Prime Time in Ecuador: National, Regional Television Outdraws U.S. Programming

"We are trying in every way to have better programming, better national production, better news programs. National programming is good for the image and good for the ratings. Sometimes you don't always pay your costs. But it's as if we are in the process of putting in the seeds." Leonardo Ponce, Ecuadorian television executive In television, it is not easy being small. A big country such as the U.S., with a strong economy and a population of 260 million, produces its own television programming and considers it a major export. By contrast, Ecuador, which has the second-poorest economy in South America and a population of 11 million, imports much more television than it produces. In fact, Ecuador, New Zealand, and Iceland imported the most television programming in worldwide studies sponsored by UNESCO in the 1970s and 1980s (Varis 146). In 1983, 66 percent of Ecuadorian television came from outside the country (Varis 146). This fact prompted a case study of Ecuador's only network, Ecuavisa, which confirmed the same high level of imported programming 12 years later, in 1995. Predictably, the U.S. leads the list of programming sources, as it does in so many countries around the world (Varis 150). During the 1970s, a debate about the role of U.S. television abroad began within the United Nations. Third World officials and some scholars took the view that the dominance of U.S. programming in developing nations constituted "cultural imperialism" which should be restricted. Advocates from Western powers argued that news and entertainment programming should flow freely.' Viewers Prefer "National Production," Latin American Programs Social critics who disapprove of the plethora of U.S. programming abroad might disapprove of the many U.S. titles on the Ecuavisa schedule, but "counting studies," which simply total up programming hours and countries of origin, fail to consider more significant information. An analysis of prime time and program rankings underscores the comparative importance of local, regional, and U.S. programs. Ecuavisa's own "national production" and other Latin American programming play a much more pivotal role for Ecuadorian viewers than U.S. programs. This case study indicates that local and regional programs dominate prime time and earn the best ratings. This study is based on an analysis of two weeks of programming on the two-station, Ecuadorian network owned by Xavier Alvarado of Guayaquil. TV stations in Ecuador are family-owned, and the eight television families often have one station in Quito, the nation's capital, another in Guayaquil, the commercial center and largest city. Although two ranges of the Andes divide Ecuador, microwave transmitters provide the country with nearly blanket coverage of Ecuavisa's signal. Among Ecuadorian broadcasters, only Xavier Alvarado programs his two stations separately, giving Ecuavisa "network" status in a Colorado-sized country.2 Ecuavisa programming practices also distinguish the network, not only in Ecuador, but also compared to other small-country broadcast systems in Latin America. For its original programming, Ecuavisa serves as an example to countries larger and richer than Ecuador. Ecuavisa Close to U.S. as Source of Total Hours Broadcasters can either make or buy programming; either way is expensive (Dominick, Sherman and Copeland 392-93). A small country such as Ecuador does not enjoy the economies of scale that the U.S. does. Anyone familiar with Third World broadcasting would expect to see American series such as "Star Trek" or "Un Hogar Casi Perfecto" ("Full House") and Hollywood movies on the Ecuavisa schedule. Varis' 1983 study of programming in 69 countries showed U.S. programming to be ubiquitous: "In some regions, such as Latin America, the United States is the source of as much as three-quarters of the imported materials" (Varis 151). According to this 1995 case study, Ecuavisa imports U.S. programming without letting it dominate the schedule. …