XHTV-TDT (virtual channel 4), launched in 1950 by Romulo O'Farril, is a flagship TV station of Televisa and carries its N+ Foro news network. FOROtv is available on various cable television companies and SKY México satellite service, along with several providers in the United States as part of Televisa and Univision's partnership (albeit with local programming and sports replaced with American ads and recorded news blocks). It is the oldest TV station in Mexico and Latin America.[3]
.svg) | |
| |
|---|---|
| Channels | |
| Branding | N+ Foro |
| Programming | |
| Subchannels | 4.1: N+ Foro 4.2: CV Shopping |
| Affiliations | N+ Foro |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| XEW-TDT, XHGC-TDT, XEQ-TDT, Televisa Regional | |
| History | |
First air date | August 31, 1950 |
Former call signs | XHTV-TV (1950-2015) |
Former channel number(s) | Analog: 4 (VHF, 1950-2015) Digital: 49 (UHF, 2005-2018) |
Call sign meaning | XH TeleVisión |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | IFT |
| ERP | 270 kW |
| Transmitter coordinates | 19°35′22.5″N 99°06′55.54″W / 19.589583°N 99.1154278°W |
| Repeater(s) | RF 15 Ixtapaluca, State of Mexico[2] |
| Links | |
| Website | http://www2.esmas.com/canal-de-noticias-y-opinion-forotv/ |
History
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XHTV was Mexico's first television station and one of the building blocks of Telesistema Mexicano, which became Televisa in 1973.
Romulo O'Farril received the concession for XHTV in 1949, granted to Televisora de México S.A., owned by Novedades, O'Farril's existing newspaper.[4] The station received equipment starting in March 1950, ending with the delivery of a mobile studio in July that year.[5] Test broadcasts started on July 5.[6] Its facilities were located at the National Lottery Building, the highest in the city at the time. Around 2,000 sets picked up its signal.[7] Its broadcasts started on September 1 with the live coverage of the annual presidential message to the opening of the Congress,[8] followed by regular programming from 5pm (the first program being Teatro de la Fantasía) to 7:30pm, which included an extended news bulletin with comments of the presidential ceremony.[9] The official inauguration, however, took place the previous day, on August 31, with a "artistic musical" program from the Jockey Club of the Hipódromo de las Américas with the participation of the Secretary of Communications, Agustín García López.[4] Initially, it aired regular programming for two hours a day each evening,[10] from 5pm to 7pm, with longer programming on Sundays from 4pm to 7pm.[11] In order to increase its production capacities, the station moved to two new premises in 1951, with studios at Bucareli street number 4 and Balderas street.[4]
An American survey from a correspondent to TV-Radio Life magazine in 1952 said that O'Farrill's programs were "poorly produced", that the films seen on the station were older than in the United States at the time and that the quality of the technical staff was "questionable", paling in contrast to XEW.[12] At the end of the year, XHTV triumphed over XEW in theatrical performances and remote broadcasts, but lost its grip on operatic broadcasts when XEW's program presented by Raúl Chávez beat XETV's analog in the second half of the year.[13]
In 1955, XHTV became a part of Telesistema Mexicano,[4] and, as consequence, it moved to the new Televicentro facilities shared by the three stations.[14]
In 2001, XHTV began using the name 4TV with a program lineup targeted at the Mexico City area; from January 2003 it adopted a new logo and the slogan "El Canal de la Ciudad" (The City Channel).[15] For the 2009-2010 season of the channel, its morning program Matutino Express increased its length by one hour and Ellas con estrellas moved to an 11am timeslot. Its former late afternoon slot was filled by canned programming.[16]
On August 30, 2010 (sixty years after the channel was founded), the channel's name was changed to FOROtv (literally "Forum TV"), with most of Televisa's news programs moved here, such as Las Noticias por Adela (from XEQ), and with new news and talk programs being created. Prior to this, the channel, under the name of "Canal de la Ciudad" ("The City's Channel"), broadcast programs targeted at Mexico City's metro area, as well as reruns of American series and blocks of Mexican movies.
Under this format, the channel seeks to emulate the success achieved by its predecessor ECO (which operated from 1988 to 2001). It competes in a crowded cable news space with such channels as TV Azteca's adn40 and Azteca Noticias, Telefórmula, Efekto TV, CNN en Español, Excélsior TV, and Milenio Televisión, among others.
Digital television
editDigital subchannels
editThe station's digital channel is multiplexed:[17]
| Channel | Video | Aspect | Short name | Network | Programming |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1 | 1080i | 16:9 | XHTV | FORO | Main XHTV-TDT programming |
| 4.2 | 480i | XHTV | CV Shopping | Shopping channel |
Analog-to-digital conversion
editXHTV, along with other Mexico City TV stations, shut off its analog signal on VHF channel 4, on December 17, 2015, at 12:00 a.m., as part of the federally mandated transition from analog to digital television. The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 49, using PSIP to display XHTV's virtual channel as 4 on digital television receivers.
In October 2016, XHTV added shopping channel CJ Grand Shopping as subchannel 4.2; this channel was deleted in March 2019 and replaced in June with a new CV Shopping channel wholly owned by Televisa.
On November 3, 2018, XHTV relocated from channel 49 to 15 to allow the 600 MHz band to be used for mobile services. It was the last station to repack in Mexico City.
Current programs
edit
Original productions
editSome of the programs on XHTV as Foro TV currently include the following:
- Las Noticias ("The News")
- Estrictamente Personal (Strictly Personal)
- Por las Mañanas (In the Mornings)
- Paralelo 23 ("The 23rd Parallel", passes through central Mexico)
- A las Tres ("At 3:00 p.m.", anchored by Ana Paula Ordorica)
- Hora 21 ("21st Hour"; airs at 9:00 p.m., anchored by Julio Patán)
- En Una Hora ("In One Hour")
- El Centro del Debate ("Debate Center")
- Agenda Pública ("The Public Agenda")
- Es La Hora De Opinar ("It's Time for Your Opinions")
- Fractal (tech news)
- Noticias MX (Mexico City report, anchored by Enrique Campos Suarez)
- Por el Planeta (ecology news)
Sports events
edit- National Football League (one live game per week)
- Major League Baseball
- Liga MX (certain matches in special cases)
- Copa MX (only the final game)
- Formula 1
- NASCAR Toyota Series
Previous programming
edit- Las Noticias por Adela
- El Mañanero
- Versus (daily sports news)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones. Listado de Canales Virtuales. Last modified December 21, 2021. Retrieved .
- ^ "RPC: #056917 Shadow XHTV Ixtapaluca" (PDF). IFT Public Concessions Registry. September 9, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
- ^ History of Mexican TV (in Spanish)
- ^ a b c d Historia mínima de la televisión mexicana (1928-1996)
- ^ "Radio and Television Maintenance" (PDF). July 1950. p. 28. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "Television Digest" (PDF). 24 June 1950. p. 15. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "Electronics" (PDF). September 1950. p. 130. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "Radio Electronics" (PDF). November 1950. p. 14. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ Revista Tele*Guia. Edición Especial 40 aniversario. Tomo I. August 1992. Page 76.
- ^ "Electronics" (PDF). October 1950. p. 62. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "Televiser" (PDF). November 1950. p. 12. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ "TV-Radio Life" (PDF). 11 April 1952. p. 7. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
- ^ La Televisión Tuvo Grandes Éxitos en México Durante el Año de 1952, La Opinión, 13 January 1953
- ^ Boletín Radiofónico, number 62, March 31, 1955
- ^ "Televisa se publicita". 14 January 2003. Archived from the original on 20 August 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ "Canal 4 está de manteles largos; su programación cambiará, los detalles con Javier Poza y Esteban Arce". 21 August 2009. Archived from the original on 14 September 2024. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones. Listado de Autorizaciones de Acceso a Multiprogramación. Last modified December 21, 2021. Retrieved .