in Central America. At the time, some TV stations and virtually all the cable or MATV operators in the region were banking on the notion that they were off the international TV industry’s radar, and started to pick up and re-transmit U.S. networks’ programs locally –– down-linking satellite feeds without paying the license fees. Gonzalez, who was selling programs from many U.S. companies, pressured Central American TV stations to abide by international laws and be part of the world television industry as accepted members. At the same time, he was lobbying the U.S. TV networks (which in that era had their own program distribution divisions) to scramble their satellite signals in order to avoid piracy in Central America. In 1987, Gonzalez moved to Miami and became a resident. His modus operandi has adapted to the new technology, but not changed entirely. His consistent strength is his ability to pay content owners on time in exchange for a reduction of license fees (that at times could reach up to 25 percent of the rate card). This in addition to the fact that he often buys for multiple territories, thus extracting additional savings by taking advantage of the economy of scale. Based in his offices in Miami and with the help of a small staff, Gonzalez oversees programming for TV stations in 10 countries spanning the whole of Latin America and including territories such as Argentina, Chile and Mexico. His two daughters are active in Albavision, with Marcela Gonzalez taking a more managerial role. Recently, he has curtailed his TV trade show V I D E O • A G E JA N U A R Y 2 0 1 0 (Continued from Page 24) Central American Television 26 CENTRAL AMERICA, PANAMA & THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC’S TV FACTS & FIGURES A program distributor who focuses on Latin America once commented, “For me, it takes the same amount of time to sell a show to a Central American TV station as to a TV outlet in one of Latin America’s nine key markets. The only difference is that in those markets, I can make at least 10 times as much money.” For this reason, the area known as Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic is usually assigned to freshman sales people. This, in effect, is an invitation for someone who’s never seen a body of water to either sink or swim. The area is not only a difficult territory, but it presents problematic traveling logistics as well. For example, one cannot find direct flights from Costa Rica to the Dominican Republic: The only way to go is via Miami, Florida. In a seven-country region, there are more than 5.6 million TVHH of which 870,000 are cable subscribers. Plus, 140 TV stations, 32 buying groups, and 40 TV stations require programming for a total of 320,000 hours per year, of which 200,000 are imported. Total program acquisition for this market is valued at $75 million a year, 10 percent of which is managed by Angel Gonzalez. Albavision’s acquisition budget of $14 million per year is also used for his South American TV stations. This is why, to international distributors, Gonzalez is viewed as “one territory.” By leveraging his “secured” payment methods, Gonzalez gets an estimated 25 percent more value for his money, which in effect is like operating with a budget of more than $18 million. The region offers many opportunities, which is why groups like TV Azteca have invested 70 percent ownership of channels 31 and 35 in Guatemala. Estesa, Nicaragua’s main pay-TV provider, is owned by America Movil, an arm of Mexico’s Carlos Slim Helú. In the cable TV business in Honduras, Costa Rica and El Salvador, there is Grupo Millicom, which is actually based in Luxembourg. TV stations’ profitability is usually 15 percent, which is on par with their U.S. counterparts. In a region with cumulative TV advertising revenues estimated at $1 billion per year, profits can be valued at $150 million or an average of $5.6 million per TV station group per year. License fees (U.S.$ averages): 60’ series movies telenovelas Panama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .700 2,000 300 Costa Rica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .600 1,500 250 Dominican Republic . . . . . . . .500 1,200 250 El Salvador . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .400 1,000 250 Guatemala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .400 1,000 200 Honduras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .300 800 150 Nicaragua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .300 800 150 Television Ad Revenues in U.S.$ million (2008): Dominican Republic: 210 or 57 percent (total 370) Panama: 186 or 62 percent (total 300) Guatemala: 120 or 59 percent (total 204) El Salvador: 84 or 56 percent (total 150) Costa Rica: 83 or 40 percent (total 208) Honduras: 80 or 64 percent (total 124) Nicaragua: 40 or 76 percent (total 53) TV PROGRAMMING ACQUISITION GROUPS Panama: FETV, RPC, TVN, Telemetro, Medcom, SERTV (public), CableOnda Costa Rica: Connexion, Repetel (Albavision), Teletica, Sinart (public), As Media Dominican Republic: Colorvision, CERTV (public), RTV Dominicana, Telesistema, Tele Antillas, Telemedios, AntenaLatina, CDNTV El Salvador: TCS, YSLD (educational), Megavision, As Media, Channel 7, Teledos, TVO Guatemala: TreceVision, Radio Television Guatemala (Albavision), TV Azteca, Vea, GuateVision Honduras: TeleCentro, VicaTV, TV Hondured, Grupo R, Teleunsa, Cable Sula, Telered, MayaTV, Campus TV Nicaragua: Grupo ESE, Ratensa, Nicavision, Telenica, Telenorte, Televicentro, Albavision presence and started to enjoy the simple things in life, like dining in his restaurants, Linda B Steakhouse in Key Biscayne, Miami and Key West, and enjoying his houses in Miami, New Orleans, Mexico City and Guatemala City. One thing he will not give up is his entourage of five trusted secretaries and his quest to learn the English language. “ Gonzalez was one of the subjects in a University of Texas Press book titled Latin Politics, Global Media. In the parts of the TV industry that deal with the Americas, he’s a well-known figure with many anecdotes to his name. The neglect from the international TV trade press is mainly due to the fact that Central America tends to be ignored by the media in general, but no mas. At the TeleCentro launch: DirecTV’s John de Armas, Telecentro’s partners Angel Gonzalez and Guillermo Cañedo White
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