New Law Would Further ‘Corporatization’ of Mexican Media

MEXICO CITY (IPS/GIN) -- Seven out of 10 Mexican television viewers watch channels belonging to the Televisa consortium, while two out of 10 watch TV Azteca channels. Radio broadcasting stations are concentrated in the hands of 13 business groups.

Although this handful of firms already has almost all of the audience and a large share of the advertising, it wants an even bigger piece of the pie -- and might get it.

Amid open pressure from Televisa, the Senate has been debating since January a bill that would give even more power to big media companies like Televisa, which also own newspapers, sports stadiums, theaters and football teams.

The bill, approved in December by the House of Representatives, would replace a law in effect since the 1960s, which is criticized for favoring the concentration of media ownership and allowing government to allocate and withhold broadcasting frequencies, which are by definition public property.

But far from democratizing the media, the new law, which would open up the airwaves to competition, would give even more power to the powerful, sinking small community and educational radio and television broadcasters, observers say.

More