Mexico says Televisa has "substantial power" in TV market

A Mexican regulatory agency declared Friday that the country's largest broadcaster, Grupo Televisa, has “substantial market power” in cable television service. The declaration triggers a potential investigation into whether the company's market sway requires additional regulatory moves to allow competitors to enter or expand.

The Federal Telecommunications Institute said the company's “index of increasing prices and the high profit margins are evidence consistent with the existence of a market player that does not have competition that would effectively limit its ability to fix prices.” The agency also cited barriers to entry to the market and long-term contracts that limit customers' ability to change cable providers. Grupo Televisa said in a statement that the decision was “inconsistent with previous resolutions” by the agency and that it would consider steps to defend itself.(AP) RUP RUP