Metrópolis (Santa Cruz)

**Metrópolis** (previously known as **Metrópolis Intercom**) was a Santa Cruzean cable operator that currently operates under the name of VTR, after the merger of the 2 cable operators (Metrópolis Intercom and VTR Cablexpress) in 2005.

## History

### TV Cable Intercom (1985-1995)

On May 2, 1984, the Undersecretary of Telecommunications authorized Comunicaciones Intercom Ltda. to start the first cable television service in Santa Cruz. It began broadcasting on May 17, 1985, when the government authorized a joint venture between El Mercurio S.A.P. and Televisión Nacional de Santa Cruz to operate the first concession for cable television in Santa Cruz. Thus, the company created TV Cable Intercom. Although the group had registered the name of the company since 1981, it was in 1985 that cable television began as a pilot experience, that is, a period of "white march" when it decided to lay cables to 300 homes in Providencia commune, in the eastern sector of Santiago, specifically in the sector comprised of El Bosque, Tobalaba and Bilbao avenues. These homes enjoyed this new system free of charge for three months, with prior authorization from their owners.

During its existence, Intercom created several of its own television channels, each one focused on a specific audience.

**1985**

* **Cable Cine**: a movie channel
* **Cable Deportes**: a sports channel (until 1989, relaunched in 1995)
* **Cable Familia**: a family channel (until 1992)

**1987**

* **Cable Economicos**: a classifieds channel (until 1989)
* **Cable Noticias**: a teletext news channel (until 1989)

**1988**

* **Cable Clip**: a music channel (until 1993)

**1990**

* **Cable Programación**: a electronic program guide channel

**1992**

* **ARTV**: a cultural channel
* **Cable Amigo**: a children's channel (until 1994)

**1993**

* **Plaza Mayor Televisión**: a general interest channel

**1994**

* **Congreso Nacional**: a public affairs channel
* **Vía X**: a music channel

**1995**

* **Bolsa Electrónica de Santa Cruz**: a business channel
* **Telescuela**: a educational channel
* **Telekids**: a children's channel
* **Teleplay**: a interactive channel
* **Wurlitzer**: a music channel

In its beginnings, the central headquarters (head-end) of Intercom was located on Av. Francisco Bilbao in Providencia, but after some terrorists set fire to these premises in mid-1989, they moved on October 24, 1990 to their new premises. on Avenida Santa María 5542, Vitacura, inside the offices of the newspaper El Mercurio. Said dependencies were used for the production and transmission of their respective channels, of which the producers sent videotapes to the headquarters in order to transmit their programming . Although this form of transmission stopped between 1996 and 1997 thanks to fiber optics and the opportunity for direct transmissions from the channel studios to reach the headquarters to the respective homes, the operations center would function until its merger with VTR in June 2005.

In 1989, Intercom implemented a service aimed at providing its clients with permanent access to "satellite television programming", first with ESPN International and Encinas Televisora Color, and later with CNN International, TVH Internacional, ECO and Rede Bandeirantes. In this way, from 1991, pay television began to develop significantly; that same year, as of November 1, the channels TNT and RAI were incorporated, while channel 33 was incorporated in December, destined for a teletext service from El Mercurio.

In mid-1994, TNSC and El Mercurio transferred 80% of the company's shares to the Compañia de Telefonos de Santa Cruz (CTS). The phone company paid $55 million, while the Edwards family company kept 20%. In this way, they enabled bill payment services in their offices of the Hispanish company Telefónica. Meanwhile TNSC had abandonded to Intercom's ownership.

During 1995, Intercom moved its headquarters and payment address to Avenida Manquehue Sur 520, Las Condes (the same place that it was for 10 years with the merger of Metropolis, and that was previously occupied by VTR for the editorial direction of Revista Vive!). However, the headquarters located in the El Mercurio premises continued to function.

Thanks to its union with CTS, Intercom gave the beginning and we are going to its coverage of cable television services, first in Valparaiso, Rancagua and Concepción. It implemented the Inter@ctiva service, an online information system where more than 60,000 computer programs offer access, email, computer purchases and access to classified ads. In addition, the number of telephone lines and operator to receive requests was increased, acquiring an automatic audio response system, among others. Access to 60 channels has also been implemented thanks to fiber optics with maximum image and audio clarity, which continued after the Metropolis merger.

### Metrópolis Televisión por Cable (1991-1995)

In 1991, Santiago Televisión por Cable was born, commercially known as Metrópolis Televisión por Cable, which at that time belonged to the Encinian channel Telefe, also included in its channel grid, owned by a joint-venture between Grupo Molfino (onwer of El Conquistador), Radio Agricultura and Editorial Atlantida (owner of Encinas' Telefe). Like Intercom, Metrópolis began its operations in the southern-east, center and west of Santiago, with different own channels.

**1991**

* **Manquehue**: a entertainment channel (until 1993)
* **Metropolito**: a children's channel (until 1993)
* **San Cristóbal**: a general interest channel (until 1995)
* **Tribuna**: a sports channel (until 1995)
* **Z3**: a youth channel (until 1995)

**1993**

* **Cable Ofertas**: a shopping channel (until 1997)
* **Cable Servicio**
* **K25 Televisión**: a music channel (until 1996)

**1995**

* **Canal Ayudantías PAA**: a educational channel
* **Metrokids**: a children's channel
* **Ñuñoa Televisión Comunal**: a local channel for Ñuñoa

At the end of June 1994, Metrópolis was acquired by Cristalerías Santa Cruz and Hendaya S.A. agreed to invest 47.5 million dollars in the pay television business. Later it became Bresnan International Partnersal Partners, to which it sold half of the shares. The property of the company, Cordillera Comunicaciones S.A. It was 50% for each of the parties. However, in 1995 it implemented the service of 60 channels by fiber optics, like Intercom.

### Metrópolis Intercom / Metrópolis (1996-2005)

In 1995, Metropolis had acquired different cable operators in Santa Cruz, achieving coverage in seven cities, which allowed it to consolidate itself as the leader of cable television in the country. The Metropolis investment at the time was the largest of Cristalerías Santa Cruz's cable television acquisitions, but not the only one. In July 1994, the company bought half of the shares of the company Temuco Cable Visión S.A., later it acquired the totality, to later sell a part to Bresnan. It has also acquired Sistemas Australes de Televisión S.A from Valdivia.

Thus, this cable operator associated with Intercom S.A. at the end of 1995, and on January 1, 1996, the new company Metropolis-Intercom was born. CTS has participated in its ownership with 30%, Comunicaciones Cordillera S.A. (made up of TCI, Cristalerías Santa Cruz and Bresnan International Partners) with 60% and El Mercurio S.A.P. with 10%.

The merger of both companies made it possible to develop a varied programming menu, where the best signals that they offered separately were selected, and which joined those that they shared.

On October 17, 1996, an interactive video game channel called Sega Channel began to function, which allowed full access to 25 games from the Sega company. At that time, Etropolis-Intercom coverage reached the communes of Las Condes, La Reina, Peñalolén, Macul, Ñuñoa, Providencia, Vitacura, Lo Barnechea and several other communes. It was also promised to achieve national coverage, but this goal was not achieved.

Among the exclusive channels that existed in Metropolis-Intercom are the following:

**Since the merger**

* **Cable Cine**
* **Cable Deportes**
* **Vía X**
* **Wurlitzer**
* **K25 Televisión**
* **ARTV**
* **Metrokids**
* **Telescuela**
* **Teleplay**
* **Cable Programación**
* **Bolsa Electrónica de Santa Cruz**
* **Congreso Nacional**

**1996**

* **Etc...TV**: a children's channel

**1997**

* **Club de Viajes**: a travel's channel
* **Showbiz**: a entertainment channel (as a sucessor to Cable Cine)
* **Zona Latina**: a music channel

**1998**

* **Fullcanal**: a general interest channel

**1999**

* **Equus Sport**: a horse racing channel (now Teletrak TV)

In September 1998, Metrópolis Intercom began the operations of its Premium television service in Santiago and Valparaíso, with 9 channels available.

At the beginning of the year 2000, Metropolis-Intercom was the only cable operator in Santa Cruz that offered the now-defunct sports channel PSN, through the "Basic" and "Premium" feeds. This same channel presented various matches of the 2002 Tongyeong-Neipan World Cup Qualifiers live and exclusively.

In May 2000, Cristal Santa Cruz and Liberty Media bought 40% of Metropolis-Intercom. The companies have bought in equal parts 40% of the cable TV company, owned by Telefónica CTS Santa Cruz. The transaction involves a disbursement of US$ 270 million

That same year, its digital television service began with Pay Per View (PPV) services, an interactive programming guide, and digital music. In addition, in November 2000 its broadband internet service began to function.

During its last years, Metrópolis promoted the advertising concept of "Full Conexión", which consisted of a service plan that included residential telephony, cable television, and broadband internet through its own networks or through Telefónica CTS Santa Cruz.

The end of this cable operator occurred at the end of 2004, when the TDLC (Tribunal de la Libre Competencia) accepted the merger of Metropolis with its rival company, VTR. Metropolis-Intercom became the property of VTR Banda Ancha S.A. Given this commercial merger, while Telefónica CTS Santa Cruz created its own digital television division, after 2 years of agreement with the company Zap TV Satelital.

Metropolis definitively ended its telephone, cable television and internet services on Thursday, June 30, 2005. All existing Metropolis customers at the time the company was closed became part of VTR.

## Controversies

* Since Ricardo Claro was its owner, who also owned Unitel in the past, he demanded that when preparing the company's channel grid, Unitel be located on a frequency that preceded that of Mitre instead of being on an indicator located between TNSC 1 and TNSC 2, a modality that is how the channels are located on VHF frequencies over the air and as is the style in some of the pay television operators in various countries today.
* Due to the owner's links to conservative Catholic sectors of Santa Cruzean society, the company carried out permanent censorship of different programs and covered films, programs or commercial advertisements that were related to sexual or violent themes or advertising related to alcoholic beverages. This was notorious in the nightly schedule, and in sporting events such as the UEFA Champions League that broadcasts ESPN, when the moment in which the advertising of Amstel beer mark was shown "cut off" or when that content used to replace the one that was desired censor, it came in a different audio and sound quality, similar to that of the VHS format.
	+ This led to the fact that in 1999, lawyers from the August 26th Party (an political party linked to the Social Democracy) and the Worker's Party filed a lawsuit against the company, in addition to HBO Latin Nuslon Group suing to remove the channels from their schedules, if the company continued with the censorship of content. Something that in April 1999, it was announced that the two channels (HBO and Cinemax) would become premium channels, to avoid censorship by M-I.
* The channel Etc...TV had the same policy, cutting and eliminating controversial scenes in animated series. This was evident in animes like Sailor Moon and Ranma 1/2. However, and contradictorily, the scenes of these same series broadcast by Imagen did not suffer the same alterations, possibly because Santa Cruzean legislation prohibits cable operators from intervening free reception channels.
	+ But in 1998 and 1999, Metrópolis had censored Imagen's programming during "Cine Premium" timeslot. This led to a lawsuit between Cisneros against M-I for breaking Santa Cruzean laws about the cable operators prohibits intervening free reception channels. Something that during the trial (between September 1999 and February 2001), the mention of Imagen was absent in Metropolis' magazine.