# Venezuela: the government declines to renew RCTV's broadcast concession

Published 2026-09-23. Last reviewed 2026-09-22. 3 sources.

Status: historical, as of 2026-09-22.

What we don't know: The source reviewed does not state whether Venezuela complied with the 2015 Inter-American Court ruling by taking any specific remedial action.

Venezuela's government let Radio Caracas Television's twenty-year broadcast concession expire rather than renew it, replacing the country's most-watched channel with a new state broadcaster; a regional human rights court later found the decision violated free expression.[1][2][3][4]

- Country: [Venezuela](https://thewaronnews.com/countries/ve) (RSF 2026 rank: 159th of 180)
- Where: VE
- Level of government: National
- Tactic: Licensing and closure of outlets
- Stage: Silence (ladder: https://thewaronnews.com/ladders/outlet_licensing#stage-silence)
- Ladder note: The country's most-watched television channel lost its national broadcast concession entirely, later found by an international court to have been aimed at ending its critical coverage.
- Head of government at the time: [Hugo Chavez](https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/hugo-chavez)
- Issue of the day: President Hugo Chavez's government accused RCTV of supporting the failed April 2002 coup attempt against him, an accusation the government cited alongside the concession's scheduled expiration.
- Outcome: Sustained, 8 September 2015. A regional human rights court found in 2015 that the 2007 non-renewal violated free expression, but the source reviewed does not report RCTV's return to open-signal broadcasting.
- Era: The 2000s

## What happened

Radio Caracas Television's twenty-year broadcast concession was due to expire at midnight on May 27, 2007, and Venezuela's government, led by President Hugo Chavez, chose not to renew it. A new state broadcaster, the Venezuelan Social Television Station, took over RCTV's former frequency. Government officials accused RCTV's employees of having supported the failed 2002 coup against Chavez, and separately accused the channel of violating Venezuelan law and broadcasting indecent content; the administration described the non-renewal as the natural result of the concession's expiration rather than a deliberate act against the channel. In September 2015, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the non-renewal had in fact violated freedom of expression, finding it was "a restriction on the exercise of freedom of expression designed to impede the communication and circulation of ideas and opinions" and that the government's real purpose was to stop RCTV's critical coverage of Chavez's administration. The court said the decision had also harmed the public's right to access RCTV's editorial line.[1][2][3][4]

RCTV did not return to open-signal broadcasting; it continued only through cable and international channels.[3][4]

## What reason was given

The government described the non-renewal as "natural and inexorable," the automatic result of the concession's expiration, while separately accusing RCTV's staff of having backed the 2002 coup.[1]

## What changed for reporting

Venezuela's most-watched television channel went off the open airwaves entirely, replaced by a state broadcaster, ending its national terrestrial reach.[1][2][3][4]

## Timeline

- 2007-05-27: Venezuela: the government declines to renew RCTV's broadcast concession

## Who acted

| Name | Role in this incident | Office at the time |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Hugo Chavez](https://thewaronnews.com/actors/hugo-chavez) | ordered | President of Venezuela |

## Outlets and journalists

| Name | Kind | Relation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Radio Caracas Television (RCTV)](https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/rctv) | outlet | affected |

## Sources

1. Regional court orders Venezuela to reinstate RCTV on the air. https://cpj.org/2015/09/regional-court-orders-venezuela-to-reinstate-rctv/ (Committee to Protect Journalists, 2015-09-08).
2. CPJ urges Chavez to allow RCTV to stay on the air. https://cpj.org/2007/05/cpj-urges-ch%c3%a1vez-to-allow-rctv-to-stay-on-the-air/ (Committee to Protect Journalists, 2007-05-24).
3. Factbox: Chavez's thorny dealings with Venezuelan media. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/factbox-chavezs-thorny-dealings-with-venezuelan-media-idUSN24382984/ (Reuters, 2007-05-24).

## Claims cited

[1] The administration characterized the non-renewal as the natural and unavoidable result of the concession's expiration. Quote: "natural and inexorable" Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2007-05-24. CPJ urges Chavez to allow RCTV to stay on the air. https://cpj.org/2007/05/cpj-urges-ch%c3%a1vez-to-allow-rctv-to-stay-on-the-air/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/514, checked 2026-09-22.

[2] RCTV's broadcast concession was due to expire at 11:59 p.m. on May 27, 2007, and the government chose not to renew it. Quote: "The broadcast concession expires on May 27, 2007" Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2007-05-24. CPJ urges Chavez to allow RCTV to stay on the air. https://cpj.org/2007/05/cpj-urges-ch%c3%a1vez-to-allow-rctv-to-stay-on-the-air/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/574, checked 2026-09-22.

[3] The regional court found the non-renewal was designed to stop the circulation of RCTV's ideas and opinions. Quote: "a restriction on the exercise of freedom of expression designed to impede the communication and circulation of ideas and opinions" Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2015-09-08. Regional court orders Venezuela to reinstate RCTV on the air. https://cpj.org/2015/09/regional-court-orders-venezuela-to-reinstate-rctv/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/575, checked 2026-09-22.

[4] The court found the government's real aim was to stop RCTV's coverage critical of the Chavez administration. Quote: "to silence critics of the government" Source: Committee to Protect Journalists, 2015-09-08. Regional court orders Venezuela to reinstate RCTV on the air. https://cpj.org/2015/09/regional-court-orders-venezuela-to-reinstate-rctv/ Claim: https://thewaronnews.com/claims/576, checked 2026-09-22.

Source page: https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2007-venezuela-rctv-license-not-renewed. The War On News, CC BY 4.0.