Television in Mexico first began in August 19, 1946 in Mexico City when Guillermo González Camarena transmitted the first television signal in Latin America from his home’s bathroom. On September 7, 1946 at 8:30 PM (CST) Mexico’s and Latin America’s first experimental television station was established and was given XE1GC callsign. This experimental station broadcasted an artistic program and interviews on Saturdays for two years.[1] Mexico’s first commercial station XHTV channel 4 was established on August 31, 1950 in Mexico City. It started transmitting on the following day. The first program to be broadcast was Mexican President Miguel Alemán Valdés IV Informe de Gobierno.[2] Mexico's first color television transmission was carried out by Guillermo González's XHGC Canal 5 in Mexico City.
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There are six major commercial broadcast television networks in Mexico, which four are owned by Televisa and two by TV Azteca. Televisa owned networks are Canal de las Estrellas, FOROtv, Canal 5, and Galavisión. The TV Azteca owned networks are Azteca 7 and Azteca 13. All six networks have their flagship stations located in Mexico, Distrito Federal. These flagships are XEW for Canal de las Estrellas, XHTV for FOROtv, XHGC for Canal 5, XEQ for Galavisión, XHIMT for Azteca 7 and XHDF for Azteca 13.[3][4] There are two minor networks Multimedios Television and cadenatres with few repeaters and affiliates but are available nationwide through pay television companies.
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 was to be cut off no sooner than January 1, 2022.[5]
President Felipe Calderon said in his 4th informe that he wants the analog signal to be cut off by 2015.
Currently there are 38 digital channels in Mexico.[6]
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.
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.
As of February 12, 2010 there are currently 38 digital stations operational:
| DTV channel | Broadcaster | Analogue channel | City | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 XEIMT | Canal 22 | 22 | México, Distrito Federal | |
| 24 XHIMT | TV Azteca | 7 | ||
| 25 XHDF | TV Azteca | 13 | ||
| 26 XHTVM | TV Azteca | 40 | ||
| 27 XHTRES | Cadenatres | 28 | ||
| 33 XEIPN | Once TV | 11 | Broadcast Tests | |
| 44 XEQ | Televisa | 9 | ||
| 48 XEW | Televisa | 2 | ||
| 49 XHTV | Televisa | 4 | ||
| 50 XHGC | Televisa | 5 | ||
| 24 XEWO | Televisa | 2 | Guadalajara, Jalisco | Currently redirects to 9.1 channel in digital mode |
| 26 XHG | Televisóra de Occidente | 4 | ||
| 29 XHGA | Televisa | 9 | ||
| 31 XHSFJ | TV Azteca | 11 | ||
| 33 XHJAL | TV Azteca | 13 | ||
| 23 XHX | Televisa | 10 | Monterrey, Nuevo León | |
| 31 XET | Televisa | 6 | ||
| 39 XHWX | TV Azteca | 4 | ||
| 43 XHFN | TV Azteca | 7 | ||
| 48 XHCNL | Televisa | 34 | ||
| 50 XHAW | XHAW Televisión Digital | 12 | ||
| 22 XHUAA | Televisa | 57 | Tijuana, Baja California | |
| 23 XETV | XETV Radio Televisión | 6 | Tijuana, Baja California | English Language, generally serves San Diego, California |
| 28 XHJK | TV Azteca | 21 | ||
| 29 XHTIT | TV Azteca | 27 | ||
| 32 XEWT | Televisora de Calimex | 12 | ||
| 29 XHJCI | Canales de Televisión Populares | 32 | Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua | Falsely identifies itself as XEPM |
| 34 XHCJE | TV Azteca | 11 | ||
| 36 XHCJH | TV Azteca | 20 | ||
| 25 XHEXT | TV Azteca | 20 | Mexicali, Baja California | |
| 28 XHAQ | TV Azteca | 5 | ||
| 34 XHBM | Canales de Televisión Populares | 14 | ||
| 19 XERV | Canales de Televisión Populares | 9 | Reynosa, Tamaulipas | |
| 36 XHREY | TV Azteca | 12 | ||
| 30 XHAB | Televisóra de Matamoros | 7 | Matamoros, Tamaulipas | |
| 33 XHOR | TV Azteca | 14 | ||
| 25 XHBR | Canal de las Estrellas | 11 | Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas | XHLAR (Televisa Regional) on 25.2 |
| 32 XHNAT | Multimedios | 45 | ||
| 50 XHLNA | Azteca Trece | 21 | Azteca Trece 3D on 50.2 | |
| 51 XHLAT | Azteca 7 | 33 | ||
| 29 XHP | Televisa | 3 | Puebla |
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