Sweet surrender

Old Pedro is dead. But no, love conquers even death! Old Pedro has come back to life as a young man to embrace the irresistible Isabel! Their glossy tresses tangle in the breeze, their eyes glow with desire, their lips near for a kiss ... Ay! No, they mustn’t! But si, they must! Will they? Won’t they? Stay tuned.

Telenovelas. Corny beyond corny yet unbelievably addictive, those staples of Spanish-language television are much more than Latin-flavored soap operas. Indeed, telenovelas are the embodiment, the heartbeat, the incarnation of the struggle for Mexico’s economic soul.

For the last two years, hopes were high -- no, passions were roused -- that Telemundo, producer of programs such as the megahit “Body of Desire” (in which Old Pedro returns as hot young Salvador) would crack open Mexico’s hermetically sealed broadcast industry and launch that country’s third network. But even Old Pedro couldn’t have overcome the death grip Mexico’s two media powerhouses have on the market. Grupo Televisa and its smaller rival TV Azteca have a chokehold on viewer choice and have successfully blocked meaningful competition. What’s needed now is political courage to challenge the duopoly, but that’s nonexistent: Politicians who dare are likely to find candidates from their parties somehow left off the air.

So Telemundo gave up its quest this week and struck a deal to air its programs on one of Televisa’s broadcast channels and also on a separate cable channel. The move gives NBC Universal, which owns Telemundo, what it always wanted -- a toehold in Mexico. (Mexicans and people of Mexican descent make up about 64% of the Latino viewing public in the U.S., and that early branding will be key.) And on the whole, Telemundo has every reason to be pleased. After all, it never set out to be the white knight of the open market; it just wanted its content shown on Mexican channels.

But it’s still a letdown. If any company had the studio capability, the programming content and the deep pockets necessary to make a legitimate case to compete in Mexico, it was Telemundo. And for a time it seemed possible. President Felipe Calderon appeared sympathetic; the country was finally discussing how monopolies enrich the few and hurt the many, burdening consumers with high prices and slowing economic growth. In other words, hair was blowing in the breeze, and lips were parted for a kiss. Now hopes are dashed that, at least any time soon, Mexico’s broadcast market will open to competition. Will it? Won’t it? Just stay tuned.