Cámara Nacional de la Industria de Radio y Televisión
The National Chamber of the Radio and Television Industry is the broadcasters' association of Mexico. The CIRT represents all commercial broadcasters in the country. Its current president is José Luis Rodríguez Aguirre, head of Querétarobroadcaster Respuesta Radiofónica, who has occupied the position since 2018.
History
The first broadcasters' association in Mexico was the Asociación Mexicana de Estaciones Radiodifusoras, soon changed to the Asociación Mexicana de Estaciones Radiodifusoras Comerciales, which was formed in 1937. In late 1941, the Cámara Nacional de la Industria de Radiodifusión was formally constituted, with Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta as its first president. The relationship proved critical for broadcasters who, because of World War II, could not obtain parts for their equipment from American suppliers; Azcárraga's connections to RCA Victor made it possible for small stations to obtain parts by way of affiliating with his Radio Programas de México. Historically, the CIRT has been aligned with larger broadcasters. In 1953, the CIRT supported a move that allowed large Mexico Cityradio stations to establish nationwide repeaters, adversely affecting local stations. It supported the Televisa Law in 2006, even when many of the association's smaller members would have been harmed by a measure that benefited Televisa and TV Azteca. Likewise, it opposed the Federal Telecommunications Institute's decision to auction new radio and TV stations in 2016.
The first National Broadcasting Week, now National Radio and Television Week, was organized by the CIR in 1958. The organization changed its name and formally began including television broadcasters in 1970 after an internal restructuring. In 2017, the National Radio and Television Week was not held that November, the first such cancellation in the event's history, as a result of the two earthquakes that had struck the country that September.
