NBC unit crosses border

Mexican entertainment giant Grupo Televisa unveiled an alliance with NBC Universal’s Telemundo network that will allow Spanish-language television shows produced by Telemundo to play on Televisa’s channels in Mexico.

“For the first time Televisa will be opening itself to original programming in Spanish from a foreign content producer,” said Alfonso de Angoitia, Televisa’s executive vice president.

That’s significant because NBC Universal, which has production facilities near Mexico City, initially had sought to launch its own broadcast network in Mexico as an outlet for its programming. However, Mexico has resisted efforts to open its airwaves that are dominated by two companies, Televisa and TV Azteca.

Indeed, Mexico’s relationships with outside broadcasters at times have bordered on the hostile. In one instance, in September 2006, armed Mexican authorities swarmed a production studio near Mexico City, terrifying a group of 14-year-old girls and their mothers who had gathered to participate in a Telemundo reality TV series. Telemundo accused TV Azteca of orchestrating the raid -- over an alleged contract dispute involving a TV host.

Then, later that year, after raising hopes it would encourage competition, President Felipe Calderon’s government said a new national television network was not a priority. That effectively scuttled Telemundo’s efforts to launch a third network in Mexico.

The 10-year agreement, announced Monday, will allow General Electric-owned Telemundo to get access to a market with more than 100 million people. It also creates a new revenue stream for the firm.

Beginning next month, Televisa’s Channel 9 -- available in about 80% of Mexico’s homes -- will carry Telemundo programming in daytime and late-night hours.

In addition, Televisa has agreed to distribute later this year on its cable and satellite services a new pay TV channel, owned by Telemundo, that would feature news and entertainment programming.

Telemundo President Don Browne said the deal brought to fruition NBC Universal’s 5-year-old strategy for Telemundo to produce and distribute its own shows rather than rely on outside suppliers.

“We have bet our whole business model on original production, and now we have come of age,” Browne said. “This speaks volumes that a company like Televisa has accepted and acknowledged the quality of our content. . . . We have become a major player in a short period of time.”

Millions of Mexicans will have the opportunity to watch Telemundo shows and discuss them with their relatives who live in the U.S., which Telemundo believes will be a valuable promotional tool. In addition, Browne said, “having distribution there to attract a growing creative community is a tremendous advantage.”

For Mexico’s Televisa, controlled by Mexican media mogul Emilio Azcarraga Jean, the Telemundo deal provides it with programming to build one of its smaller broadcast networks as well as ammunition to silence critics who accuse it of freezing out competitors.

“We are opening ourselves to competition,” Televisa’s De Angoitia said. “Now our programming will compete with Telemundo’s content in Mexico.”

Julio Rumbaut, a Miami-based Spanish-language television consultant, said Televisa was protecting its turf by going into business with a potential rival. In addition, he said, Televisa could be paving the way for a partnership with Telemundo in the U.S., once Televisa’s long-term programming agreement with Univision Communications Inc. ends.

“Televisa is a restless giant,” Rumbaut said. “It, along with TV Azteca, can continue to be the real gatekeepers who own commercial spectrum in Mexico while further putting its foot in additional camps in the U.S.”

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meg.james@latimes.com