12 September 2008 127 views No Comment

Mexican business on a national level relies on a perversion of an old adage, that becomes: “Two is a duopoly, three just ain’t happening.” The broadcast media sector is no exception, and, even though the youngest of the bitter public rivalries played out on the commercial patio of Mexican everyday life, probably the most well-known. Of course, when your field is telling people what’s going on in other people’s fields you have the perfect tool to make sure you and your field look important, too.

Media conglomerate Televisa is of Spanish origin and has a tighter hold on Latin America than any company in any sector. Controlling cable companies, TV networks, radio stations, record companies, publishing houses, three first division football teams and the national stadium provides its operation with a Mexican base. Having moved into the U.S., where the Latino population and therefore Spanish-language media market are growing, Televisa is racking up viewership and advertising that only a continent of this size where language is not a barrier can offer.

Televisa remains faithful to its Spanish holdings by circulating its stars on an inter-continental production line. How else would an infamous busty blond appear during Big Brother VIP in Mexico, be evicted from the Big Brother House only to appear the next week doing almost the same thing in the Spanish version of the show?

TV Azteca has only fifteen years in the game to Televisa’s 58. It can boast the transmission of  three TV stations (only two national) but not one radio station to its rivals’ 88.

The fierce competition between these two companies is really the basis of what you are seeing when watching the very bad entertainment, not bad sports and out-of-date imported content on any of their channels. When living in Mexico you will need to be patient once you realize that the news programs, political adverts and party political broadcasts (currently the Federal Government only allows itself to air these) are actually vitally important and could affect the price of things tomorrow, whether shops are going to be open or indeed how your child’s education is going to change next semester.

Fortunately, alternatives do exist in the form of Canal Once and Canal 22 (both available as a terrestrial channel in and around Mexico City or through cable services in other areas), both focus on the analysis and promotion of culture but do include thorough news and current affairs shows. For non-Spanish speakers, the only English newspaper which can keep you up-to-date on real issues is The News but, sadly, this is not yet available in all areas.