All of the networks listed below operate a number of terrestrial TV stations. In addition, several of these networks are also aired on cable and satellite services.
Six television networks in Mexico have more than 75% national coverage and are thus required to be carried by all pay TV providers and offered at no cost by the broadcaster. Additionally, these networks are also required to provide accessibility for the hearing impaired with the use of Closed Captioning and/or Mexican sign language.
ADN 40 and A+ have coverage primarily provided by subchannels.
Of the many noncommercial services, there are only two national networks of retransmitters:
The digital SPR retransmitters offer Canal Once along with these important noncommercial television services:
In addition to the latter, Canal Judicial is also required to be carried by all pay TV providers and offered at no cost by the broadcaster, although there is no terrestrial station that broadcasts this network.
There are some networks operating in Mexico which have limited coverage or primarily serve a region in particular.
Currently, there are three networks of this kind which have a significant coverage:
Other regional/limited networks include:
Mexico also has government-run state television networks in 26 of its 32 federal units:
General:
Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content.
In cable television, many governments, including the ones of the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada, apply a must-carry regulation stating that forces a cable TV provider to carry the public interest programming, like locally licensed television stations, on a provider's system. In some countries, this "traditional" approach had been extended to the Internet information sources. Similar approach in other sectors, like telecommunications, is called universal service.
XHIJ-TDT is a Spanish-language independent station in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico, serving the Juárez–El Paso–Las Cruces metropolitan area. Owned by Grupo Intermedia and known on air as Canal 44, the station has had a variety of affiliations since signing on the air in 1980 and also produces programs such as local news.
Dirección General @prende.mx, formerly known as Dirección General de Televisión Educativa, is the producer of educational programs of the Secretariat of Public Education of Mexico with origins dating back to 1968. Which are broadcast on the Edusat, an educational television network. Edusat is an portmanteau of "education" and "satellite".
XHCH-TDT is a television station in Chihuahua, Chihuahua. Broadcasting on virtual channel 1, XHCH is owned by TV Azteca and broadcasts its Azteca Uno network.
XEIMT-TDT, known as Canal 22, is a television station located in Mexico City. Broadcasting on channel 22, XEIMT is owned by Televisión Metropolitana, S.A. de C.V., and operated by the Secretariat of Culture. It is one of Mexico's principal public television stations, with a format emphasizing cultural programming.
XHTVM-TDT is a television station in Mexico City, owned by Televisora del Valle de México and operated by TV Azteca. It is branded as adn40 and available over the air in much of Mexico on TV Azteca's transmitters. Programming generally consists of news and informational shows.
Television is a popular form of entertainment in Mexico, with mass entertainment playing an important role in creating a national unified culture. Telenovelas are very traditional in Mexico, are translated to many languages, and watched all over the world with famous names like Lucero, Thalía, Verónica Castro, Itati, Leticia Calderón and Victoria Ruffo.
Azteca Uno, is a Mexican national broadcast television network owned by TV Azteca, with more than 100 transmitters across the country. Azteca Uno broadcasts on virtual channel 1. Azteca Uno programming is available in Mexico on satellite via Sky and Dish Network, as well as all Mexican cable systems, and some Azteca Uno programming were seen in the United States on Azteca América.
Cadenatres was a Mexican free-to-air network owned by Grupo Empresarial Ángeles (GEA), a company headed by Olegario Vázquez Raña and directed by Olegario Vázquez Aldir. Originally started by its flagship XHTRES in Mexico City as an independent terrestrial television station serving the Federal District and the Valley of Mexico, it later expanded coverage throughout the entire country through various subscription television systems and a handful of free-to-air affiliates.
Dish México, S. de R. L. de C.V. operates a subscription satellite television service in Mexico. Since 2022 it has been wholly owned by MVS Comunicaciones. Prior to that acquisition it was owned jointly by MVS Comunicaciones (51%) and Dish Network (49%).
Nueve is a Mexican free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. The primary station and network namesake is Channel 9 of Mexico City, though the network has nationwide coverage on Televisa stations and some affiliates. Nueve offers a range of general entertainment programs.
N+ Foro is a broadcast news television channel owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is seen on most Mexican cable systems and full-time on two stations in Mexico, including XHTV-TDT in Mexico City, with selected programs airing on Televisa Regional and Televisa local stations. Foro is available on most Mexican cable and fiber-optic systems and the SKY Mexico satellite service, as well as on several national cable systems in the United States.
Canal 5 is a Mexican free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It traces its origins to the foundation of Channel 5 in Mexico City in 1952. Canal 5's program lineup is generally targeted at a younger audience and includes cartoons, foreign series and movies, along with a limited number of sporting events such as NFL games, boxing, the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games.
The Instituto Mexicano de la Televisión, known commercially as Imevisión after 1985, was a state broadcaster and federal government agency of Mexico. At its height, Imevisión programmed two national networks and additional local stations in Mexico City, Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, Guadalajara, Mexicali, Tijuana and Monterrey.
Canal Catorce is a national public television network of Mexico, operated by the Sistema Público de Radiodifusión del Estado Mexicano (SPR). It began operations in 2012 and is distributed via the SPR's national digital transmitter network, as well as on all cable and satellite providers. It is based in Mexico City.
Imagen Televisión is a national broadcast television network in Mexico, owned by Grupo Imagen. It launched on October 17, 2016, at 8 p.m.
K27OJ-D is a low-power television station in El Paso, Texas, United States. The station is controlled by Grupo Multimedios, owned through Martín Lorenzo Smith and BGM License.