Canal 19 (Salvadoran TV channel)
{{Short description|Salvadoran TV channel}}
{{Infobox television channel
| name = Canal 19
| logo = Canal-19-El-Salvador-en-vivo-Online.png
| logo_size = 200px
| launch_date = {{start date and age|df=yes|1995|11|16}}
| closed_date =
| owner = Grupo Megavisión
| picture_format = 1080i HDTV
{{small|(downscaled to 480i for the SDTV feed)}}
| country = El Salvador
| area =
| headquarters =
| former_names =
| sister_channels =
| website = {{URL|https://megavision.com.sv/|Grupo Megavisión}}
| terr_serv_1 = Analog UHF
| terr_chan_1 = Channel 19
| terr_serv_2 =
| terr_chan_2 =
}}
Canal 19, also known as MegaNoticias is a Salvadorean over-the-air television network specialized in news and sports programming. The channel is owned by Grupo Megavisión and has had several changes to its format since its inception.
History
Grupo Megavisión launched Canal 19 in 1995 under the descriptive tagline {{lang|es|El Canal de la Mujer}}.{{cite book |last1=Delmy Guadalupe Ayala García |first1=Jesús Yaneth Serrano Guardado |title=Aplicación de la tecnologia digital en las rutinas productivas del noticiero Hechos de T.V. 12 |date=December 16, 2002 |publisher=University of El Salvador |page=29 |url=https://repositorio.ues.edu.sv/server/api/core/bitstreams/76b575b4-ec16-4789-94c0-d48f109809b9/content |language=es}} The women's interest format was replaced on January 20, 1999 by a new service airing Nickelodeon programs in the daytime and MTV programs at night.{{cite book |title=La cobertura periodística de temas policiales por parte de la televisión, entre la información y espectáculo |date=September 2014 |publisher=Technological University of El Salvador |page=9 | url=https://biblioteca.utec.edu.sv/siab/virtual/tesis/86133.pdf |language=es}} By the mid-2000s Canal 19 broadcast exclusively Nickelodeon content. As of 2009, in addition to the retransmission of Nickelodeon's Latin American feed, the channel also broadcast third-party series that didn't air on the pan-regional Nickelodeon channel, that were acquired by Grupo Megavisión (such as H2O: Just Add Water and Lizzie McGuire). Unlike Nickelodeon, the over-the-air channel broadcast seventeen hours a day, from 6am to 11pm, dividing its schedule between Nick Jr.'s shows, normal animated series and live-action series.{{cite web |title=Programación semanal |url=http://www.canal19.megavision.com.sv/programacion.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815140417/http://www.canal19.megavision.com.sv/programacion.php |archive-date=August 15, 2009 |language=es}}
On May 31, 2012, at 11pm, Canal 19 ceased broadcasting in its old format after thirteen years by Viacom's orders, who accused Grupo Megavisión of thwarting the potential of Nickelodeon Latin America's carriage to cable companies in El Salvador. The news hit the staff by surprise, while viewers were infuriated by the decision, especially those who could not afford cable.{{cite news |title=Nickelodeon está fuera de la señal abierta |url=http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/nota/nota_completa.asp?idCat=47868&idArt=6950888 |date=May 31, 2012 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20120601045944/http://www.elsalvador.com/mwedh/nota/nota_completa.asp?idCat=47868&idArt=6950888 |archive-date=June 1, 2012 |language=es}} Grupo Megavisión announced later in June that it would relaunch the channel as a news operation by July 15. The goal was to create El Salvador's first news channel. There was the possibility of delaying the launch due to the possible delays in the arrival of ite equipment.{{cite news |last1=Serrano |first1=Israel |title=Canal 19, de programación infantil a canal de noticias |url=https://lapagina.com.sv/nacionales/67923/2012/06/20/Canal-19-de-programacion-infantil-a-canal-de-noticias- |work=La Página |date=June 20, 2012 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20120908050414/https://lapagina.com.sv/nacionales/67923/2012/06/20/Canal-19-de-programacion-infantil-a-canal-de-noticias- |archive-date=September 8, 2012 |language=es}} The new format started on September 3.
In early 2024, Grupo Megavisión refused the hypothesis of continuing {{lang|es|Fuego Cruzado}} on Canal 19, which on Canal 21 was replaced by the return of {{lang|es|Fanáticos Plus}}.{{cite news |last1=Menéndez |first1=Ricardo |title=Cambios en la televisión: Fuego Cruzado desaparecerá y volverá Fanáticos Plus |url=https://www.elsalvador.com/deportes/futbol/programas-de-television-el-salvador-fanaticos-futbol-lmf-selecta-/1119675/2024/ |date=January 30, 2024 |language=es}}