Las Estrellas

Las Estrellas ("The Stars"; previously El Canal de las Estrellas, or "The Channel of the Stars") is one of the cornerstone networks of TelevisaUnivision, with affiliate stations all over Mexico, flagshipped at XEW-TDT in Mexico City. Many of the programs of Las Estrellas are seen in the United States on Univision, UniMás, and Galavisión. History Las Estrellas originated from XEW-TV, which began broadcasting on 11 March 1951. The channel was a sister station to the legendary XEW-AM radio station, owned by Emilio 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, after XHTV channel 4, owned by the Novedades newspaper. XEW-TV's first transmission was a live, play-by-play, outside broadcast of a Mexican League match, with XEW radio veteran Pedro Septién on commentary duties. Other than live sports broadcasts, XEW-TV initially broadcast films from the Golden 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 with XHTM-TV and Televisión Independiente de México, many of these station's 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 the 1986 FIFA World Cup (in which Televisa was the host broadcaster), XEW-TV was renamed El 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 by Lucía Méndez, in 1988.