 | |
| Type | Broadcasttelevision network |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Availability | Caracas (channel 57),Maracaibo (channel 53), andBarquisimeto (channel 63) |
| Owner | Wilmer Ruperti Albavisión |
Key people | Wilmer Ruperti (owner, founder, and president) |
Launch date | October 5, 2007 |
Official website | canal-i.com |
Canal i is a privately owned 24-news channel based inCaracas, Venezuela, which can be seen over-the-air in the cities ofCaracas,Maracaibo, andBarquisimeto on channels 57, 53, and 63 respectively. It was officially inaugurated on October 5, 2007.
Canal i was officially inaugurated on October 5, 2007, taking over the signal of the now defunct music channel,Puma TV. Canal i is a 24-hour news channel; it is the fourth Venezuelan 24-hour news channel to be founded afterGlobovisión,Canal de Noticias, andTeleSUR. The president of Canal i,Wilmer Ruperti, invested$ 21 million in order to establish the network.
The idea to create Canal i dates back to 2004 when Ruperti purchased Puma TV, however, the project was delayed until 2006. Canal i aims to provide a fair and balanced news programming that does not have any political affiliations. Some of Canal i's presenters includeCarlos Escarrá, a pro-Chávez congressperson and member of theUnited Socialist Party of Venezuela, andJulio Borges, the leader ofJustice First, the second largest opposition party.
On March 13, 2020, the channel, along with others in the country, experienced interruptions in itsbroadcast signal and oncable operators due to theVENESAT-1 satellite going out of orbit, which was announced on March 25 of that year.[1][2]
In September 2023, Canal I became the official broadcaster of theTiburones de La Guaira baseball team,[3] after the team was acquired by Ruperti.[4] That same year, the channel debuted its coverage of theVenezuelan Professional Baseball League,[5] and in 2024, it broadcast the2024 Caribbean Series.
At the beginning of 2025, the channel changed its terrestrialbroadcast frequencies inCaracas andMaracaibo, from channel 55 to channel 29, and from channel 53 to channel 43, respectively.[6]