Channel 1 is a Colombian State-owned television channel. It started broadcasting on 13 June 1954 on channel 8 VHF in Bogotá. It is owned by the National Radio Television of Colombia and managed by Plural Comunicaciones, S.A.S, a private company. From the late 1950s to 2017, the channel was administered by private programming companies known as programadoras, which bid for time slots with the Colombian State. In 1963, it became operated byInravisión, the former Colombian public broadcaster; until then, it was operated by the National Radio of Colombia. After that, the channel's frequency was moved from channel 8 to channel 7 VHF in Bogotá. Until 1966, when private local channel Teletigre was officially launched, the then Canal Nacional was the only television channel in Colombia. In 1972, it became the Primera cadena since Teletigre was nationalised. In the 1980s it would become Cadena Uno and acquired its current name at the beginning of 1998. Since July 1998, when Caracol Televisión and RCN Televisión launched their own private television channels, Channel 1's and Canal A's ratings steadily dropped. Adding this to the economic recession of the late 1990s the network was suffering, this situation severely affected the remaining programadoras, which progressively declared bankruptcy or became merely production companies for Caracol Televisión and RCN Televisión. Channel 1 was less affected than Canal A, which became Canal Institucional, a State-controlled channel, in November 2003. RTI Colombia, the only programadora remaining on Canal A, was moved to Channel 1 and stood there until 2008. In February 2014, the channel was rebranded with a new logo, a new graphical package, the removal of infomercials and a 24-hour program schedule. As of 1 May 2017, a quarter of Channel 1's programming is made by the production companies CM&, NTC Televisión, and RTI Televisión, and a fifth by Hemisphere Media Group, the owner of Puerto Rican station WAPA and several pay-TV channels. The four companies form a joint venture company branded as Plural Comunicaciones.
