Television in Mexico

Television in Mexico first began in August 19, 1946 in Mexico City when Guillermo González Camarena transmitted the first television signal in Latin America from his home’s bathroom. On September 7, 1946 at 8:30 PM (CST) Mexico’s and Latin America’s first experimental television station was established and was given XE1GC callsign. This experimental station broadcasted an artistic program and interviews on Saturdays for two years.^[1] Mexico’s first commercial station XHTV channel 4 was established on August 31, 1950 in Mexico City. It started transmitting on the following day. The first program to be broadcast was Mexican President Miguel Alemán Valdés IV Informe de Gobierno.^[2] Mexico's first color television transmission was carried out by Guillermo González's XHGC Canal 5 in Mexico City.

Network television

There are six major commercial broadcast television networks in Mexico, which four are owned by Televisa and two by TV Azteca. Televisa owned networks are Canal de las Estrellas, FOROtv, Canal 5, and Galavisión. The TV Azteca owned networks are Azteca 7 and Azteca 13. All six networks have their flagship stations located in Mexico, Distrito Federal. These flagships are XEW for Canal de las Estrellas, XHTV for FOROtv, XHGC for Canal 5, XEQ for Galavisión, XHIMT for Azteca 7 and XHDF for Azteca 13.^[3][4]

Digital television

Mexican television company Televisa made experimental HDTV broadcasts in the early-1990s, in collaboration with Japan's NHK. During the first half of 2005, at least one cable provider in Mexico City, Cablevision, has begun to offer 5 HDTV channels to subscribers purchasing a digital video recorder.

In January 2006, Televisa's XEFB-TV and Multimedios' XHAW-TV in Monterrey began HDTV transmissions on UHF channels 48 and 50, respectively. In February 2006, Televisa's XHUAA in Tijuana began its HDTV transmissions on channel 20.

The digital transition was divided in 6 triannual periods and started on July 5, 2004 just three days after the adoption of ATSC. The analog signal was to be cut off no sooner than January 1, 2022.^[5]

President Felipe Calderon said in his 4th informe that he wants the analog signal to be cut off by 2015.

Currently there are 38 digital channels in Mexico.^[6]

Cable television

The first cable system started to operate in the early 1960s in Monterrey, as a CATV service (an antenna at the top of the Loma Larga, which could get TV signals from South Texas). Most of the other major cities didn't develop cable systems until the late 1980s, due to government censorship. By 1989, the industry had had a major impulse with the founding of Multivisión—a MMDS system who started to develop its own channels in Spanish—and the later development of companies such as Cablemas and Megacable.

Over the past few years, many US networks have started to develop content for the Latin American market, such as CNN en Español, MTV, Cartoon Network, Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and others. The country also has a DTH service called SKY (Televisa & News Corp. owned). Recently DirecTV merged with Sky. The dominant company nowadays is Megacable and Grupo HEVI.

High-definition

Televisa and TV Azteca have HDTV channels in places other than Mexico City, like Ciudad Juárez, Tijuana, Monterrey and others.

XETV in Tijuana, Baja California, is on the air in HDTV using 720p format on UHF channel 23 and broadcasting from Mt. San Antonio in Tijuana, with 403,000 watts, directed primarily northward at San Diego, where it serves as an affiliate for the American CW Network. Channel 20 broadcasts an upscaled version of the programs of XHUAA's analog signal on channel 57.

Another American border station, Matamoros, Tamaulipas licensed Fox affiliate XHRIO-TV, broadcasts their digital signal on digital channel 49, though not on a digital channel of their own in Mexico; instead XHRIO-DT broadcasts on an American station as a digital subchannel of sister station KNVO in McAllen, Texas, which is a Univision affiliate.

Major stations

• TV Azteca
• Televisa

List of stations

As of February 12, 2010 there are currently 38 digital stations operational:

DTV channel	Broadcaster	Analogue channel	City	Notes
23 XEIMT	Canal 22	22	México, Distrito Federal
24 XHIMT	TV Azteca	7
25 XHDF	TV Azteca	13
26 XHTVM	TV Azteca	40
27 XHREA	Cadenatres	28
33 XEIPN	Once TV	11		Broadcast Tests
44 XEQ	Televisa	9
48 XEW	Televisa	2
49 XHTV	Televisa	4
50 XHGC	Televisa	5
24 XEWO	Televisa	2	Guadalajara, Jalisco	Currently redirects to 9.1 channel in digital mode
26 XHG	Televisóra de Occidente	4
29 XHGA	Televisa	9
31 XHSFJ	TV Azteca	11
33 XHJAL	TV Azteca	13
23 XHX	Televisa	10	Monterrey, Nuevo León
31 XET	Televisa	6
39 XHWX	TV Azteca	4
43 XHFN	TV Azteca	7
48 XHCNL	Televisa	34
50 XHAW	XHAW Televisión Digital	12
22 XHUAA	Televisa	57	Tijuana, Baja California
23 XETV	XETV Radio Televisión	6
28 XHJK	TV Azteca	21
29 XHTIT	TV Azteca	27
32 XEWT	Televisora de Calimex	12
29 XHJCI	Canales de Televisión Populares	32	Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua	Falsely identifies itself as XEPM
34 XHCJE	TV Azteca	11
36 XHCJH	TV Azteca	20
25 XHEXT	TV Azteca	20	Mexicali, Baja California
28 XHAQ	TV Azteca	5
34 XHBM	Canales de Televisión Populares	14
19 XERV	Canales de Televisión Populares	9	Reynosa, Tamaulipas
36 XHREY	TV Azteca	12
30 XHAB	Televisóra de Matamoros	7	Matamoros, Tamaulipas
33 XHOR	TV Azteca	14
25 XHBR	Televisa	11	Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas
50 XHLNA	TV Azteca	21
51 XHLAT	TV Azteca	33
29 XHP	Televisa	3	Puebla

Cable Channels

• American Network - ABC and CBS' best. Available only in Mexico.
• De Pelicula - Mexican cinema from the Golden Era. Available in Mexico, Latin America, United States, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
• Telehit - Hit Music Network. Mexico and U.S.
• TL Novelas - Televisa's most famous soap operas. Pan American, European and Australian Versions.
• Unicable - Univision and low-cost productions.
• TVC - Magazine Network. Available in all Mexican States but DF. Produed by major cable-system provider PCTV.
• Platino - B-Movies.

References

1. ^ Latin America's first experimental television station (Spanish)
2. ^ XHTV first television station in Latin America (Spanish)
3. ^ Televisa website
4. ^ TV Azteca website
5. ^ "Televisión Digital Terrestre (TDT)". Archived from the original on 2008-04-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20080413235701/http://www.cft.gob.mx/wb/COFETEL/COFE_Periodos_de_Transicion_a_la_TDT. Retrieved 2007-11-30.  (in Spanish)
6. ^ http://www.cofetel.gob.mx/wb/Cofetel_2008/Cofe_canales_de_television_digital_in

See also

• List of Spanish language television channels

External links

• COFETEL (Comisión Federal de Telecomunicación) Plan for DTT