TV Azteca operates two of Mexico’s most-watched stations. CEO Mario San Román discusses the Mexican digital and pay-TV market and the opportunities this growing market provides for broadcasters.

VIA SATELLITE: How many channels do you run currently?

San Román: Right now, Azteca has three over-the-air channels in Mexico, which are channel 13, channel 7 and Proyecto 40. We also have Azteca International, which is transmitted by satellite throughout the Americas and Spain. For the U.S. Hispanic market we have Azteca America, which is an over-the-air network with satellite coverage through Dish and DirecTV, as well as through cable systems. We also have a separate Azteca Mexico channel through DirecTV for the United States. Our sister company, Iusacell, has recently launched Total Play, which is a bundling service through direct fiber-optic connections that is a direct competitor of cable networks in Mexico. This will, of course, increase our production demand in the future. We are also transmitting on a trial basis all of our channels in HD in Mexico City as well as 20 other cities in the country.

VIA SATELLITE: What is your audience share?

San Román: Our main channels, channel 13 and channel 7, reach around 98 percent of Mexico’s population. In terms of audience share, our two major channels have a 40 percent share of what we call the commercial audience.

VIA SATELLITE: Are you planning to launch any channels in different areas?

San Román: We are planning to launch many new channels for cable and satellite systems. In the FTA business, we are not planning to launch any new channels. We have our network in the United States, and we own two FTA channels in Guatemala. We think cable and satellite will be a strong option for distribution in Latin America going forward.

VIA SATELLITE: What impact are new broadcasting technologies having on your business?

San Román: Our migration to HD is requiring major investment. It’s not unlike rebuilding a factory, where somebody comes in and says you have to get rid of all your old machines and bring new ones in. It is a big technical effort we have to make for the change in Mexico.

VIA SATELLITE: Where is the digital transition in Mexico?

San Román: The digital transition in Mexico is slated to be complete in 2020, however, the federal government is moving to accelerate the process. They have announced that they will try to get congressional approval to complete the transition in four years.

VIA SATELLITE: What are your plans in terms of producing more content in HD?

San Román: Today, we are producing almost all of our content in HD. Depending on the schedule I mentioned, Mexico is going to change from analog to digital transmitters. As a content producer as well as a broadcaster, we’ll have to produce more content in HD, not just for our channels but for additional satellite and cable channels as well.

VIA SATELLITE: Will you need more satellite capacity in the next year?

San Román: We will need a little bit more satellite capacity but not huge amounts.

VIA SATELLITE: What are your plans to move to MPEG-4?

San Román: We have done a lot of tests, and after this we decided to go to MPEG-4. This process is underway, but we are still in the middle of it.

VIA SATELLITE: What are the challenges for a broadcaster to stay relevant in the fragmented media environment?

San Román: This is a priority for us, as we see ourselves as a content producer. As a content producer, we need to make sure that our audience can watch us through any platform and at any time. We already have a very robust Internet channel where many of our programs are available, but we can do more. We are currently producing specific programs for the Internet, and this year, we will be launching channels and content for specifically designed for mobile phones, probably in the second quarter.