Chile Media Landscape

As in other Latin American countries, media ownership is concentrated in the hands of a few holding companies and consortia in Chile. Your local PR agency in Chile can map what stations, site, and outlets your target audiences engage with and help you create a unique message that will inspire their loyalty to your brand or service.

Of the five hundred and nine registered media holdings in the Chilean national database, more than half (216) of these are digital while 133 are print. A well-informed population, Chileans increasingly catch up with their current affairs using mobile devices, and there are increasing opportunities for companies to reach different Chilean markets through digital marketing campaigns. There are 115 registered radio stations (with four groups dominating some 70% of the market) and are 45 television holdings.

Two media groups, El Mercurio & Copese dominate most (90%) of the print media landscape in Chile, as well as the lion’s share of the digital media industry and will be regular staples for Chilean PR agencies. El Mercurio, considered the oldest Spanish language newspaper in circulation (founded in 1827) is owned by the eponymous company, who also own tabloid LUN (Las Últimas Noticias); daily evening paper La Segunda; electronic portal Emol; and 21 regional newspapers including the Santiago free-sheet HoyxHoy; along with radio stations Universo, Digital FM, and Positiva FM. Meanwhile, Copesa group owns national daily La Cuarta; free-sheet tabloid La Hora; Santiago daily La Tercera; Pulso, a business and economics publication, along with magazine titles Qué Pasa, and Paula.

Grupo Luksic is one of Chile’s biggest holding companies, with subsidiaries in industries including mining, telecommunications, food and beverages, banking, agriculture, and communications, owns Channel 13, Channel 13C, and RecTV, as well as radio stations Oasis FM, Play FM, Sonar FM, T13 Radio, and Horizon.

Another major player in Chile is Grupo Bethia, the holding company with interests in popular e-commerce site Falabella, horse breeding, real estate, as well as radio stations Mega Channel, Carolina, and Candela. Consortium Grupo Dial owns five radios stations; music station Beethoven; Paula, aimed at a female audience; talk station Duna; trendy Zero, and youngsters Radio Disney – each catering to a distinct demographic. Ibero Americana Radio Chile is a conglomerate, belonging to Spanish group PRISA, and owns the following radio stations: DNA Radio; Concierto; Corazón; FM Dos; Futuro; Imagina; Los 40; Radio Activa; and Rock & Pop.

The main TV stations in Chile are Channel 13; pubic station TVN; Mega; Chilevisión & CNN Chile, which is controlled by Turner Broadcasting Latin America. Informative digital media channels include: emol.com; latercera.com; T13.cl; ahoranoticias.cl; lasegunda.com; soychile.com; lun.com; publimetro.cl; lahora.com; elmostrador.cl; biobiochile.cl; adnradio.cl.

As in many markets, journalists ‘relationships with PR agencies in Chile (and their clients) are fundamentally formed on trust and professionalism. International brands that become recognised as a reliable source of detailed and, crucially, locally relevant stories and comment will always stand out from those that take a more simplistic approach to localisation.