2025/07/15 by Rodrigo Gómez, César Bárcenas · 1 voice
Computer Science · #Media and Digital Communication
paper · doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.1545
openalex publication_date 2025/07/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
Abstract Since the 2010s, Mexico has experienced a substantial surge in the adoption of digital platforms, particularly within the domain of over-the-top (OTT) services encompassing music, press, television, cinema, and video games. This surge has not only positioned Mexico as a pivotal market in Latin America but has also led to significant transformations in the country’s media system. Streaming global giants, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Disney+, and Paramount+, have played a central role in reshaping media industries, exerting profound influence over the production, distribution, and consumption of audiovisual content. This context shift has engendered a complex interplay of factors, concurrently fostering growth in the audiovisual sector while introducing challenges such as heightened concentration, inequality, constraints on creative endeavors, and the potential impact on cultural diversity. In the case of the number of jobs generated by the audiovisual industry, specifically in Mexico City, there was an increase from 2019 with 725,395 jobs to 2023 with 775,089 jobs, which it should be noted are temporary but represent sustained growth. On the other hand, the number of productions of both Mexican films and series has had a substantial increase in the last 15 years. For example, 240 Mexican films were produced in 2024 compared to the 69 produced in 2009. This evolution has implied a transformation based on some factors, including the importance that streaming platforms have acquired in Mexican audiovisual production. As streaming services redefine their business models, there is a discernible trend toward increased circulation of both transnational and national content. However, this evolution comes with paradoxical circumstances, where the dominance of OTT platform operators in the Mexican media network economy establishes mechanisms of power that limit the range of production and consumption options available. This phenomenon is accentuated in a media system where traditional national media champions like Televisa, Televisión Azteca, and Telmex/America Movil persist in maintaining hegemonic positions established during the analog era. The transformative shifts in Mexico’s media industries can be attributed to two fundamental pillars. Firstly, the implementation of public policy strategies promoting liberalization and convergence has facilitated corporate ownership within the telecommunications sector, albeit in an asymmetric position. In the Federal Telecommunications Law of 2014, for example, with regard to concessions on the radio spectrum for public or social use that include community and indigenous media, Article 89 establishes the rules of operation of these media but limits their possibilities of sustainability by restricting their options to obtain incomes. Secondly, the advent of platformization has augmented the influence wielded by commercial media companies, particularly in the realms of information and entertainment content production and distribution. Navigating this dynamic system necessitates a nuanced understanding of these dual forces at play, as they simultaneously drive growth and innovation while presenting challenges as well as contradictions to the diversity and independence of the Mexican digital media industries.