The National Chamber of the Radio and Television Industry (Spanish: ''Cámara Nacional de la Industria de Radio y Televisión'', CIRT) is the broadcasters' association of Mexico. The CIRT represents all commercial broadcasters in the country. Its current president is broadcast lawyer José Antonio García Herrera, who has headed the organization since 2021.

History

The first broadcasters' association in Mexico was the ''Asociación Mexicana de Estaciones Radiodifusoras'' (Mexican Association of Broadcasting Stations), soon changed to the ''Asociación Mexicana de Estaciones Radiodifusoras Comerciales'' (Mexican Association of Commercial Broadcasting Stations), which was formed in 1937. In late 1941, the ''Cámara Nacional de la Industria de Radiodifusión'' (National Chamber of the Broadcasting Industry) was formally constituted, with

Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta (2 March 1895, Tampico, Tamaulipas – 23 September 1972, Mexico City) was a Mexican businessman who built an entertainment conglomerate. The son of Basque immigrants Mariano Azcárraga and Emilia Vidaurreta, his ...

as its first president. The relationship proved critical for broadcasters who, because of World War II, could not obtain parts for their equipment from American suppliers; Azcárraga's connections to RCA Victor made it possible for small stations to obtain parts by way of affiliating with his

Radio Programas de México Radio Programas de México (RPM) was a radio company of Mexico, founded by Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta and Clemente Serna Martínez in 1941. It was a pioneer in the expansion of Mexican radio, particularly in the creation of radio networks. RPM, ...

. Historically, the CIRT has been aligned with larger broadcasters. In 1953, the CIRT supported a move that allowed large Mexico City radio stations to establish nationwide repeaters, adversely affecting local stations. It supported the Televisa Law in 2006, even when many of the association's smaller members would have been harmed by a measure that benefited

Televisa Grupo Televisa is a Mexican multimedia mass media company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April 2021, Televisa and Univision Communications announce ...

and

TV Azteca TV Azteca, S.A.B. de C.V. is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate owned by Grupo Salinas. It is the second-largest mass media company in Mexico after Televisa. It primarily competes with Televisa as well as some local operators. It owns two national ...

. Likewise, it opposed the

Federal Telecommunications Institute The Federal Telecommunications Institute ( Spanish: ''Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones''; abbreviated as IFT and incorrectly referred to as IFETEL) is an independent government agency of Mexico charged with the regulation of telecommunicat ...

's decision to auction new radio and TV stations in 2016.

National Radio and Television Week

The first National Broadcasting Week, now National Radio and Television Week (''Semana Nacional de Radio y Televisión''), was organized by the CIR in 1958. The organization changed its name and formally began including television broadcasters in 1970 after an internal restructuring. In 2017, the National Radio and Television Week was not held that November, the first such cancellation in the event's history, as a result of the two earthquakes that had struck the country that September.

References

{{Authority control 1941 establishments in Mexico Organizations established in 1941 Organizations based in Mexico City Professional associations based in Mexico Broadcasting in Mexico