Three companies vie for two television networks in Mexico – HOME

The Federal Telecommunications Institute (IFT) has announced the Thursday afternoon the three companies competing for the tender two broadcast networks. Eight companies began the process, but after the screen has been Centro Tepeyac National Information Studies, Three Chain and Grupo Radio Centro who satisfied the requirements imposed by the regulator to continue the contest to end in March 2015 with a final decision.

On Thursday was the deadline for the eight companies interested -whose names were kept secret and had received a favorable opinion on economic competition-handed documentation “Bid Security in a sealed envelope “as reported by the IFT in a statement. The procedure required the competitors to submit a letter of support from a bank or financial institution for at least 415 million pesos (30 million dollars). In recent months the regulator noted that the minimum value to jump-start the new network in Mexico amounted to 830 million pesos (61 million dollars). Applicants should also have a proposal cover at least 30% of the country’s states.

The powerful brothers Vazquez Rana, originating Tickets (Ourense), have been in the final shortlist. Mario is president of Tepeyac Studios a subsidiary of the Mexican Editorial Organization, which includes 70 newspapers, 24 radio stations and 43 Web sites and has been identified by its proximity to the PRI, the party in government. His younger brother Olegario has created an empire with Grupo Empresarial Angeles, which began in 1986 with a hospital and now totals more than 30 hotels, a financial group, 28 nosocomial and media group that owns Cadena Tres, radio and mythical newspaper Excelsior. He is also known because it sits at the table playing dominoes with billionaire Carlos Slim and because signed Ronaldinho for Queretaro, a discrete football team owned by the group.

Francisco Aguirre, president of Grupo Radio Centro , who will try to prevent the two broadcasters remain in family hands. Aguirre himself a member of a clan of ancestry in Mexican media. His father founded the group in the early 40s Since then the company grew to become the first Latin American radio company placing shares on the NYSE. With 12 radio stations, country music from the offer up to 24 hours of news on a dial group whose flagship Zabludovsky James, one of the oldest journalists in Mexico for decades and who was in charge of the nightly news Televisa.

The estimated IFT any new players to grab the strings take up to five years to obtain the 8.5% of the pie industry, dominated until today by Televisa, a giant who has 43% of the audience. The government of Enrique Peña Nieto conducted reforms to try to open the telecommunications sector. Following the adoption of the law prohibited the independent regulatory body for television broadcasts exclusively or charge their competitors using their network television to promote competition.

Another measure to achieve this is the competition for the first time in history, two digital channels the grant is for two years with possibility to extend. It will be until March 11 that full IFT open the envelopes containing the economic and participants offer coverage and dispel doubt who will be the David to fight Goliath.