Canal 8

Canal 8 is a Costa Rican free-to-air television channel of Mexican origin, operated by Grupo Multimedios. It began broadcasting on 29 July 2017 and transmits nationally on digital terrestrial television on virtual channel 8.1. The channel is a generalist service whose schedule mixes Costa Rican productions — both in-house and independently produced — with programming from its Mexican parent, including content originally carried on Multimedios México and Milenio TV. Its best-known programme is the Costa Rican edition of the Telediario newscast, which the channel's own web presence promotes as its live television offering. Other notable shows include the sports programme Fútbol al día, Alerta 8, Mi casa es su casa and La Revista. According to Ipsos research cited in August 2020, Canal 8 was the third most-watched channel in Costa Rican television, with Telediario as its most-viewed programme. The channel moved through Costa Rica's analogue switch-off: on 14 August 2019 Multimedios ended analogue transmissions in the Greater Metropolitan Area, while analogue signals continued in rural zones until the process was completed in 2021. Today Canal 8 is a digital-only national service on channel 8.1, positioned as a family-oriented generalist broadcaster under the slogan "#SomosFamilia" used on its web platform. As part of Grupo Multimedios, Canal 8 sits within a larger Mexican media group with interests in television, radio and publishing. Its Costa Rican operation combines local news, sport and entertainment production with the group's regional content pipeline, making it one of the main private free-to-air alternatives alongside Teletica, Repretel and other national players.

Canal 8 is a Costa Rican free-to-air television channel of Mexican origin, operated by Grupo Multimedios. It began operations on 29 July 2017, entering a Costa Rican market already served by established private broadcasters such as Teletica and Repretel. As a generalist channel, its early schedule relied heavily on retransmitting the signals of Multimedios México and Milenio TV, both owned by its parent group, before building out a slate of Costa Rican productions. Over time the channel developed local programming, including Costa Rican versions of the Telediario newscast and the sports show Fútbol al día, alongside titles such as Alerta 8, Mi casa es su casa and La Revista. It also continued to carry productions from the Mexican parent company. This mix of local news, sport and entertainment with imported group content defined its generalist identity. A significant operational milestone came with Costa Rica's analogue switch-off. On 14 August 2019, Multimedios ended its analogue transmissions in the Greater Metropolitan Area, while analogue broadcasts continued in rural zones where the switch-off was completed only in 2021. The channel now transmits nationally on digital terrestrial television on virtual channel 8.1. By August 2020, Ipsos research cited in the channel's Wikipedia entry ranked Canal 8 as the third most-watched channel in Costa Rican television, with its Telediario newscast the most-viewed programme on the channel. Its web platform, associated with Telediario, presents live television and news content under the slogan "#SomosFamilia", reflecting a family-oriented generalist positioning within the Costa Rican market.

• 2021

  Analogue switch-off completed in rural zones.

• 2020

  Ipsos research ranks Canal 8 as the third most-watched channel in Costa Rican television.

• 2019

  Multimedios ends analogue transmissions in the Greater Metropolitan Area as part of Costa Rica's analogue switch-off.

• 2017

  Canal 8 begins operations in Costa Rica.

Generalist family-oriented free-to-air channel; third most-watched in Costa Rica (Ipsos, August 2020).

• Telediario (Costa Rican edition)

• Fútbol al día

• Alerta 8

• Mi casa es su casa

• La Revista

1. 1Televisión: Telediario Costa Rica EN VIVOtelediario.cr
2. 2Canal 8 – Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Canal 8 (Costa Rica) – Wikipedia (Spanish)es.wikipedia.org