Gustavo Cisneros, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the
Cisneros Group of Companies, today announced that the Cisneros Group
plans to bid in partnership with Colombian businessman Luis Carlos
Sarmiento for a license to operate Colombia´s new third
privately-owned television channel. Mr. Cisneros said he will make the
bid in the next few weeks in order to expand the media entertainment
alternatives available to that Latin American nation.
"It gives me great pleasure to participate in this process, which
is why we just met in Bogota with the board of the National Television
Commission of Colombia (CNTV)," Mr. Cisneros said.
Luis Carlos Sarmiento is one of the most important businessmen in
Colombia with interests in telecommunications, construction and
finance.
Other groups reportedly interested in bidding on this new
commercial channel include Casa Editorial El Tiempo with the Planeta
Group of Spain; Grupo Prisa of Spain possibly with Televideo; Group
Angel Gonzalez of Miami alongside Camilo Cano; RTI beside NBC
Universal Telemundo and Televisa of Mexico.
It is expected that the new channel will go on the air in 2009.
About the Cisneros Group of Companies
The Cisneros Group of Companies is one of the largest privately
held media, entertainment, telecommunications and consumer products
organizations in the world. The Cisneros Group owns or holds interests
in companies ranging from broadcast television, television production,
and telecommunications to beverage businesses and travel resorts.
Through its diverse businesses and partnerships, Cisneros delivers
some of the most recognized brands and highest quality services to the
550 million Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking consumers in the Americas
and Europe. The Cisneros Group sells TV programming and other media
content on five continents and in over 90 countries.
