RCN Televisión S.A.

—

## What it is

RCN Televisión S.A. operates Colombia’s second private free-to-air television channel, as well as online streaming services, and produces and broadcasts telenovelas, news, sports, reality shows and commercial content. The company also covers event management, film production, advertising, and runs a network of 14 radio stations broadcasting the channels RCN Nuestra Tele, NTN24 and MundoFOX.

The company’s cultural crown jewel is *Yo soy Betty, la fea* — the telenovela that became one of the most-remade television formats in history, exported from Bogotá to dozens of countries. Canal RCN is the second channel by audience in Colombia, and RCN Radio covers more than 80% of national territory with over 160 stations.

The company was incorporated on 15 April 1997, though its roots as a television production house go back to 1967 when it was founded by Carlos Ardila Lülle.

—

## Who owns it

The Ardila Lülle family controls RCN with no ambiguity. In December 2022, RCN Televisión confirmed a significant change in its shareholder structure: after a merger of several family holding companies — Servinsa OAL S.A.S., Heraga, Besmit, Proma, and Inversiones Gamesa — into Carbe S.A.S., Carbe emerged holding 86.28% of all shares, becoming the dominant shareholder. RCN described the transaction as a pure internal reorganisation — not a sale, not a change of control, and not a change in the ultimate beneficial owner.

The Organización Ardila Lülle is one of Colombia’s most important conglomerates; its parent vehicle is Carbe S.A., through which Carlos Ardila Lülle has historically managed stakes in more than thirty companies. The remaining ~13.7% of shares are publicly traded on the BVC, forming a thin but real free float.

—

## Who runs it

The Organización Ardila appointed José Antonio de Brigard as president of Canal RCN to lead the company through a period of change; De Brigard brings an extensive track record in television content production. He founded Teleset in 1995, a production company in which Sony Pictures later took a stake and then acquired outright. His appointment as a content specialist signals the family’s strategic bet: the path forward is selling programmes globally, not only selling advertising at home.

Carlos Julio Ardila Gaviria — son of founder Carlos Ardila Lülle — serves as president of RCN’s board of directors. The Organización Ardila Lülle itself is now led by Carlos Julio Ardila Gaviria, the eldest son of the conglomerate’s founder. A CFO name is not disclosed in available sources.

—

## The money, in plain words

In 2024, RCN brought in COP 542.88 billion (US$158 mn) in revenue (~$157.7 million USD) — down 1.07% from COP 548.76 billion (US$159 mn) the year before — and posted a net loss of COP 37.13 billion (US$11 mn) (~$10.8 million USD), 2.22% worse than 2023. That means for every peso of sales, RCN lost about 6.8 cents — a net margin of −6.8% (our calculation) — a company spending more than it earns for multiple consecutive years.

The losses are not new: RCN suffered COP 91.5 billion (US$27 mn) in losses in 2016, COP 95.1 billion (US$28 mn) in 2017, and COP 233.8 billion (US$68 mn) in 2018. The bleeding has slowed but not stopped. In mid-2024 advertising revenue — which covers roughly half of total income — grew 6.8%, outperforming a national TV ad market that actually shrank 1.4%. The bank debt picture is heavy: as of mid-2024, RCN owed COP 141.3 billion (US$41 mn) to Bancolombia, COP 89.0 billion (US$26 mn) to Banco de Bogotá, COP 15.1 billion (US$4 mn) to Davivienda, and COP 1.0 billion (US$290 k) to Banco de Occidente — a combined COP 246.4 billion (US$72 mn) (~$71.6 million USD) in bank obligations (our calculation). RCN pays no dividends and has no current plan to do so.

—

## What it is doing now

In the first quarter of 2025, RCN’s revenues rose 23% year-on-year to COP 123.5 billion (US$36 mn) (~$35.9 million USD), driven partly by higher production costs that climbed 41%. The result was a net loss of COP 29.3 billion (US$9 mn) (~$8.5 million USD) in Q1 2025 — 33% worse than the same quarter a year earlier. Revenue is growing; costs are growing faster.

Analysts point to the sale of Postobón — the conglomerate’s flagship beverage business, which generated COP 5.2 trillion (US$1.5 bn) in 2024 revenues — to Guatemalan bottler CBC as a structural shift that removes a key financial cushion that had informally supported other Ardila Lülle operations including RCN.

—

## What to watch

– **The cost spiral.** Revenue is recovering, but production costs are rising faster than income; the gap between the two is the whole story.
– **Content-export pivot.** De Brigard’s appointment as a content specialist raises the question of whether RCN can generate meaningful revenue licensing its formats and productions abroad, reducing dependence on a shrinking Colombian TV ad market.
– **Postobón’s exit effect.** The loss of the group’s largest and most profitable company removes an informal backstop; how the Ardila family refinances and restructures the broader group will determine RCN’s financial room.
– **Streaming competition.** As Netflix, Amazon, and other global platforms expand in Colombia, RCN’s free-to-air model faces structural audience and advertiser migration.

—

This is news, not investment advice.