Back in 1961, Mexico's leading media mogul bought a television station in San Antonio, certain there was big money to be made from the millions of mexicanos moving north of the border.
He was right. Emilio Azcarraga Vidaurreta started buying more stations, laying the foundation for the first Spanish- language television network in the United States. But in 1986, federal laws limiting foreign ownership of broadcast stations forced the Azcarraga family to cede control.
Now, Azcarraga Vidaurreta's 37-year-old grandson is out to regain what his family lost. Emilio Azcarraga Jean, who owns the Spanish-speaking world's largest media company, Grupo Televisa, has made no secret of his desire to dominate the U.S. Latino market.
He has set his sights on the multibillion-dollar broadcasting and entertainment conglomerate known as Univision Communications Inc. -- the company that his father's father founded 44 years ago.
"We have built it from scratch," Azcarraga Jean said in an interview. Although Televisa and Univision have forged a fruitful partnership, he said, eventually "it makes a lot of sense to try to combine the two companies."
His path to power is blocked, however, by a man twice his age: A. Jerrold Perenchio, the iron-willed chairman and chief executive of Univision.
The 74-year-old Los Angeles billionaire -- a former talent agent and boxing promoter who also is one of California's biggest political contributors and art collectors -- has spent more than a decade building Univision into a fortress. The Century City-based company's three networks command more than 75% of the U.S. audience for Spanish-language TV.
Perenchio, who does not speak Spanish, owns 11.5% of the company's common stock but has super-voting shares that give him 56% control. Lately, he has used that power to unilaterally install one of his closest allies as Univision's new president, prompting a backlash from some on the board.
Analysts say Perenchio is not about to start sharing power, particularly not with Azcarraga Jean, whose Mexico City-based Televisa owns 10.9% of Univision and provides more than a third of its programming. Perenchio is known for closely following his own 20 "Rules of the Road" -- a printed list, distributed to Univision executives -- which includes the admonition: "Take Options, Never Give Them."
