Sistema Sandinista de Televisión

The Sandinista Television System (Sistema Sandinista de Televisión -SSTV) was a television network in Nicaragua, owned and operated by the government from 1979 to 1990.

History

When the Sandinistas overthrow the Somoza regime in Nicaragua in 1979, there were only two private television stations broadcasting in Nicaragua. Televicentro (Canal 2), founded in 1965 and owned by Televicentro de Nicaragua, S.A. of the Sacasa family and Canal 6 owned by the Somoza family and founded in 1959.

The SSTV was officially constituted by law on February 10, 1984 but both TV stations were confiscated by the Sandinista government already in July 1979 and the SSTV existed "de facto" since then.

The network was under the administration of a Board of Directors with representants from the Council of National Reconstruction, the president of The Superior Education National Council, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Telecommunications, the National Teacher's Association and the Nicaraguan Journalist Union.

In 1989 the Sandinista government decided to return Televicentro (Canal 2) to the Sacasa family. That was interpreted as an evidence of the political circumstances in the last years of Sandinistas rule with a more open and tolerant policy towards the opposition.

With Violeta Chamorro's triumph in the 1990 elections, Canal 6 became part of The National Television System (Sistema Nacional de Televisión - SNTV) until 1997 when it was legally declared in bankruptcy under Arnoldo Alemán's government.