Mexico Reduces High-Definition TV Giveaway as Oil Prices Plummet

Bloomberg.com reports that Mexico trimmed the number of high-definition televisions it will give away by almost four million as federal spending cuts curtail a plan to speed a transition to digital broadcasts.

The government now expects to deliver 10 million TVs, down from an initial goal of as many as 13.8 million, Finance Minister Luis Videgaray said Friday. The TV giveaway, started almost a year ago, is part of Mexico’s plan to help viewers switch to digital signals so broadcasters such as Grupo Televisa SAB and TV Azteca SAB can stop using analog airwaves.

The TV reduction was among cuts Videgaray announced under Mexico’s plan to trim spending by about 0.7 percent of gross domestic product in 2015 on the expectation that oil prices may remain low for years. The government is also canceling a proposed train in the Yucatan peninsula and suspending a high-speed-rail project to connect Mexico City and Queretaro.

Read more at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-30/mexico-reduces-high-definition-tv-giveaway-as-oil-prices-plummet