The Federal Institute of Telecommunications (IFT) approved a request for the frequency of channel 8 in Mexico City to be divided —multiplexed— into three different signals, now adding the channel “unife” to channels “The Herald TV” Y “Free TV”, which has been transmitting for that range of frequencies for a semester.
The telecommunications and broadcasting authority thus validated a request submitted by the still owner of the channel, The Eighth SACV Contenta subsidiary company of Radio Center Groupto install the Unife signal on digital channel 8.3, which will be operated by the same company that broadcasts the channel The Herald TV: Operator and Administrator of Information and Publishing, SA de CV
Unife —according to the same resolution of the IFT— is an informative and entertainment programming channel that could even become a direct competitor to the content broadcast by El Heraldo TV, given that it will broadcast news and entertainment content in approximately the same time slots, as has been done by the one that can also now be considered its sister channel.
The Unife channel claims to be a channel for the family and its logo seems to confirm it. He also claims to have newscasts, a variety show, and soap operas, which compete with programs on other channels such as Channel 6 of Multimedios, channel 3 of Imagen TV or the channels of Aztec Television and the channel of The stars in the same hours.
From the analysis carried out on the documentation presented, it can be deduced that the programming of the Unife channel is made up of programs of the magazine, talk show, debate and cultural genres, which are mostly aimed at people over 13 years of age (…) In accordance with the foregoing, the programmatic offer that the concessionaire intends to multiprogram through the virtual channel 8.3, could have the effect of paying for diversity, since it represents a channel with new content in the reference location,” said the IFT in its resolution P/IFT/231122/675.
The IFT gave twenty business days a The Eighth Contents to have the new channel on the air in its digital 8.3 spectrum signal, counted from last November 24. And you will have business days to notify the regulator when the channel is turned on, once it occurs.
According to the IFT, the interested parties exhibited a guarantee policy for a value of 100,000 pesosas an obligation that the Information and Publishing Operator and Administrator will transmit the new channel on time.
The sign of the channel 8, with acronym XHFAMX-TDT, has authorized coverage to radiate over all of Mexico City and two thirds of the Mexican territory, and to reach Tulancingo to the north; to Acambay and Jilotepec, to the west; to Alahilla, to the east, and Cuestepec, to the south, all towns in Hidalgo, Puebla, Morelos and the State of Mexico itself. Clearer: the XHFAMX-TDT can reach up to a distance of 100 kilometers from your antennaa, on a good day and with support from the wind, according to technical data from the Federal Institute of Telecommunications.
Grupo Radio Centro operated its signal directly until the first half of 2022, after reaching an agreement with El Heraldo TV and both companies announced as a “strategic alliance”whereby La Octava Contenidos SA de CV would rent the channel’s main signal to El Heraldo and would keep the signal multiplexed 8.2 to broadcast entertainment content with Free TV.
To date, the IFT has not discussed and even less approved a purchase and sale of the channel in favor of El Heraldo, if this were the plan of the companies.
