The History of Broadcast Television Monopoly in Mexico (1950-1993)

Abstract

Monopoly is a critical category for understanding modern economic dynamics. It is the most important and dominant fraction of capital, and it is essentially developed and expressed in the field of product manufacturing and service provision. Its most operative and institutional product is the large company. From its earliest days, the Mexican television has always been dominated by monopoly capital, because almost all television production groups have been represented by large companies or parts of business groups. It is possible to establish three great periods in the monopoly television history in Mexico: the first one, from the middle of the 40's until 1955, in which the capital participating in the emerging activity are organized and until the creation of Telesistema Mexicano; the second one from the middle of the 60's until 1972, when the monopoly, besides including the operation of private companies, adds the state activity in television. Finally, the third one started with the creation of Televisa (1973) and included the foundation of the state network Imevisión. This period ended in 1993 marked by the privatization of this state network.