There were two Emilio Azcarragas, both equally significant in the history of television in Mexico: Emilio Azcarraga Vidaurreta, the William Paley of Mexican broadcasting, and his son and heir, Emilio Azcarraga Milmo, the principal owner of the Mexican entertainment conglomerate Televisa. The elder Azcarraga created the first Mexican radio station in 1930 and soon took on a leading role in the development of Latin American broadcasting. He convened meetings of fledgling Latin American broadcasting entrepreneurs where it was decided that the region would follow the U.S. commercial model and not the noncommercial, government-supported, public service British model.

Azcarraga, already the sole Mexican agent for Victor/RCA Records and a successful theater owner, promoted Mexican artists (who were under exclusive contract to him) through his growing chain of radio stations, which included several along the U.S.-Mexican border. In 1950 he created Mexico’s first television station, and, a decade later, he established the first U.S. Spanish-language television stations. The Televisa radio and television networks have, since their inception, been characterized by their close association with the Mexican ruling party, known by its Spanish initials, PRI. Televisa produces conservative, nationalistic entertainment programming and fawning, uncritical news coverage of the Mexican government. Partly as a result of this comfortable relationship, broadcasting in Mexico is virtually unregulated.

This situation continued through the stewardship of the second Emilio Azcarraga, known in Mexico as El Tigre (The Tiger), as much for the white streak in his hair as for his reputedly ferocious manner. Azcarraga expanded Televisa’s monopolistic hold on Mexican broadcasting by buying media properties in other Latin American countries and selling Televisa programming throughout the world. For example, a Televisa telenovela (soap opera) was a huge hit in Moscow in the early 1990s. In 1993 Azcarraga acquired controlling interest of PanAmSat, a hemispheric communications satellite, further consolidating Televisa’s position as the world’s largest producer of Spanish-language television programming.

In 1986 Azcarraga was forced to sell Televisa’s U.S. subsidiary when it was found to be in violation of U.S. laws restricting foreign ownership. Just six years later, Azcarraga bought 25 percent of the U.S. network while continuing to provide the majority of its programming. In Mexico, Azcarraga diversified his holdings to include the largest stadium in the hemisphere, sports teams, publishing and recording companies, and even Mexico City real estate. Azcarraga maintained offices and homes in New York and Los Angeles as well as Mexico City and was featured on the cover of Fortune’s 1994 issue on the world’s richest men.

In the early 1990s, Televisa began to downplay its relationship with the PRI, presenting fairer political coverage. This trend coincided with a reduction of Televisa’s market dominance, when a second broadcast network, TV Azteca, was launched in 1993 and MVS Multivision challenged Televisa’s leading role in the satellite television and cable markets.

A month before his death in April 1997, Azcarraga relinquished control of Televisa to his 29-year-old son, Emilio Azcarraga Jean.