Televisa, TV Azteca and Telmex: the farce of telecommunications in Mexico

Within days, if not already happened this weekend, Televisa launches a new reality show. Have exhausted the subject of singers, dancers, Big Brothers, singers who dance, dancers who sing with ex-Big Brothers and other curious combinations. Who are the characters for this new opportunity? The imitators.

Meanwhile, across the spectrum, a few television channels, TV Azteca is also preparing his new reality. What innovative theme will compete for the Mexican public favor in the premium schedule on Sundays? You guessed it: another competition from imitators.

Ironic. And boring.

This relationship of "competition" between the two largest television companies in Mexico is recurrent. For years, for example, every Christmas or New Year, do not remember well, both television broadcast Titanic. Yes, dear reader: both television broadcasting in the best of their schedule the same movie for maybe four hours worth synchrony Olympics. Mexico mass mourns the death of Jack Dawson, each year, at the same time, by the same channels. That way, the viewer only has commercial breaks as a differentiator to choose between one channel or another.

The truth is that at this point the question of who imitates who loses sense because for all practical purposes both Televisa and TV Azteca, are one thing and the same: a huge waste of resources to design the worst possible programming the same way, every day, with its reality shows, football matches, news, talk shows, news, in a cynical and cowardly.

Why talk about this? It happens that these days the Mexican authorities ponder afford to buy half the shares in the telephone operator Iusacell by Televisa, the first one owned by TV Azteca (Grupo Salinas). The purchase is accepted, Televisa and TV Azteca would close an unprecedented alliance for telecommunications in Mexico. The new monster result of the merger only with papers and actions confirm that stock up telling them that they are not two heads but a very dangerous and ready to engulf everything in its path with a power multiplied.

Of course, the same can not attract. So Telmex owner Carlos Slim and countless other things, through its partner Dish and MVS Communications, issued a statement of tears entitled "Televisa and TV Azteca ¿of the duopoly to monopoly?" . Come to the first point:

1. Regardless of their apparent dominance in broadcast television, the authorization would give another platform Televisa's pay television (TotalPlay) to be added to Cablevision, Sky and its recent acquisitions Cablemás, Cablevision Monterrey, Bestel and fiber CFE lens, all authorized by the current administration, which would increase their already disproportionate share of the market for pay television in the country.

The phrase "disproportionate share" has its charms whenever he says it is actually one of the leading Latin American monopolies and as such responsible for the backwardness of Mexico major in communications, complete with the wide band insignificant . The claim is valid though. Let the rest:

2. IUSACELL The concentrated duopoly would become the only company authorized by government to offer "Quadruple Play" (Voice, Video, Data, Fixed and Mobile), which would be impossible for a fair competition.

3. TVAZTECA Televisa Mexico have prevented DISH channels of advertising on television and other media that they control.

4. Televisa conditions the retransmission of their channels open to the compulsory purchase of 14 channels out of the market price, while DISH has refused to TVAZTECA their signals.

5. Televisa legal devices used with DISH trying to eliminate as competition.

6. The duopoly exerts its purchasing power broadcast TV for exclusive pay television, as were the cases of the World Cup, the Olympics and the football.

7. Televisa and eliminated TVAZTECA that produces five channels DISH Mexico of all the systems that control pay TV, leaving millions of households without alternative and suppressing competition signals that represent them.

The truth is that TV viewers open and Mexican trade has no options, only a simulation of variety television in the 80 stagnant, mediocre collection of imitation series, game shows, refried autoplagios. Innovative programs for Mexican television can be counted on the palm of your hand.

As stated by John M. Ackerman in La Jornada :

authorities should take steps to remove these powers defining oligopolies that have ridden to the national economy and to promote a true democratization of access to information ...

When companies have a quiet life, when there is vigorous competition, invest less, innovate less and are significantly reduced productivity. That's the main problem with the Mexican economy today ...

So once again our right mortgage to be informed and responsible manner plural in a historic moment as important for the country.

Competition in telecomuniciones shameful farce is a fruit that speak for themselves, as "Laura", "window" and a miserable communications strategy that inhibits the explosion of our technological development. The TV Azteca, Televisa alliance install a monopoly to the list, with Telmex in the lead, again in election time.

The Internet based on openness, horizontality, transparency, neutrality, contracts, peer-to-peer, it seems too advanced compared with ideas that dominate the landscape of telecommunications in Mexico, it only remains to conclude that decision makers in this country and coerce lobbies that live in the prehistory of opinion only.