Azul Televisión (Argentina) (PatrZDZ's vision)

**Channel 9**, known by its brand name **Azul Televisión**, is an Argentine free-to-air television network based in Buenos Aires with programming centred on general entertainment. Owned by Seven West Media Limited, it also operates 3 regional stations across the country - in Mar de Plata, Resistencia and Paraná.

## History

### Origins and first Romay ownership

After the fall of the second government of Juan Perón, the military government of Pedro Eugenio Aramburu opened three new television licenses in Buenos Aires for bidding: channels 9, 11 and 13. The winner for channel 9, which would bear the callsign LS 83 TV, was Compañía Argentina de Televisión, S.A. (CADETE), which began its broadcasts in 1960. Canal 9's stock was partially owned by foreign companies, including the United States' NBC.

In 1963 Alejandro Saúl Romay, who was the owner of Radio Libertad and known as "the czar of TV", became the manager of Canal 9, and in the following years he acquired the stock held by the foreign investors, transforming Canal 9 into the first television network fully funded by Argentine capital. Under his leadership, Canal 9 became competitive in the ratings, fighting for first place with Canal 13 and then Canal 11.

### Nationalization

In 1974, during Juan Perón's third term as President of Argentina, Canal 9 was seized by the government along with channels 11 and 13, remaining as a state-owned station throughout the following military regime, this time under Argentine Army administration. It began color broadcasts in 1980.

### Romay returns

At the end of military dictatorship, the network was re-privatized in 1983, and Alejandro Romay regained control of the channel in the bidding process, a position he would hold from taking possession of the station on May 25, 1984, until 1997. In the five months between the return to democracy and Romay's taking control of the station, Alfredo Garrido took over as administrator, sowing the seeds for Canal 9's return to the top of the ratings throughout the remainder of the 1980s. Romay's long term as the owner of Canal 9 made him one of the most powerful figures in Argentine media. Following its re-privatization, the station was renamed "Canal 9 Libertad" (Channel 9 Liberty) and a new logo debuted for this purpose. In 1997, new studios were constructed in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Colegiales.

At its height under Romay, Canal 9 adopted as part of its visual identity a dove near the number 9 logo, which earned the channel the nickname of El canal de la palomita ("The channel of the little dove"). It was replaced with a heart logo in 1995.

### 1997-present: Azul Televisión

Australian regional broadcaster Prime Television bought all of Canal 9 in 1997 for US$135 million ($218 million in 2020 dollars); Prime then onsold half of it for US$74 million. In response to a ratings slump and wanting to tone down Canal 9 from a style that often tended toward the sensational under Romay, a US$20 million ($31.8 million in 2020 dollars) rebranding effort was embarked upon, with its largest element a massive rebrand from Canal 9 Libertad to Azul Televisión in January 1999.

On 1 November 2021, Seven West Media announced that it would acquire all the shares and subsidiaries of Prime Media Group - including half of the shares in Azul Televisión. This was Seven West Media's second attempt at purchasing Prime, after its previous attempt in 2019 was thwarted by Australian Community Media boss Antony Catalano and rival WIN Corporation owner Bruce Gordon, who cited Seven's debt problems at the time and its poor ratings performance as their reason for their refusal. Majority of Prime's shareholders voted in favour of the deal on 23 December, with the sale completed on 31 December.