Perubólica
Perubólica is a colloquial term referred to Colombian community cable television networks which relay free-to-air satellite television signals from other countries. Although channels from other countries such as Mexico and Brazil were available in its heyday, the fixed channels were often Peruvian. These systems were used as a cheaper alternative to cable television, which was expensive in the 1990s and 2000s, as well as an alternative to the Inravisión monopoly, which was broken in 1998. Several Peruvian personalities became household names in Colombia.
Background
Until 1998, Colombia's television networks were dominated by Inravisión's three national networks, as well as its regional networks. Inravisión's national and regional networks were dependent on programadoras. The government gave licenses to Caracol and RCN Televisión in 1997 and started broadcasting in 1998, greatly debilitating the existing system.In the early 1990s, Colombia still had a protectionist economy, forbidding foreign brands from entering the country. The opening of the economy was made possible following the approval of the Colombian Constitution of 1991. Before 1991, all over-the-air television in Colombia was under the state's sphere of influence, forbidding private operators from exploring a license. In this context, the Constitution's Law No. 14 oversaw the privatization of the cable network in Bogotá and the exploitation of community cable networks receiving satellite dishes, circulating the channels to apartment blocks, community centers and municipalities. Moreover, Colombia was in a favorable position for satellite communications, which by 1995 had 15,000 systems operating nationwide.
Not all of the systems were legal: in an initial phase, there were systems carrying American cable networks, bypassing copyright rules. The networks that were the most pirated were Cinemax, HBO, Showtime and The Movie Channel, as well as Netlink's The Denver Five package, TVE Internacional, Rede Globo and Rede Bandeirantes. The National Television Council announced in October 1996 that it would legalize all of the over 10,000 systems available.
However, one country stood out from the wave of satellite channels available to Colombian systems: Peruvian channels.
Peruvian dominance
The Peruvian networks were seen as an alternative to the Inravisión channels: its programming was more advanced than Colombia, much like other networks available. Four channels stood out: Frecuencia Latina, América Televisión, Panamericana Televisión and Red Global. The most successful programs were a mix of Peruvian productions and foreign series which would often take longer for the existing channels to obtain. Each channel was known for its line of programming: Panamericana was known for Nubeluz, original comedy series and the Televisa kids' telenovela Carrusel. At noontime, it aired Aló Gisela with Gisela Valcárcel, which eventually made it to RCN's Yo soy Betty, la fea as a guest star. América was known for Karina y Timoteo, a children's program which aired Japanese anime, well as first-run Mexican telenovelas not yet broadcast in Colombia and Laura en América, which kickstarted Laura Bozzo's path to stardom. Frecuencia Latina was known for feature films and later, following a restructuring, cartoons, TV series and talk shows. Its most popular programs in Colombia's shadow audience were Torbellino and Pataclaun in the late 90s. Global was the least relevant; in the 1990s, when the Perubólicas were at their height, it mainly aired old cartoons and animes.Universal coverage of the Inravisión networks, the regional channels and the two new private networks left a few areas without reception of local channels, resorting to satellite systems. In areas where no national channels were available, such as Potreritos in Junín, less than one hour away from Bogotá, information on basic Colombian news was receivable only by radio. Even in the Urban area of Junín, locals had to pay for the satellite signals of Canal 1 and Canal A. In 1998, both DirecTV and Sky started broadcasting, enabling reliable nationwide reception of the national channels. In some cases, in order to receive the national channels, especially using the new digital operators, the user would have to cancel the subscription to the shadow system and pay for a monthly subscription of one of the providers. The general consensus over the preference for Peruvian networks in the 1990s was the quality of its reception.
Legal action
Concerns on the installation of such cable systems dates as far back as their implementation. On February 27, 1991, the Ministry of Communications suggested a possible suspension of these networks and the introduction of regulations in Bogotá.Following the legalization of the two private networks, the National Television Council found that half of the community television systems were found in Bogotá, which, in addition to free-to-air channels, carried pirated cable networks. In April 1999, the National Television Council ruled on sanctioning the suspension of around ten television operators, which included TV Ibagué. TV Ibagué appealed to the courts, obtaining a reduced fine. Another company, TV SAT, was hit by the sanction, blocking access to pay-TV channels, but not the foreign free-to-air services. In parallel to the relays of free-to-air and encrypted channels, these systems have also developed their own in-house channels which required acquisition of rights to certain content, at a price that ended up being higher than maintaining a community cable network. This was a way to circumvent the encryption of pay-TV channels available on regular cable
A May 2000 ruling noted that such systems carried US TV series, such as Ally McBeal, The X-Files and The Simpsons, bypassing international licensing rules, which would cost over US$100 million per month on local television. Viewers watched these series on free-to-air satellite channels not only from Peru, but also from Ecuador and Bolivia, at no cost. Calls to encrypt these channels were on the cards.