Trece (Paraguayan TV network)

Trece
Country	Paraguay
Broadcast area	Nationwide
Headquarters	Lambaré, Paraguay
Programming
Picture format	1080i HDTV
Ownership
Owner	Javier Bernardes
Sister channels	Unicanal
History
Launched	February 11, 1981; 43 years ago
Links
Website	trece.com.py
Availability
Terrestrial
Digital UHF (Asunción)	Channel 27.1
Analog VHF	Channel 13 (Asunción, listings may vary)
Streaming media
TRECE WEB	www.trece.com.py/vivo

Trece is a Paraguayan free-to-air television network launched in 1981. It is the head station of the JBB Group, which as of 11 January 2016 adopted this name. Channel 13 was the second television station to start nationwide broadcasts, after SNT, the first to broadcast entirely in color^[1] and the fourth television station to be set up in Paraguay overall including SNT's two inland affiliates that started shortly before Channel 13's operations started. In the 2010s, the channel changed owners twice eventually becoming a sister channel to Unicanal, and for a brief period between 2016 and 2019, it was known as RPC.

It also airs on the DTT service on UHF channel 27 since October 2017. The channel has been broadcasting from the city of Lambaré adjacent to the capital Asunción since the beginning.^[2]

History

Canal 13 Teledifusora Paraguaya

On February 11, 1981,^[3] on VHF channel 13 (where the station got its name) and under the aegis of Red Privada de Comunicación,^[1] the station is signed on by businessman Nicolás Bó Parodi, becoming the first television channel to broadcast entirely in color. Its launch gave a new dynamic to television in Paraguay.^[1] Bo Parodi had close relations to the family of dictator Alfredo Stroessner and the new channel had an officialist outline, as a propaganda outlet related to the regime. During the dictatorship, the channel didn't surpass government-sponsored channel SNT's audience.^[4]

The channel was the first to broadcast Brazilian telenovelas, the majority of which came from TV Globo. In its first two decades, noteworthy titles such as Isaura the Slave Girl, Roque Santeiro, Dona Beija [pt], Pantanal and O Rei do Gado stood out.^[1]

The channel was also responsible for producing sporting events, beauty pageants and key national productions, as well as producing concerts and other live shows held at the José Asunción Flores amphitheater, also owned by the channel. As of 2000 its terrestrial coverage reached Asunción, Coronel Oviedo, Caaguazú, José Domingo Campos, Ciudad del Este, San Juan, Santa Rosa, Encarnación, Concepción, Vallemí and Pedro Juan Caballero.^[1]

At the turn of the millennium, under Néstor López Moreira, the channel was implementing new technologies and changed its scheduling format.^[1]

El Trece

On November 22, 2005, El Trece started delivering a separate feed for cable companies outside of Asunción, which was also delivered across the Americas by satellite. The line-up for 2006 was going to consist of El Depto with Dani Da Rosa; Marque el 13, Comisaría 13, a strand for children Natalia Bourdillón and Magalí Sosa, the TV Globo telenovela Laços de Família, Rojito with Loreley Anderson and a new season of Rojo Fama Contrafama with Da Rosa.^[5] Former members of Telefuturo's Telecomio such as José Ayala, Walter Evers, Gustavo Cabañas and Paola Peralta became staff members of the channel in January 2006.^[6]

Christian Chena of Grupo Chena bought the channel in 2007. Goals included the conversion of the channel to becoming a ratings leader.^[7] The channel started airing a nightly call-TV gameshow sponsored by Personal Paraguay on January 7, 2008, airing on weeknights at 11pm.^[8] The program previously aired on Telefuturo.^[9] A Paraguayan version of the Chilean format Calle 7 was announced in November 2009, scheduled to premiere in March 2010.^[10]

On May 30, 2014, Grupo Chena sold its 25% share in the channel to Díaz e Hijos, owners of Hipermercado Luisito.^[11] This was planned since earlier in the year.^[12]

RPC

On January 11, 2016, Canal 13 was renamed Red Paraguaya de Comunicación. The rename gave greater priority to news and was touted as "a new outlet" starting "a new stage", as well as renewed emphasis in its news operation.^[13] The rebrand also brought forth a new schedule,^[14] which was announced at a special ceremony at Hard Rock Café Asunción, coinciding with the company's 35th anniversary.^[15] In March, new seasons of reality show Camino al éxito and game show Invencible premiered. The evening news increased to two hours to compete with the other channels.^[16]

In December 2016, one of its main programs, AAM, ended its run on RPC. The cause for its end was due to internal changes, as Grupo Chena was aiming to sell the channel.^[17] Chena, producer of the program, announced that it secured an agreement with Telefuturo for a new season, confirming rumors of the channel's sale to Grupo JBB, pending a final decision by December 31.^[18] The sale was made on 12 January 2017, when Christian Chena sold the channel to Grupo JBB, owned by Javier Bernardes, subject to CONATEL approval. JBB owned Unicanal, a cable channel, officially making it a sister channel.^[19] That year, JBB's new line of programs was being added little by little, with the first such program being Tercer Tiempo^[20] and later a Paraguayan version of the Chilean reality format Mundos Opuestos.^[21] The network cost US$1 million to bring the format to Paraguay and had already become successful.^[22] On September 19, 2017, Canal 13 launched its digital terrestrial television signal in the Greater Asunción metropolitan area on digital channel 27.1; this also enabled sister channel Unicanal to start OTA broadcasts on subchannel 27.2.^[23]

The success of programs such as Mundos Opuestos caused RPC to adopt a new slogan in July 2018, Experiencias Reales (Real Experiences).^[24]

By the time of its fortieth anniversary in February 2021, 80% of its programming was national.^[2]

Trece

On November 14, 2019, RPC announced at an upfront for 2020 that it would adopt the name Trece on December 2. The rebrand also gave the channel a new schedule.^[25] Javier Bernardes reiterated that the rebrand would position Trece as Paraguay's leading network, and that the rebrand was possible due to mass confusion from viewers over the RPC initials.^[26]