Latin American Cable Channel Line-ups

The current cable/satellite television boom in Latin America is fueled both by the rush of foreign channels as well as by the blossoming of many local channels. The existence of so many viewing options has definitely been a boon for Latin American consumers. A comparison of the cable channel offerings in Buenos Aires with other leading cities in the world such as Hong Kong, London, New York and Paris shows that the former is far superior in breadth and depth, with comparable or even cheaper costs to consumers.

At present, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico are the three Latin American countries that are receiving the most attention. In the case of Argentina, cable has already penetrated over 60% of the households. Cable/satellite penetration in Brazil and Mexico is still low at the moment, but the large population bases and improving economies augur well for the future.

In the table at the bottom of this page, we list the channels that appear on the major cable systems in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. This serves to collect in a single place the variety of cable offerings that are available at this moment in time (circa August 1997). You will find the links to many of these cable systems and channels on the media link pages in this web site. These six systems carry a total of 121 different channels, but there are still many other channels not carried by them.

The largest cable systems in Argentina offer over 70 different channels each. Even so, this space is still not enough as more than twice that number of channels clamor to break in. The Brazilian and Mexican cable systems have smaller capacity, which makes for even more competitive situations. We cannot expect the marketplace to be able to sustain all these channels indefinitely. Over the next few years, we expect to see many failures, even as more new entries appear.

In the table, we find a number of boutique channels developed by and for the cable systems. As such, competing cable systems are unlikely to carry them. Furthermore, these channels are often developed to suit local tastes (for example, national or metropolitan news channels, vintage national movies, etc.) and are seldom seen outside the country. These should not be regarded just as curiosities, because their creation and continual existence reflect consumer demand for certain types of programming not offered by the market leaders. In fact, some of these boutique channels are surprisingly popular. A case in point is Golden Cinema, featuring vintage Mexican movies.

We will not update the information on this page, because we intend to use it as a piece of historical datum. In a few years' time, we can look at this page, and we will be able to remember these very giddying and exciting times.

Channel Line-ups on Six Major Cable Systems
in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico
(August 1997)

(Note: We have not listed any national broadcast networks that are available only in its own country. We only listed those broadcast networks that are available outside its own country, but marking it with a 'B' in its own country.)

(posted by Roland Soong, September 8th, 1997)

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