# Latina Televisión

Latina Televisión (also known as Latina TV or simply Latina, and previously known as Frecuencia Latina Televisión or Frecuencia Latina) is a Peruvian free-to-air television channel that has been broadcasting since 1983.
It is the third private channel to start broadcasting. In 2005, it was the fourth most-watched channel according to CPI, and in 2008, it reached the third position according to Kantar Ibope Media. Its broadcast headquarters are located on Av. San Felipe in the Jesús María District of Lima. The channel is owned by Grupo Enfoca.

## History

In 1982, Compañía Latinoamericana de Radiodifusión S.A. was formed by Bernardo Batievsky (advertiser and filmmaker), Samuel and Mendel Winter (owners of the chocolate company Procacao S.A), and Baruch Ivcher (owner of the mattress company Paraíso del Perú S.A). They reacquired the license previously revoked from Tele 2. After conducting test broadcasts for four hours a day, the channel was relaunched on January 23, 1983, under the name Frecuencia 2 from a mansion in the Miraflores district of Lima. The inaugural ceremony was led by then-president Fernando Belaúnde Terry.
The channel, at that time, was characterized by its extensive foreign programming, although it also denoted its non-existent national production, due to the fact that it did not have its own infrastructure, like the rest of the channels at that time. In the beginning, the channel was originally modeled after American independent stations (WPIX, WGN, KWGN, KTLA, WTBS, etc.). The channel's most notable programs at that time were ABC del Deporte, Sundays for youth and a micro-newscast called 90 Segundos. The latter only lasted a minute and a half at that time. By 1984, it would be relaunched as The 90 Seconds Special and became a primetime newscast. In April 1989, Frecuencia 2 launched the newscast Contrapunto, which was characterized by its reports, condemnations and scandals that marked the era of the Alberto Fujimori regime. However, the program in its final years adopted a pro-government editorial line and lost credibility for negatively portraying opponents of Fujimorism. Two years after Fujimori's resignation, Contrapunto was taken off the air in November 2002 to be replaced a year later by Reporte Semanal.
In its beginnings, the signal reached all of Lima, from Huacho to Chincha. For this reason, the channel decided to install its own retransmitter, starting with Ica in 1987. From there, retransmitters and centers began to be installed throughout the country. In 1990, a transponder was acquired on the PanAmSat satellite to broadcast via satellite to the rest of the country.
Over time, the channel increased in terms of programming, personnel and local productions. The channel's programming consisted of contests, comedy and political debates. However, due to the lack of studios at the time, these were recorded in various theaters in the city. Later, the channel produced its own first fiction series, called Matalaché. In 1989, the channel acquired a larger location in a mansion in the Jesús María district to house the new facilities.
In 1992, a terrorist attack by the Maoist group Shining Path damaged the station's building.
The network was known as Frecuencia Latina (English: Latin Frequency) until November 2014.
One of the most famous Latina shows was Pataclaun, which lasted for two seasons in the late 90s.
In November 2024, the company announced its new identity, created by agencies Fahrenheit DDB and After, over a one-year period.

## Technical information

| Virtual channel | Content |
| x.1 HD | Main high-definition signal launched on September 14, 2010, which broadcasts in 1080i at 60fps. |
| x.2 SD 1 | 480i simulcast of the channel, airing in 16:9 since 2014. |
| 2.3 SD 2 (+1) | Formerly the one-hour timeshift, the channel carries Latina Digital with news and related content since 2023. |
| x.4 Latina Móvil | The 1seg, 240p, 30fps mobile feed. On May 25, 2021, Latina updated its website and app for the content to be displayed in 640 x 480p. |

## Criticism

During 2015, Latina has been harshly criticized for broadcasting content called junk television in its programming within the child protection schedule, with the program Amor, amor, amor being the one that has received the most rejection from the audience. The main argument that was used to support this position towards such programs was that the station was limited to broadcasting entertainment and topics related to this genre in a tabloid manner, such as gossip, rumors, love affairs and infidelities of the channel's celebrities. As a result, America was also in the crosshairs of criticism, because the station had violated the country's Radio and Television Law several times by broadcasting the program Esto es Guerra. Also, ATV was at the time in controversy for the broadcast of its reality television program Combate (until 2018). The first March Against Junk Television organized by the College of Journalists of Peru was organized, created with the purpose of restoring the child protection schedule system (article 40 of the Radio and Television Law No. 28278) against the content that violates it.
In 2018, Latina announced it had secured the broadcasting rights for the 2022 FIFA World Cup for Peru, intending to air all matches on the free-to-air network. However, in 2022, Latina faced criticism for not broadcasting some of the 64 matches of the tournament.