Canal i

{{Short description|Venezuelan TV news channel}}

{{unreferenced|date=December 2010}}

{{Infobox broadcasting network

| network_name = Canal i

|logo = Logo canal i venezuela.png

| network_type = Broadcast television network

| country = Venezuela

| available = Caracas (channel 57), Maracaibo (channel 53), and Barquisimeto (channel 63)

| founder = Wilmer Ruperti

| owner = Wilmer Ruperti
Albavisión

| key_people = Wilmer Ruperti (owner, founder, and president)

| launch_date = October 5, 2007

| website = [http://www.canal-i.com canal-i.com]

}}

Canal i is a privately owned 24-news channel based in Caracas, Venezuela which can be seen over-the-air in the cities of Caracas, Maracaibo, and Barquisimeto on channels 57, 53, and 63 respectively. It was officially inaugurated on October 5, 2007.

History

Canal i was officially inaugurated on October 5, 2007, taking over the signal of the now defunct music channel, Puma TV. Canal i is a 24-hour news channel; it is the fourth Venezuelan 24-hour news channel to be founded after Globovisión, Canal de Noticias, and TeleSUR. The president of Canal i, Wilmer Ruperti, invested $ 21 million in order to establish the network.

The idea to create Canal i dates back to 2004 when Ruperti purchased Puma TV, however, the project was delayed until 2006. Canal i aims to provide a fair and balanced news programming that does not have any political affiliations. Some of Canal i's presenters include Carlos Escarrá, a pro-Chávez congressperson and member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, and Julio Borges, the leader of Justice First, the second largest opposition party.