AP News, July 15th, 2007
Mexico's antitrust commission said Sunday it has placed strict conditions on the nations biggest media company, Grupo Televisa SA, acquiring a 49 percent stake in cable TV operator Cablemas SA.
In a news release, the Federal Competition Commission, or CFC, said that for Televisa to acquire the stake in Cablemas, it must offer its free broadcast content to other pay-TV carriers in the country under non-discriminatory conditions. It must also carry any signals that have 30 percent or more national coverage on its satellite system, the release said.
The CFC said the conditions are similar but a little tougher to those it imposed on Televisa in February for its acquisition of a 50 percent stake in Monterrey cable company TVI.
Televisa dominates the Mexican market, operating four of the country's six nationwide broadcast channels, the Mexico City cable network Cablevision, and Sky Mexico, the country's only satellite television service.
Eduardo Perez Motta, president of the antitrust commission, said in a telephone conference with reporters that Televisa could appeal against the decision within 30 days. But he added that the company didn't do so in February when the CFC conditioned the TVI acquisition, even though Televisa had described that ruling as "harsh."
Televisa officials weren't immediately available to comment Sunday.
Perez Motta said the ultimate aim of the commission is to give consumers greater choice of suppliers for television, telephone and Internet services.
Televisa has been boosting its cable TV presence as it enters the market for "triple play," the offering of phone, Internet and video over the same network. Televisa's cable unit Cablevision began offering telephone service earlier this month.
