The Sandinist Television System (Sistema Sandinista de Televisión -SSTV) was a television network in

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

, owned and operated by the government from 1979 to 1990.

History

When the

Sandinistas The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto Cé ...

overthrew the

Somoza The Somoza family ( es, Familia Somoza) is a former political family that ruled Nicaragua for forty-three years from 1936 to 1979. Their family dictatorship was founded by Anastasio Somoza García and was continued by his two sons Luis Somoza D ...

regime in

in 1979, there were only two private television stations broadcasting in Nicaragua.

Televicentro (Canal 2) Canal 2 is a Nicaraguan free-to-air television network owned by Televicentro de Nicaragua, S.A. History Televicentro de Nicaragua, S.A. was founded in December 1965 by Octavio Sacasa Sarria and started broadcasting in March 1966. It was the ...

, founded in 1965 and owned by Televicentro de Nicaragua, S.A. of the Sacasa family and Canal 6 owned by the

family and founded in 1959. The SSTV was officially constituted by law on February 10, 1984 but both TV stations were confiscated by the

Sandinista The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a Socialism, socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after ...

government already in July 1979 and the SSTV existed ''de facto'' since then. The network was under the administration of a Board of Directors with the following representatives from these institutions:. * the Council of National Reconstruction * the president of The Superior Education National Council * the Ministry of Education * the Ministry of Culture * the Ministry of Telecommunications * the National Teacher's Association * the Nicaraguan Journalist Union * as well as representatives of the two channels of SSTV In 1989 the

government decided to return

to the Sacasa family. That was interpreted as an evidence of the political circumstances in the last years of

rule with a more open and tolerant policy towards the opposition. With

Violeta Chamorro Violeta Barrios Torres de Chamorro (; 18 October 1929) is a Nicaraguan politician who served as President of Nicaragua from 1990 to 1997. She was the first and, as of 2022, only woman to hold the position of president of Nicaragua. Born into ...

's triumph in the 1990 elections, the network was dismantled and Canal 6 became part of The National Television System (Sistema Nacional de Televisión - SNTV) until 1997 when it was legally declared in bankruptcy under

Arnoldo Alemán José Arnoldo Alemán Lacayo (born 23 January 1946) is a Nicaraguan politician who served as the 81st president of Nicaragua from 10 January 1997 to 10 January 2002. In 2003, he was convicted of corruption and sentenced to a 20-year prison term; ...

's government. After 16 years of abandonment, on September 14, 2011, Channel 6 was again on the air, due to the investments made by the Nicaraguan government in the restoration of the channel.

Programming

In the beginning, because of the economic blockade imposed by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, the SSTV programming was composed of US series and

Cuban Cuban may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban citizen, a perso ...

productions used to educate according to the new government's ideology. However, with the help of

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

professionals (especially from

Soviet bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

countries) and Cubans, the network created programs of ample remembrance among the Nicaraguan population while at the same time forming talents that would influence the Nicaraguan television scene. Among the programs produced by SSTV are ''La Liga del Saber'', ''El Chocoyito Chimbarón'', ''Domingos Espectaculares'' (Spectacular Sundays) and several documentaries about the

Sandinista Revolution The Nicaraguan Revolution ( es, Revolución Nicaragüense or Revolución Popular Sandinista, link=no) encompassed the rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista National Liberation Fr ...

. Channel 6 offered a generalist programming while Channel 2 specialized in educational and cultural programming.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sistema Sandinista De Television Defunct television networks Television stations in Nicaragua Television channels and stations established in 1979 Television channels and stations disestablished in 1990