Grupo Imagen

Grupo Imagen is a Mexican media conglomerate whose activities span radio broadcasting, television, newspaper publishing, and professional football. The organization traces its origins to XEDA-AM, a Mexico City radio station founded on June 18, 1936. Its modern corporate identity began taking shape in 1962, when José Luis Fernández Soto acquired the station and established Grupo Imagen Comunicación en Radio to operate XEDA-AM and XEDA-FM. The group expanded the following year through the acquisition of Radio Metropolitana and its XELA-AM-FM cluster, creating a multi-station radio operation with a mix of talk, classical music, and other changing formats. Radio remained the company’s principal business for several decades. XEDA-FM developed into the group’s flagship talk station, while XELA-AM retained a long-running classical-music identity before later moving into sports programming. XELA-FM also underwent several format changes, including a rock-oriented identity in the 1990s. During that decade, Grupo Imagen entered an operating alliance with MVS Radio involving several Mexico City stations. The partnership ended in 2001, after which Imagen relaunched XEDA with a new news team. In 2004, the company converted XHDL-FM from a music format into the all-news station Reporte 98.5. A major turning point came in 2003, when Grupo Imagen was acquired for US$50 million by Grupo Empresarial Ángeles, the business group associated with Olegario Vázquez Raña. Under that ownership, the organization expanded beyond its Mexico City radio base, acquiring or affiliating with stations in other parts of Mexico and distributing its talk programming nationally. It also entered television through the acquisition of Mexico City channel XHRAE-TV, which was relaunched as XHTRES and became associated with the cadenatres network. Grupo Imagen strengthened its print-media presence in 2006 by acquiring Excélsior, one of Mexico City’s oldest newspapers, for 585 million pesos and refreshing the publication’s branding. Excélsior subsequently became an important part of the group’s news portfolio, alongside its broadcast outlets. The company later continued developing a cross-platform model in which radio news, television news, and newspaper journalism could support one another. In 2015, Grupo Imagen won a Mexican Federal Telecommunications Institute auction to create a new nationwide broadcast television network. Imagen Televisión launched on October 17, 2016, marking the group’s most significant move into national free-to-air television and positioning it as a competitor to Mexico’s established commercial television operators, particularly Televisa and TV Azteca. The planned network rollout called for 123 transmitters by 2020. The group also operates Excelsior TV on channel 27.1 in the Valley of Mexico and a simulcast of Imagen Radio on channel 27.2. The company’s broader portfolio has included radio brands such as Imagen Radio, La Caliente, and Radio Latina, as well as the Liga MX football club Querétaro FC, acquired in May 2014 after the team had been placed under government administration. By 2016, Grupo Imagen was described as Mexico’s third-largest mass-media company by scale, behind Televisa and TV Azteca. Its competitive identity rests on combining national television distribution with established radio and newspaper properties rather than relying on a single medium.

Grupo Imagen’s historical roots lie in Mexico City radio. XEDA-AM began broadcasting on June 18, 1936. José Luis Fernández Soto acquired the station in 1962 and created Grupo Imagen Comunicación en Radio, which operated XEDA-AM and XEDA-FM. In 1963, the organization expanded by purchasing Radio Metropolitana and its XELA-AM-FM group. These stations gave the company a broader programming base: XEDA-FM became associated with talk programming, XELA-AM maintained a classical-music format for many years, and the remaining outlets changed identities as the company tested different audience and format strategies. During the 1980s, XELA-FM became XHDL-FM, initially adopting the Dial FM identity and later becoming the rock-oriented Radioactivo in the 1990s. The same decade brought changes to XEDA-AM, which was sold to Radio S.A. after carrying rock music and was subsequently converted to talk programming by its new owner. Grupo Imagen also formed an alliance with MVS Radio to operate a group of Mexico City stations, combining Imagen properties including XELA-AM, XEDA-FM, and XHDL-FM with MVS stations XHMVS-FM 102.5 and XHMRD-FM 104.9. The MVS partnership ended in 2001. Grupo Imagen then relaunched XEDA with a new news team, reinforcing the news and talk orientation that would become central to its later identity. In 2002, the company ended XELA’s classical format and changed the station to sports programming under the XEITE-AM call sign; the station was sold in August of that year. In 2004, XHDL-FM abandoned its music format and became Reporte 98.5, an all-news service. In 2003, Grupo Imagen was acquired for US$50 million by Grupo Empresarial Ángeles, associated with Olegario Vázquez Raña. The acquisition provided capital and organizational support for expansion outside Mexico City. Imagen purchased or operated additional stations around Mexico and distributed its talk programming through a wider network. The group also moved into television with the acquisition of XHRAE-TV, a Mexico City channel that was rebranded XHTRES and used as the flagship of the cadenatres television network from 2007 to 2015. Print publishing became another major pillar in 2006, when Grupo Imagen acquired the Mexico City newspaper Excélsior for 585 million pesos. The publication, founded in 1917 and described as the second-oldest newspaper in Mexico City, received a branding refresh under its new ownership and became part of the group’s national news portfolio. The next major expansion occurred in television. In 2015, Grupo Imagen won a Federal Telecommunications Institute auction to build a new nationwide broadcast network. Imagen Televisión began operating on October 17, 2016. The project was designed to reach national audiences through a planned network of 123 transmitters by 2020, giving Grupo Imagen a position as a major commercial television competitor alongside Televisa and TV Azteca. The company also operated XHTRES-TDT in the Valley of Mexico, carrying Excelsior TV on its principal channel and an Imagen Radio simulcast on a secondary channel. Grupo Imagen’s assets have also included regional radio services such as La Caliente and Radio Latina in Tijuana. In May 2014, it acquired Liga MX club Querétaro FC after the team had been placed under government administration. By 2016, the organization was characterized as Mexico’s third-largest mass-media company. The group’s development therefore reflects a progression from a Mexico City radio operator into an integrated media business spanning broadcast audio, television networks, print news, and sports-related properties.

• 2016

  Imagen Televisión launches

  [1]Grupo Imagenen.wikipedia.org

  Imagen Televisión launched on October 17, 2016, giving Grupo Imagen a nationwide free-to-air television platform.

• 2015

  Nationwide television-network auction is won

  [1]Grupo Imagenen.wikipedia.org

  Grupo Imagen won the Federal Telecommunications Institute auction to establish a new national broadcast television network.

• 2014

  Querétaro FC is acquired

  [1]Grupo Imagenen.wikipedia.org

  The group acquired Liga MX club Querétaro FC after the team had been placed under government administration.

• 2006

  Excélsior is acquired

  [1]Grupo Imagenen.wikipedia.org

  Grupo Imagen purchased the Excélsior newspaper for 585 million pesos and updated its branding.

• 2003

  Acquisition by Grupo Empresarial Ángeles

  [1]Grupo Imagenen.wikipedia.org

  Grupo Empresarial Ángeles acquired Grupo Imagen for US$50 million, beginning a period of substantial expansion.

• 2001

  MVS Radio alliance ends

  [1]Grupo Imagenen.wikipedia.org

  After the operating alliance with MVS Radio ended, Grupo Imagen relaunched XEDA with a new news team.

• 1963

  Radio Metropolitana is acquired

  [1]Grupo Imagenen.wikipedia.org

  The company expanded its Mexico City radio holdings through the acquisition of Radio Metropolitana and its XELA-AM-FM cluster.

• 1962

  Grupo Imagen Comunicación en Radio is established

  [1]Grupo Imagenen.wikipedia.org

  José Luis Fernández Soto acquired XEDA-AM and founded Grupo Imagen Comunicación en Radio to operate the station and XEDA-FM.

• 1936

  XEDA-AM begins broadcasting

  [1]Grupo Imagenen.wikipedia.org

  The radio station that later became part of Grupo Imagen’s historical foundation was established in Mexico City on June 18, 1936.

A Mexican multi-platform media group combining radio news and talk programming, national broadcast television, newspaper journalism, and related entertainment properties.

• Radio broadcasting

  Imagen Radio

  Imagen Radio is Grupo Imagen’s flagship Mexico City radio service, centered on talk and news programming. Its programming has also been distributed through owned, operated, and affiliated stations in other parts of Mexico, helping the group extend its news-oriented audio identity beyond the capital.

• Broadcast television · 2016

  Imagen Televisión

  Imagen Televisión is Grupo Imagen’s nationwide commercial television network. It launched in October 2016 after the company won a national network auction in 2015. The network represented the group’s principal expansion from radio and publishing into broad national free-to-air television.

• Newspaper publishing

  Excélsior

  Excélsior is a Mexico City newspaper acquired by Grupo Imagen in 2006. It is one of the country’s historic newspapers and forms a central part of the group’s print and digital news presence, complementing its radio and television journalism.

• Television news

  Excelsior TV

  Excelsior TV is Grupo Imagen’s all-news television service carried on channel 27.1 in the Valley of Mexico. It extends the Excélsior news identity into television and operates alongside the group’s Imagen Radio simulcast service on a secondary channel.

• Regional radio

  La Caliente

  La Caliente is a regional Mexican radio brand included in Grupo Imagen’s radio portfolio. The group operates two stations under the brand, providing a format distinct from the flagship Imagen Radio talk and news service.

• Regional radio

  Radio Latina

  Radio Latina is the brand used for XHLTN-FM in Tijuana, one of Grupo Imagen’s regional radio properties.

• Professional football club

  Querétaro FC

  Querétaro FC is a Liga MX football club acquired by Grupo Imagen in May 2014. The acquisition broadened the group’s portfolio beyond media into a prominent sports and entertainment asset.

• 2015

  National television-network expansionStrategy

  Background

  Grupo Imagen sought to establish a nationwide broadcast television presence after operating radio and the former cadenatres television platform.

  Action taken

  The company won the Federal Telecommunications Institute auction to build a new national television network.

  Aftermath

  Imagen Televisión launched in 2016, with a rollout plan calling for 123 transmitters by 2020.

  Source

• 2003

  Grupo Imagen is acquired by Grupo Empresarial ÁngelesM&A

  Background

  The radio-centered company was acquired during a period when it was seeking to expand beyond its established Mexico City station base.

  Action taken

  Grupo Empresarial Ángeles purchased Grupo Imagen for US$50 million.

  Aftermath

  The new ownership supported expansion into nationwide radio distribution, television, newspaper publishing, and other media activities.

  Acquisition price. US$50 million (2003)

  Source

1. 1Grupo Imagenen.wikipedia.org