The creation of the SPR was part of the constitutional and legal reform in the field of telecommunications and broadcasting carried out by the Mexican government in 2014. Today, SPR operates 26 television stations in 20 of Mexico’s 32 states. Its flagship television channel is Canal 14 whose programming is focused on televised debates, documentaries and newscasts. The outlet also runs three radio stations, which are located in Veracruz, Sinaloa and Chiapas. According to the Public Broadcasting System law, SPR shares its infrastructure with other public media to enhance their coverage, airing content from other public broadcasters. Its platform MX PLAY streams free-of-charge on-demand content from other public media.
Media assets
Television: SPR TV
Radio: SPR Radio
State Media Matrix Typology: State-Controlled (SC)
Ownership and governance
SPR is an independent government agency. The President of the Republic appoints the director of the SPR for a period of five years, with the option of reelection for another five. Because Mexico’s presidential mandate is for six years without the possibility of reelection, this procedure seeks to ensure that the appointed SPR director remains in office when a new government arrives and does not change every time the country has a new president. In addition to this provision, the Senate must approve the SPR director with a two-third majority, according to article 17 of the Broadcasting Act.
Source of funding and budget
Most of SPR’s financing comes from the government. In 2022, SPR operated with a budget of MXN 1.24bn (US$ 61m), a significant growth compared to the year 2020, but a slight decline against the previous year. The law allows the broadcaster to also sell sponsorships as a way to boost its income.
Editorial independence
Despite legal provisions that guarantee the autonomy of SPR, calling for pluralism in the editorial coverage, the SPR’s editorial line is synchronized with the presidential agenda. SPR’s current director, journalist Jenaro Villamil, is a declared supporter of President López Obrador who nominated him for the job. Villamil is also known as a journalist critical of the opponents of president López Obrador.
An example of the government’s influence in SPR was the unusual resignation of its former director Armando Carrillo, in January 2019, before his mandate ended in October 2019. According to journalists, he resigned due to political pressures and accusations of alleged corruption. Since Villamil’s appointment, SPR airs all the morning conferences of President López Obrador during which he promotes his work and often insults his political opponents and attacks newspapers that criticize him. In a 2019 interview with the left-oriented newspaper La Jornada, Villamil admitted that the president intervenes in the broadcaster’s editorial agenda and requests a certain style of content in SPR’s broadcasts.
According to the public media act, the SPR has “technical, operational, decision-making and management autonomy” and its mission is to “provide the service of non-profit broadcasting, to ensure access to the highest number of persons to content that promotes national integration, educational, cultural and civic education, equality between women and men,” and to disseminate “impartial, objective, timely and truthful information on national and international developments.” Although these legal provisions in theory should guarantee the independence of the broadcaster, since the election of López Obrador, SPR’s editorial coverage has been visibly biased in favor of the president.
As with all other broadcasting media, pursuant to article 259 of the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Act, the SPR has a code of ethics and an Ombudsman that monitors compliance with this code particularly when viewers or listeners complain about SPR’s content. SPR also has a Citizen’s Council that is appointed by the Senate and makes recommendations to the broadcaster.
August 2023