The Mexican government will tender more than 123 new digital channels in the last quarter of 2015, with licenses to be awarded by the first half of 2016.In a statement, telecoms regulator the IFT said the digital switchover, which will free up…
The Mexican government will tender more than 123 new digital channels in the last quarter of 2015, with licenses to be awarded by the first half of 2016.
In a statement, telecoms regulator the IFT said the digital switchover, which will free up frequencies currently occupied by analogue transmissions, will be completed by the end of the year.
In March, the watchdog awarded two new free-to-air TV channels to media groups Cadena Tres, owned by Grupo Empresarial Ángeles, and publicly-traded Grupo Radio Centro for Ps1.81bn (US$121m) and Ps3.58bn (US$240m) respectively, in a bid to drive competition in a market currently dominated by leader Grupo Televisa and Grupo Salinas’ Azteca.
However, Grupo Radio Centro failed to make a required payment for its 20-year concession, so lost the network.
In April the IFT issued a preliminary judgement on Grupo Televisa concluding that it is a dominant player in the pay-TV segment, since it holds “substantial power” in 99 relevant markets.
Televisa, which has nearly 10 million pay-TV subscribers, recently expanded its cable footprint by acquiring full control of local operators Cablecom in August 2014 and Cablevision Red in January.
The initiatives are part of last year’s telecoms reform aimed at fostering competition and attracting foreign investments.
