Mexico: Pay-TV market concentration eyed by authorities

Mexico’s telecommunications authority said Thursday it is now focusing on market concentration of the nation’s pay-TV industry and that it has launched an investigation reports say could lead to harsher regulations for market leaders.

The industry’s leader, Grupo Televisa, has the most to lose from the investigation by the Federal Telecommunications Institute, reports say. Authorities are focusing on whether companies in the market hold “substantial power” that could give them an unfair advantage over rivals.

The investigation follows Mexico’s recent revamping of competition rules and, in particular, of reigning in highly concentrated telco industries. In recent months, America Movil has been labeled as the nation’s dominant telecom, while Televisa was labeled dominant in the broadcasting sector.

Those labels allow authorities to impose regulations and restrictions on the business practices of dominant companies.

According to reports, if Grupo Televisa is deemed dominant, the company could be forced to curb its recent merger spree. Last month, the company acquired the rest of Cablecom that it did not already own for $650 million.

Full content: MSN

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