezuelan free-to-air television network headquartered in the Caracas neighborhood of Quinta Crespo. It was sometimes referred to as the Canal de Bárcenas. Owned by Empresas 1BC, Radio Caracas Televisi� ...

, Etheron, Radio Caracas Radio, ,

Sonográfica Sonográfica is a record label based in Caracas, Venezuela. It had links with Empresas 1BC, which also owned Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) and Radio Caracas Radio, among other businesses. During the 1980s, it supported Venezuelan musical tale ...

, FonoVideo, Recordland, and Radionet, to name a few. This conglomerate is headed by

Marcel Granier Marcel Granier Haydon (born July 4, 1941) is a Venezuelan businessperson. He is the President and CEO of Empresas 1BC and the General Director of Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV), which until becoming a cable TV-channel on May 27, 2007, was the mo ...

and headquartered in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in th ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

History

The origins of this company dates back to the year 1920, when William Henry Phelps returned to Venezuela from the United States after receiving a degree from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

. In the year 1929, his family established the first holding company, Sindicato Phelps, C.A., in which various businesses, such as real estate and automotive companies, were consolidated. The development of the communications sector began in 1930, when (with the support of

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

) Phelps established the ''Broadcasting Caracas'', the first commercial radio station in Venezuela. In 1935, the Broadcasting Caracas became known as Radio Caracas, and then later, Radio Caracas Radio (RCR). Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) was created in 1953. Until then, the Phelps owned Ondas Populares, RCR, and RCTV. Businesses formerly owned by the Phelps included: ''El Automóvil Universal'' and ''El Almacén Americano'' (an electronics store). The growth of the television business in the 70s, favored a consolidation of the company, which hired new people such as

, Peter Bottome, and Guillermo Tucker. In the 1980s, Empresas 1BC began to explore other types of industries. They started up the newspaper ''El Diario de Caracas'', which on July 11, 1995, ceased publication. Three years later, El Diario de Caracas was purchased and restarted by the editors of Caracas's English language newspaper, ''The Daily Journal''.

Assets

* * Etheron * Fonovideo * Radio Caracas Radio *

RCTV Radio Caracas Televisión (RCTV) was a Venezuelan free-to-air television network headquartered in the Caracas neighborhood of Quinta Crespo. It was sometimes referred to as the Canal de Bárcenas. Owned by Empresas 1BC, Radio Caracas Televisi� ...

* Recordland *

External links

RadionetEtheronRCTVRecordland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empresas 1bc Conglomerate companies of Venezuela Conglomerate companies established in 1920 Privately held companies of Venezuela Mass media companies of Venezuela Mass media in Caracas Mass media companies established in 1920