Logo used since 2016 | |
| Type | Terrestrial television network |
|---|---|
| Country | Mexico |
| Transmitters | see below |
| Headquarters | Avenida Chapultepec 28, Colonia Doctores, Cuauhtémoc, 06720Mexico City, Mexico |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV (downscaled to480i for the SD feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | TelevisaUnivision |
| History | |
| Launched | 11 March 1951; 74 years ago (1951-03-11) |
| Founder | Emilio Azcárraga Milmo |
| Former names | Canal 2 (1951–1984) El Canal de las Estrellas (1985-2005) Canal de las Estrellas (2005-2016) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Digital terrestrial television (Except Tijuana) | Channel 2.1 |
| Digital terrestrial television (Tijuana) | Channel 19.1 |
| Digital terrestrial television (Reynosa) | Channel 9.1 |
Las Estrellas (lit. 'The Stars') is a Mexicantelevision network owned byTelevisaUnivision. Its first official broadcast took place on 21 March 1951. It airsfree-to-air through affiliate stations throughout Mexico, based onXEW-TDT inMexico City.
It is considered the most-watched television channel in Mexico and serves asTelevisa'sflagship channel. It is also the oldest national television network in Mexico, originating from stationXEW-TV, the second-oldest station in the country, followingXHTV-TDT (channel 4). Much of Las Estrellas' programming is broadcast in the U.S. onUnivision,UniMás andGalavisión.[1]
Its programming primarily consists oftelenovelas,game shows, comedy shows,sports shows, andnews broadcasts. On weekends, it features movies,reality shows,children's programming, special events (concerts,award shows), and occasionally, the final episodes of major telenovelas (simulcast on the main stations of theTelevisa Regional network). Additionally, weekends include broadcasts of major Mexican soccer matches and, at times, boxing events.
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Las Estrellas originated from XEW-TV, which began broadcasting on 11 March 1951. The channel was a sister station to the legendaryXEW-AM radio station, owned byEmilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta, which was also the owner of the newly launched channel. It was the second commercial TV channel to be established in Mexico City, afterXHTV channel 4, owned by theNovedades newspaper. XEW-TV's first transmission was a live, play-by-play, outside broadcast of aMexican League match, with XEW radio veteranPedro Septién on commentary duties. Other than live sports broadcasts, XEW-TV initially broadcast films from theGolden Age of Mexican cinema, as its studios in Chapultepec 18 were still under construction. The studio complex, known as Televicentro, would be inaugurated in January 1952. Soon thereafter, the programming scope would be expanded to include live variety shows and television theatre showcases, in a style similar to XEW radio's similarly formatted shows.
XEW-TV would be a pioneer in Mexican television, and would establish many industry firsts. In 1962, the channel would become the flagship network of the newly merged Telesistema Mexicano, which also brought XHTV and XHGC under Azcárraga's hands, and, after merging withXHTM-TV andTelevisión Independiente de México, many of these stations' programs would move to XEW-TV. As a result, XEW-TV rapidly grew and became the country's most watched TV network, a position which was undisputed for many years, as Televisa held a monopoly on commercial TV in Mexico, which even went into heavily influencing the political landscape in the country. As a result, by 1985, and in preparation for the1986 FIFA World Cup (in which Televisa was the host broadcaster), XEW-TV was renamedEl Canal de las Estrellas, in reference to the station's line-up of actors, comedians and presenters. This was further reinforced with the launch of an image campaign song, sung byLucía Méndez, in 1988.
After the death ofEmilio Azcárraga Milmo in 1997, El Canal de las Estrellas suffered a massive restructuring of its programming. The biggest moment of the restructuring came in 1998, when24 Horas, theJacobo Zabludovsky-anchored newscast, long a propaganda mouthpiece of the Mexican political regime, was canceled. The station's brand identity was also replaced with a new logo created by Pablo Rovalo. After a period of ratings turmoil, viewership stabilized, but the channel had to contend now with a surgentXHDF, freshly privatized and bought under the auspicies ofTV Azteca.
After years of decline, particularly after2012, as accusations of political bias in favor of then-PresidentEnrique Peña Nieto began to hamper the broadcaster's credibility, in 2016, the decision was made to relaunch entirely the station's branding and programming. On 22 August 2016, XEW-TV was renamed asLas Estrellas, and introduced many changes to its programming schedule, including shorter and snappier telenovelas and news programming, as well as dropping many long-running programming in favour of programming oriented to a younger audience.[2] The changes generated a big ratings decline;[3][4] as a result, by 2017, much of the new programming was canceled and the prime time telenovelas and news programming were relocated to pre-relaunch timeslots[5] and viewership stabilized, especially during theCOVID-19 pandemic.[6]
Las Estrellas is available as a pay television network in Europe and Australia as Las Estrellas Europa[7] and Las Estrellas Latinoamérica in Central and South America through Televisa Networks.[8] Both feeds differ from the Las Estrellas programming, usually broadcasting shows weeks behind their original broadcast.
The European feed was known as Galavisión until 2005 and started broadcasting in late 1988.[9] On October 15, 2005, the channel adopted El Canal de las Estrellas, as Galavisión was associated to old movies, outdated telenovelas and sports events broadcast with delay. The rebrand enabled the channel to get up-to-date with the Latin American feed.[10] In January 2025, satellite distribution of the feed changed from Eutelsat 9B to Intelsat 35e.[11]
In Canada, XEW-TDT and the Las Estrellas schedule is available in full on Western CanadaRogers Cable (limited to theGreater Toronto Area) andBell Fibe TV as aneligible foreign service.
Weekday programming in the afternoon and prime time consists oftelenovelas. Las Estrellas airs sports programming and sports specials like the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup. Morning and afternoon programming consists of news, sports, talk shows, and variety shows. Night time programming is filled with a news program andUnivision-produced shows. Examples of shows produced by Las Estrellas areRecuerda y Gana,Hoy,El Juego de las Estrellas, andCuéntamelo ya. The network also produces and airs thePremios TVyNovelas, sponsored by the Televisa-ownedmagazine of the same name and considered the highest honor in the domestic Mexican television industry.
The following is a list of all full-time Las Estrellas repeaters:
| RF | VC | Call sign | Location | ERP | Concessionaire |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | 2 | XHEBC-TDT | Ensenada | 38 kW | Televimex |
| 34 | 2 | XHBM-TDT | Mexicali | 180 kW | Televimex |
| 22 | 19 | XHUAA-TDT | Tijuana | 200 kW | Televimex |
| 27 | 2 | XHSJT-TDT | San José del Cabo Cabo San Lucas | 30 kW 27 kW[12] | Televimex |
| 30 | 2 | XHCBC-TDT | Cd. Constitución | 10 kW | Televimex |
| 26 | 2 | XHGWT-TDT | Guerrero Negro | 30 kW | Televimex |
| 28 | 2 | XHLPT-TDT | La Paz | 26 kW | Televimex |
| 34 | 2 | XHCPA-TDT | Campeche | 28 kW | Televimex |
| 22 | 2 | XHCDC-TDT | Ciudad del Carmen | 31 kW[13] | Televimex |
| 21 | 2 | XHEFT-TDT | Escárcega | 18 kW | Televimex |
| 32 | 2 | XHWVT-TDT | Tonalá Arriaga | 20 kW 18 kW[14] | Televimex |
| 34 | 2 | XHCIC-TDT | Cintalapa de Figueroa | Televimex | |
| 23 | 2 | XHCMZ-TDT | Comitán de Dominguez | 32 kW | Televimex |
| 32 | 2 | XHHUC-TDT | Huixtla | 40 kW | Televimex |
| 32 | 2 | XHOCC-TDT | Ocosingo | 39 kW | Televimex |
| 16 | 2 | XHSCC-TDT | San Cristobal de las Casas | 30 kW | Televimex |
| 23 | 2 | XHAA-TDT | Tapachula | 62 kW | Televimex |
| 29 | 2 | XHTUA-TDT | Tuxtla Gutiérrez | 45 kW | Televimex |
| 28 | 2 | XHVAC-TDT | Venustiano Carranza | 22 kW | Televimex |
| 26 | 2 | XHVFC-TDT | Villaflores | 20 kW | Televimex |
| 36 | 2 | XHCHC-TDT | Cd. Camargo | 24 kW | Televimex |
| 46 | 2 | XHCCH-TDT | Cd. Cuauhtémoc | 26 kW | Televimex |
| 23 | 2 | XHDEH-TDT | Cd. Delicias | 20 kW | Televimex |
| 33 | 2 | XHBU-TDT | Cd. Jiménez | 11 kW | Televimex |
| 29 | 2 | XEPM-TDT | Cd. Juárez | 50 kW | Televimex |
| 29 | 2 | XHMAC-TDT | Cd. Madera | 14 kW | Televimex |
| 24 | 2 | XHFI-TDT | Chihuahua Cd. Cuauhtémoc | 47 kW 26 kW[15] | Televimex |
| 26 | 2 | XHHPT-TDT | Hidalgo del Parral | 24 kW | Televimex |
| 27 | 2 | XHNCG-TDT | Nuevo Casas Grandes | 34 kW | Televimex |
| 15 | 2 | XHOCH-TDT | Ojinaga | 23 kW | Televimex |
| 35 | 2 | XHBVT-TDT | San Buenaventura | 25 kW | Televimex |
| 34 | 2 | XHSAC-TDT | Santa Barbara | 23 kW | Televimex |
| 32 | 2 | XEW-TDT | Mexico City(Pico Tres Padres, Mexico) | 270 kW | Televimex |
| 35 | 2 | XHWDT-TDT | Allende | 40 kW | Televimex |
| 34 | 2 | XHAMC-TDT | Ciudad Acuña | 50 kW | Televimex |
| 23 | 2 | XHRDC-TDT | Nueva Rosita | 42 kW | Televimex |
| 35 | 2 | XHMOT-TDT | Monclova | 50 kW | Televimex |
| 22 | 2 | XHPAC-TDT | Parras de la Fuente | 62 kW | Televimex |
| 30 | 2 | XHPNT-TDT | Piedras Negras | 43 kW | Televimex |
| 20[16] | 2 | XHO-TDT | Torreón | 150 kW | Televimex |
| 16 | 2 | XHBZ-TDT | Colima Manzanillo Cd. Guzmán, Jal. | 54 kW 30 kW[17] 15 kW[18] | Televimex |
| 23 | 2 | XHTEC-TDT | Tecomán/Armería | 33 kW | Televimex |
| 21 | 2 | XHDI-TDT | Durango Santiago Papasquiaro, Dgo. | 94 kW | Televimex |
| 27 | 2 | XHLGT-TDT | León Guanajuato | 180 kW 20 kW[19] | Televimex |
| 22 | 2 | XHACZ-TDT | Acapulco | 15 kW | Televimex |
| 20 | 2 | XHCK-TDT | Chilpancingo | 50 kW | Televimex |
| 26 | 2 | XHIGG-TDT | Iguala | 43 kW | Televimex |
| 34 | 2 | XHTGG-TDT | Tecpan de Galeana | 24 kW | Televimex |
| 27 | 2 | XHIZG-TDT | Ixtapa andZihuatanejo | 40 kW | Televimex |
| 34 | 2 | XHTWH-TDT | Tulancingo | 45 kW | Televimex |
| 36 | 2 | XHATJ-TDT | Atotonilco El Alto | 24 kW | Televimex |
| 32 | 2 | XHANT-TDT | Autlán de Navarro | 43 kW | Televimex |
| 24 | 2 | XHGA-TDT | Guadalajara Metropolitan Area | 150 kW | Televimex |
| 25 | 2 | XHLBU-TDT | La Barca | 22 kW | Televimex |
| 36 | 2 | XHPVT-TDT | Puerto Vallarta | 33 kW | Televimex |
| 36 | 2 | XHTM-TDT | Altzomoni Tejupilco de Hidalgo Taxco, Gro. Pachuca, Hgo. (RF 39) Cuernavaca, Mor. San Martín Texmelucan, Pue. Tlaxcala, Tlax. | 236 kW 20 kW[20] 21 kW[21] 8 kW[22] 45 kW[23] 20 kW[24] 30 kW[25] | Televimex |
| 19 | 2 | XHTOL-TDT | Toluca/Jocotitlán | 45 kW | Televimex |
| 25 | 2 | XHAPN-TDT | Apatzingán | 47 kW | Televimex |
| 21 | 2 | XHCHM-TDT | Ciudad Hidalgo | 14 kW | Televimex |
| 30 | 2 | XHLBT-TDT | Lazaro Cárdenas | 25 kW | Televimex |
| 31 | 2 | XHLRM-TDT | Los Reyes | 22 kW | Televimex |
| 16 | 2 | XHKW-TDT | Morelia | 47.2 kW | Jose Humberto y Loucille Martínez Morales |
| 30 | 2 | XHURT-TDT | Cerro Burro, Mich. | 338 kW | Televimex |
| 14 | 2 | XHSAM-TDT | Sahuayo de Morelos-Jiquilpan | 20 kW | Televimex |
| 29 | 2 | XHZMT-TDT | Zamora | 32 kW | Televimex |
| 36 | 2 | XHZIM-TDT | Zinapécuaro | 30 kW | Televimex |
| 25 | 2 | XHZMM-TDT | Zitácuaro | 10 kW | Televimex |
| 32 | 2 | XHACN-TDT | Acaponeta andTecuala | 15 kW | Televimex |
| 23 | 2 | XHIMN-TDT | Islas Marias | 1.3 kW | Televimex |
| 18 | 2 | XHSEN-TDT | Santiago Ixcuintla | 17 kW | Televimex |
| 28 | 2 | XHTEN-TDT | Tepic | 55 kW | Televimex |
| 23 | 2 | XHX-TDT | Monterrey Saltillo, Coah. Sabinas Hidalgo | 200 kW 45 kW[26] 4.8 kW | Televimex |
| 31 | 2 | XHHLO-TDT | Huajuapan de León Tehuacán, Pue. | 76 kW 36 kW[27] | Televimex |
| 21 | 2 | XHPAO-TDT | Cerro Palma Sola, Oax. | 76 kW | Televimex |
| 23 | 2 | XHMIO-TDT | Miahuatlán de Porfirio Díaz | 18 kW | Televimex |
| 29 | 2 | XHBN-TDT | Oaxaca | 97 kW | Televimex |
| 32 | 2 | XHPNO-TDT | Pinotepa Nacional | 46 kW | Televimex |
| 36 | 2 | XHPAT-TDT | Puerto Ángel | 24 kW | Televimex |
| 31 | 2 | XHPET-TDT | Puerto Escondido | 21 kW | Televimex |
| 20 | 2 | XHZAP-TDT | Zacatlán | 20 kW | Televimex |
| 32 | 2 | XHZ-TDT | Querétaro (Cerro El Zamorano) Cerro El Cimatario Guanajuato, Gto. Irapuato-Celaya, Gto. San Miguel de Allende, Gto. | 180 kW 10 kW 20 kW 50 kW 65 kW | Televimex |
| 21 | 2 | XHCCN-TDT | Cancún Playa del Carmen | 60 kW 20 kW[28] | Televimex |
| 27 | 2 | XHCHF-TDT | Chetumal | 28 kW | Televimex |
| 30 | 2 | XHCOQ-TDT | Cozumel | 60 kW | Televimex |
| 30 | 2 | XHCDV-TDT | Ciudad Valles | 18 kW | Televimex |
| 29 | 2 | XHMTS-TDT | Matehuala | 27 kW | Televimex |
| 31 | 2 | XHSLA-TDT | San Luis Potosí | 210 kW | Televimex |
| 29 | 2 | XHTAT-TDT | Tamazunchale | 40 kW | Televimex |
| 23 | 2 | XHBT-TDT | Culiacán | 155 kW | Televimex |
| 25/30 | 2 | XHBS-TDT | Los Mochis Cd. Obregón, Son.(RF 30)[29] | 110 kW 200 kW | Televimex |
| 25 | 2 | XHOW-TDT | Mazatlán | 118 kW | Televimex |
| 17 | 2 | XHAPT-TDT | Agua Prieta | 25 kW | Televimex |
| 35 | 2 | XHSVT-TDT | Caborca | 37 kW | Televimex |
| 34 | 2 | XHCNS-TDT | Cananea | 32 kW | Televimex |
| 20 | 2 | XHGST-TDT | Guaymas | 46 kW | Televimex |
| 23 | 2 | XHHES-TDT | Hermosillo | 100 kW | Televimex |
| 21 | 2 | XHMST-TDT | Magdalena de Kino | 24 kW | Televimex |
| 27 | 2 | XHBF-TDT | Navojoa | 65 kW | Televisora de Navojoa |
| 17 | 2 | XHNOS-TDT | Nogales | 35 kW | Televimex |
| 22 | 2 | XHPDT-TDT | Puerto Peñasco | 32 kW | Televimex |
| 32 | 2 | XHLRT-TDT | San Luis Río Colorado | 55 kW | Televimex |
| 27 | 2 | XHFRT-TDT | Frontera | 18 kW | Televimex |
| 31 | 2 | XHUBT-TDT | La Venta | 3 kW | Televimex |
| 30 | 2 | XHTET-TDT | Tenosique Palenque, Chis. | 28 kW | Televimex |
| 32 | 2 | XHVIZ-TDT | Villahermosa | 125 kW | Televimex |
| 34 | 2 | XHMBT-TDT | Ciudad Mante | 27 kW | Televimex |
| 31 | 2 | XHTK-TDT | Ciudad Victoria | 80 kW | Televimex |
| 30 | 2 | XHLUT-TDT | La Rosita-Villagrán | 35 kW | Televimex |
| 29 | 2 | XHLAR-TDT | Nuevo Laredo | 200 kW | Televimex |
| 19 | 9 | XERV-TDT | Reynosa | 300 kW | Televisora de Occidente |
| 28 | 2 | XHTAM-TDT | Reynosa | 265 kW | Televimex |
| 25 | 2 | XHSFT-TDT | San Fernando | 15 kW | Televimex |
| 32 | 2 | XHSZT-TDT | Soto la Marina | 20 kW | Televimex |
| 17 | 2 | XHGO-TDT | Tampico | 180 kW | Televimex |
| 18 | 2 | XHCRT-TDT | Cerro Azul | 28 kW | Televimex |
| 24 | 2 | XHCV-TDT | Coatzacoalcos | 60 kW | Televimex |
| 24 | 2 | XHFM-TDT | Veracruz | Televisora de Occidente | |
| 17 | 2 | XHAH-TDT | Las Lajas Nogales Orizaba | 430 kW 25 kW[30] 60 kW[31] | Televimex |
| 35 | 2 | XHATV-TDT | San Andrés Tuxtla, Ver. | 22 kW | Televimex |
| 30 | 2 | XHTP-TDT | Mérida | 125 kW | Televisora Peninsular |
| 32 | 2 | XHVTT-TDT | Valladolid Tizimín | 60 kW 28 kW[32] | Televimex |
| 22 | 2 | XHJZT-TDT | Jalpa | 25 kW | Televimex |
| 23 | 2 | XHNOZ-TDT | Nochistlan | 32 kW | Televimex |
| 18 | 2 | XHSOZ-TDT | Sombrerete | 32 kW | Televimex |
| 25 | 2 | XHTLZ-TDT | Tlaltenango Calvillo, Ags. | 22 kW 17 kW[33] | Televimex |
| 22 | 2 | XHVAZ-TDT | Valparaiso | 22 kW | Televimex |
| 16 | 2 | XHBD-TDT | Zacatecas Aguascalientes, Ags. | 130 kW 10 kW[34] | Televimex |