Television in Mexico

Television broadcasting first began in Mexico in 1950.

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 will be cut off no sooner than January 1, 2022.^[1]

Currently there are 38 digital channels in Mexico.^[2]

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:

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. ^ "Televisión Digital Terrestre (TDT)". http://www.cft.gob.mx/wb/COFETEL/COFE_Periodos_de_Transicion_a_la_TDT. Retrieved 2007-11-30. (in Spanish)
2. ^ 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

Categories: Television in Mexico