Sistema Público de Radiodifusión del Estado Mexicano

The Sistema Público de Radiodifusión del Estado Mexicano (Mexican State Public Broadcasting System, abbreviated SPR) until 2014, is an independent Mexican government agency. Its mission is to support the development of public broadcasting in the country and expand its coverage. It carries out this goal through ownership of a nationwide network of transmitters and the management of its own public television channel, Canal Catorce. It also owns four radio transmitters.

Mexican State Public Broadcasting System

Sistema Público de Radiodifusión del Estado Mexicano
Agency overview
Formed	August 13, 2014 (2014-08-13)
Preceding agency	Organismo Promotor de Medios Audiovisuales
Type	Decentralized public agency
Headquarters	Mexico City, Mexico
Annual budget	MXN$1.014 billion (2021)^[1]
Agency executive	Jenaro Villamil, President
Website	spr.gob.mx

History

By 2010, two major public television stations existed in Mexico: the National Polytechnic Institute's Once TV and Conaculta's Canal 22. The National Autonomous University in Mexico also operated low-powered test broadcaster XHUNAM-TDT channel 20 and the TV UNAM pay-TV network. However, not all of these stations, especially Canal 22 and TV UNAM, had national coverage outside of pay television services. None of them had a general national reach above 30%. The only national public television transmitters outside of Mexico City were owned by the IPN, and these did not include many major cities, including Guadalajara and Monterrey.

As a result, on March 31, 2010, a decree established the Organismo Promotor de Medios Audiovisuales (Promoting Organization for Broadcast Media, OPMA) to build new digital-equipped transmitter facilities, with the goal of increasing national coverage of public television in Mexico. When the first four OPMA transmitters were launched on July 12, 2010, national coverage for Canal Once (then known as Once TV México) jumped from 28% to 42%;^[2] by 2019, Canal Once had 67.5% coverage, the largest of all public television services.^[3]

The 2014 Mexican telecommunications reform transformed OPMA into the SPR, effective August 13, 2014.^[4] At the same time, the system became an independent agency no longer under the auspices of the Secretariat of the Interior (SEGOB).

Beginning in the OPMA era, the SPR also became a producer of its own content. In 2012, OPMA launched a new channel, originally known as Canal 30 TV México, which included rebroadcasts of programs from Canal Once and Canal 22 as well as new productions.^[5] The launch coincided with a new wave of OPMA transmitter sign-ons, including Monterrey and Mexico City.^[6]

On August 26, 2015, the IFT awarded the SPR concessions for seven new TV transmitters and two radio stations, the agency's first;^[7] it would be nearly six years before any of these TV transmitters was put into service. In 2016, the SPR received another package of seven TV stations, all on VHF, as well as three additional radio stations—the SPR three years later surrendered all of the TV concessions and two of the three radio stations, opting to retain the FM station in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, due to budgetary circumstances and a decision to make heavier use of existing public TV transmission infrastructure.^[8] A sixth radio station in Colima was approved in 2018.

XHSPO-TDT—the first on air of the 2015 transmitters—began official broadcasts on May 19, 2021, from the Canal Once transmitter site on Cerro de la Pila in Gómez Palacio, Durango.^[9] The largest expansion in SPR history was approved by the Federal Telecommunications Institute in June 2021, with the award of concessions for 24 new TV transmitters.^[10] On September 24 of the same year, XHSPS-TDT, located in San Luis Potosí, began its broadcasts.^[11] The first three 2021 transmitters went into service in February 2022: XHCPBU-TDT in Culiacán on February 14, XHCPBJ-TDT in Durango on February 16^[12] and XHCPBV-TDT in Los Mochis on February 22.^[13] On March 16, XHSPY-TDT in Tepic went into service.^[14] and on March 31, XHCPAW-TDT in Ciudad Delicias went into service. On June 1, XHCPCN-TDT in Ciudad Juárez went into service, transmitting from the XHUAR-FM antenna of the Instituto Mexicano de la Radio.^[15] On July 11, XHCPAV-TDT in Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua and XHCPAY-TDT in Saltillo, Coahuila went into service.^[16] On November 23, XHSPG-TDT in Acapulco, Guerrero and XHSPB-TDT in La Paz, Baja California Sur went into service.^[17] On December 21, XHCPCR-TDT in Tulancingo, Hidalgo went into service.^[18] The first transmitter to go on air in 2023, XHCPAU-TDT in Chihuahua, Chihuahua went into service on May 23.^[19]

Program services

Canal Catorce

Main article: Canal Catorce

SPR's flagship television network, Canal Catorce (Channel 14), broadcasts documentaries and other programs. Its programming is designed to strengthen the democratic values of Mexican society.

Altavoz Radio

Altavoz Radio, carried on the SPR's four radio transmitters, is aimed at a youth audience.

Television transmitters

The SPR holds concessions for 57 television transmitters, of which 42 are in operation. The operating transmitters cover 71.11 percent of the population.^[19]

In 2018, in order to facilitate the repacking of TV services out of the 600 MHz band (channels 38–51), 12 SPR transmitters were assigned new channels. On August 20 of the same year, all operating SPR transmitters had their call signs changed from XHOPxx to XHSPRxx, the first-ever seven-letter call signs in Mexico.

SPR television transmitters

Channel	Call sign	City	State	Operating?
15	XHSPRAG-TDT	Aguascalientes	Aguascalientes	Yes
14	XHCPAH-TDT	Ensenada	Baja California	No
7	XHCPAO-TDT	Mexicali	Baja California	No
9	XHCPAT-TDT	Tijuana	Baja California	No
31	XHSPB-TDT	La Paz	Baja California Sur	Yes
15	XHCPCL-TDT	Los Cabos	Baja California Sur	No
32	XHSPRCC-TDT	Campeche	Campeche	Yes
8	XHCPER-TDT	Ciudad del Carmen	Campeche	No
5	XHCPET-TDT	Palenque	Chiapas	No
18	XHSPRSC-TDT	San Cristóbal de las Casas	Chiapas	Yes
26	XHSPRTP-TDT	Tapachula	Chiapas	Yes
31	XHSPRTC-TDT	Tuxtla Gutiérrez	Chiapas	Yes
17	XHCPAW-TDT	Camargo, Delicias, Jiménez	Chihuahua	Yes
8	XHCPAU-TDT	Chihuahua	Chihuahua	Yes
18	XHCPAV-TDT	Ciudad Cuauhtémoc	Chihuahua	Yes
8	XHCPCN-TDT	Ciudad Juárez	Chihuahua	Yes
30	XHSPR-TDT	Mexico City	Mexico City	Yes
7	XHCPAI-TDT	Monclova	Coahuila	No
9	XHCPAK-TDT	Piedras Negras	Coahuila	No
10	XHCPAY-TDT	Saltillo	Coahuila	Yes
22	XHSPO-TDT	Torreón	Coahuila	Yes
21	XHSPRCO-TDT	Colima	Colima	Yes
9	XHCPCP-TDT	Manzanillo	Colima	Yes
12	XHCPBJ-TDT	Durango	Durango	Yes
20	XHSPRCE-TDT	Celaya	Guanajuato	Yes
34	XHSPRLA-TDT	León	Guanajuato	Yes
30	XHSPG-TDT	Acapulco	Guerrero	Yes
15	XHCPCQ-TDT	Chilpancingo	Guerrero	Yes
2	XHCPBL-TDT	Taxco, Iguala	Guerrero	No
10	XHCPCR-TDT	Tulancingo	Hidalgo	Yes
20	XHSPRGA-TDT	Guadalajara	Jalisco	Yes
30	XHSPREM-TDT	Toluca	Mexico	Yes
9	XHCPCU-TDT	Lázaro Cárdenas	Michoacán	Yes
19	XHSPRMO-TDT	Morelia	Michoacán	Yes
14	XHSPRUM-TDT	Uruapan	Michoacán	Yes
5	XHCPCV-TDT	Nuevo Vallarta	Nayarit	Yes
34	XHSPY-TDT	Tepic	Nayarit	Yes
15	XHSPRMT-TDT	Monterrey	Nuevo León	Yes
35	XHSPROA-TDT	Oaxaca	Oaxaca	Yes
30	XHSPRPA-TDT	Puebla	Puebla	Yes
13	XHCPFB-TDT	Tehuacán	Puebla	No
30	XHSPRMQ-TDT	Querétaro	Querétaro	Yes
29	XHSPQ-TDT	Cancún	Quintana Roo	Yes
25	XHSPJ-TDT	Chetumal	Quintana Roo	No
12	XHCPCX-TDT	Ciudad Valles	San Luis Potosí	Yes
23	XHSPS-TDT	San Luis Potosí	San Luis Potosí	Yes
19	XHCPBU-TDT	Culiacán	Sinaloa	Yes
10	XHCPFE-TDT	Guamúchil	Sinaloa	No
34	XHCPBV-TDT	Los Mochis	Sinaloa	Yes
29	XHSPRMS-TDT	Mazatlán	Sinaloa	Yes
31	XHSPROS-TDT	Ciudad Obregón	Sonora	Yes
12	XHCPDA-TDT	Guaymas	Sonora	No
27	XHSPRHA-TDT	Hermosillo	Sonora	Yes
11	XHCPFH-TDT	Cárdenas, Huimanguillo	Tabasco	No
25	XHSPRVT-TDT	Villahermosa	Tabasco	Yes
10	XHCPBD-TDT	Ciudad Victoria	Tamaulipas	No
12	XHCPEL-TDT	Nuevo Laredo	Tamaulipas	No
7	XHCPCE-TDT	Reynosa	Tamaulipas	No
35	XHSPRTA-TDT	Tampico	Tamaulipas	Yes
26	XHSPRCA-TDT	Coatzacoalcos	Veracruz	Yes
10	XHCPFO-TDT	Córdoba, Orizaba	Veracruz	No
15	XHCPDC-TDT	Poza Rica	Veracruz	No
19	XHCPDD-TDT	San Andrés Tuxtla	Veracruz	No
35	XHSPRXA-TDT	Xalapa	Veracruz	Yes
23	XHSPRME-TDT	Mérida	Yucatán	Yes
17	XHCPFR-TDT	Valladolid	Yucatán	No
15	XHSPRZC-TDT	Zacatecas	Zacatecas	Yes

Additional coverage of Canal Catorce

In October 2015, the SPR signed a contract with Grupo Intermedia, owner of XHILA-TDT and XHIJ-TDT, in order to expand the coverage of Una Voz con Todos into Mexicali and Ciudad Juárez, neither of which had ever had national public television service.^[20] While the SPR prefers to build its own transmitters, the length of time needed to obtain a concession, as well as spectrum availability in the border markets, makes a subchannel plan more effective.

Subchannel	City
XHILA-TDT 66.2	Mexicali, Baja California
XHIJ-TDT 44.3	Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua

One IPN-operated Canal Once transmitter also carries Canal Catorce:

Subchannel	City
XHCIP-TDT 14.1	Cuernavaca, Morelos

Radio stations

The SPR received its first radio concessions in 2015 and added three transmitters in 2016—two of which were never built. A sixth station, in Colima, was awarded in 2018. All four air Altavoz Radio.

The Mazatlán and Tapachula transmitters were the first on air. Both initially carried Radio México Internacional, a service of the Instituto Mexicano de la Radio, but the Mazatlán station switched in 2019 to a simulcast of IMER's Reactor 105 in Mexico City;^[21] They were joined on October 5, 2020, by XHTZA-FM in Coatzacoalcos and by XHSPRC-FM 102.9 in Colima on February 13, 2021; these stations carried Altavoz Radio from the start.

The SPR held concessions to build stations at 88.7 in Tehuacán (XHTHP-FM) and 104.7 in Matías Romero, Oaxaca (XHMRO-FM), which were surrendered to the IFT in 2019.

On April 26, 2023, the SPR obtained seven new radio concession titles.

Frequency	Callsign	City
101.1 MHz	XHSPRT-FM	Tapachula, Chiapas
103.5 MHz	XHSPRM-FM	Mazatlán, Sinaloa
104.3 MHz	XHTZA-FM	Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz
102.9 MHz	XHSPRC-FM	Colima, Colima
93.3 MHz	XHCPDT-FM	Acapulco, Guerrero
96.1 MHz	XHCPEP-FM	Chihuahua, Chihuahua
92.9 MHz	XHCPED- FM	Ciudad Valles, San Luis Potosí
88.1 MHz	XHCPFW-FM	Los Mochis, Sinaloa
89.7 MHz	XHCPEN-FM	Mérida, Yucatán
95.1 MHz	XHCPFH-FM	Palenque, Chiapas
101.5 MHz	XHCPEB- FM	Tepic, Nayarit
90.5 MHz	XHCPDS- FM	Victoria de Durango, Durango
94.5 MHz	XHCPEL-FM	Villahermosa, Tabasco
88.3 MHz	XHCPFG-FM	Zacatecas, Zacatecas

Multiprogramming

The first OPMA transmitters in service were dual analog and digital facilities; Canal Once was carried on the analog signal, and the digital transmitters broadcast a multiplex of ultimately five channels: Canal Once, Canal 30 TV México (which became Una Voz con Todos), Canal 22, TV UNAM, and Ingenio Tv, an educational service of Televisión Educativa. Later builds were digital-only stations.

Prior to January 2019, all transmitters carried Ingenio Tv. It was removed from transmitters outside of the third wave in order to meet IFT standards on minimum digital broadcasting bitrate that did not allow stations using MPEG-2 compression to handle one HD and four SD channels on a single multiplex. Third-wave transmitters use MPEG-4 compression, which allows all six services to be broadcast.

The SPR stations carry a multiplex of five or six channels. The established networks Canal Once, Canal 22 and TV UNAM are joined by Canal Catorce, which is broadcast in HD. Third-wave SPR transmitters also have Ingenio Tv, an educational channel of the Secretariat of Public Education, and Canal del Congreso, with coverage of Congress.^[22]

The Mexico City transmitter only carries Canal Catorce, TV UNAM and Ingenio Tv, owing to the presence of other public television facilities in the capital. In May 2020, the SPR Guadalajara and Monterrey transmitters ceased broadcasting Canal Once as the result of the commissioning of IPN-owned transmitters in those cities.

The Torreón/Gómez Palacio, San Luis Potosí, Culiacán, Durango and Los Mochis transmitters currently do not have any multiprogramming.

The Ciudad Juárez transmitter uses major channel 16 instead of 14 for Canal Catorce because channel 14 was already in use by KFOX-TV in the Ciudad Juárez–El Paso area.

Channel	Programming
11.1	Canal Once
14.1	Canal Catorce
14.2	Ingenio Tv (some stations only)
20.1	TV UNAM
22.1	Canal 22
45.1	Canal del Congreso (some stations only)

References

1. Castañares, Itzel (September 9, 2020). "Canal Once, IMER y SPR, los únicos medios públicos que tendrán más presupuesto en 2021". El CEO (in Mexican Spanish). Retrieved July 4, 2021.
2. "Once TV expande su señal y llega a Guadalajara" (in European Spanish). Retrieved July 4, 2021.
3. Estudio de Diagnóstico del Servicio de Televisión Radiodifundida en México (PDF) (Report). Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones. 2019. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
4. "20 puntos clave en las nuevas leyes sobre telecomunicaciones". Expansión (in Spanish). July 9, 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
5. "Inicia transmisiones Canal 30 en la ciudad de México". El Economista. March 22, 2012. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
6. "México amplía la señal de la TV pública". Expansión (in Spanish). March 22, 2012. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
7. "El Pleno del IFT resolvió otorgar concesiones de uso público al sistema de radiodifusión del Estado mexicano para los servicios de radio y televisión en varias ciudades del país" (in Spanish). Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones. August 26, 2015. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
8. Lucas, Nicolás (December 15, 2019). "SPR renuncia a concesiones de TV por nuevo plan para hacer una red nacional con Canal 14". El Economista. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
9. "Canal Catorce del SPR llega a Coahuila y Durango". spr.gob.mx. May 19, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
10. "El IFT otorga al SPR 24 concesiones para prestar televisión en localidades de 15 estados de la República". www.ift.org.mx. Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones. June 24, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
11. "El Canal Catorce del SPR llega a San Luis Potosí". Sistema Público de Radiodifusión del Estado Mexicano. September 27, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
12. "El Canal Catorce del SPR inicia transmisiones en Culiacán, Sinaloa, y Durango, Durango" (in Spanish). Sistema Público de Radiodifusión del Estado Mexicano. February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
13. "El Canal Catorce del SPR inicia transmisiones en Los Mochis, Sinaloa" (in Spanish). Sistema Público de Radiodifusión del Estado Mexicano. February 23, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
14. "El Canal Catorce del SPR inicia transmisiones en el Estado de Nayarit" (in Spanish). Sistema Público de Radiodifusión del Estado Mexicano. March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
15. "El Canal Catorce del SPR inicia transmisiones en Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua" (in Spanish). Sistema Público de Radiodifusión del Estado Mexicano. June 1, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
16. "El Canal Catorce, del SPR, inicia transmisiones en Ciudad Delicias y Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, Chihuahua, y Saltillo, Coahuila" (in Spanish). Sistema Público de Radiodifusión del Estado Mexicano. July 11, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
17. "El Canal Catorce, del SPR, inicia transmisiones en Acapulco, Guerrero y La Paz, Baja California Sur" (in Spanish). Sistema Público de Radiodifusión del Estado Mexicano. November 23, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
18. "El Canal Catorce, del SPR, inicia transmisiones en Tulancingo de Bravo, Hidalgo" (in Spanish). Sistema Público de Radiodifusión del Estado Mexicano. December 21, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
19. "Canal Catorce inicia transmisiones en la ciudad de Chihuahua" (in Spanish). Sistema Público de Radiodifusión del Estado Mexicano. May 24, 2023. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
20. Lucas, Nicolás (October 20, 2015). "TV pública llega a frontera de la mano de privados". El Economista. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
21. Tweet from @imerhoy
22. Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones. Listado de Autorizaciones de Acceso a Multiprogramación. Last modified December 21, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.

External links

• Official website