One Mexican network has crossed the border into Texas on Time Warner Cable systems and another is poised to make the move.
Through a deal with the nation's second-largest cable operator, Multimedios Television has rolled out its Multimedios service onto 15 of the operator's systems in The Lone Star State. It has also secured carriage for TeleRitmo, but the network has yet to launch with the operator in Texas.
The deal for Multimedios, terms of which were not disclosed, has given the network a presence on Time Warner systems with rollouts earlier this month in Austin, El Paso, Waco, Dallas, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Rio Grande Valley (Harlingen, McAllen, South Padre Island), Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Uvalde, and the Golden Triangle area of Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange.
The launch by Time Warner follows TeleRitmo’s rollout by Comcast in the Houston market during early September.
TeleRitmo, which is based in Monterrey, offers norteno and regional music that have crossed over from south of the border to the States over the past decade.
Multimedios offers three daily live newscasts, as well as children’s programming, fashion fare and entertainment programming, plus game shows and sports.
Gustavo Mena, a former distribution executive at CBS Cable and Telemundo/NBC who handles Multimedios Television’s cable and satellite distribution in the U.S., says the pact underlines the tight economic and familial integration between Texas and Mexico: “The over 70-percent Mexican segment of the Hispanic demographic is still being underserved. Lineups have to include brands that Mexicans like, and programming from a company like Multimedios."
Multimedios Television, the third-largest producer of original Spanish-language programming in Mexico, is part of Grupo Multimedios. The Mexican media giant's assets include: 37 AM and FM radio stations; nine broadcast TV stations; three TV networks; a 150,000-subscriber cable operator that offers television, broadband and telephony; 12 local, regional and national newspapers; a pair of national magazines; outdoor advertising; music concert venues, and amusement parks.
