TV4 is the state-owned public broadcaster serving the Mexican state of Guanajuato. It broadcasts on 30 total transmitters statewide and is operated by the Television Unit of Guanajuato (UTEG), which under its stated mission, provides educational programming, social and cultural television and healthy entertainment for children, youth and adults.

TV4 is available statewide, covering 98% of the territory of Guanajuato in addition to statewide cable television carriage and satellite distribution via Mexicanal and Canal Sur Mexico.

In some form, TV4 programming reaches more than 3 million viewers both in Mexico and abroad, including in the United States.^[1]

History

In December 1979, the state government and the Dirección General de Radio, Televisión y Cinematografía (RTC), then in charge of the Televisión Rural de México network, agreed that TRM programming and broadcasts would be regionalized to deliver information oriented specifically to address needs of the local population. The result was that in various states, TRM built regional opt-outs into its programming schedule.

Two years later, the first broadcasts through TRM's regional network provided local programming for one hour daily. This later increased as new infrastructure was constructed, with the first test broadcasts of channel 4 in 1983 and later supplemented by regional FM radio broadcasting (see XHJUA-FM).

In April 1983, Radio y Televisión de Guanajuato (Radio and Television of Guanajuato, RTG) was created as a state-supported organization to broadcast social, educational and cultural programming.

In 1999, the radio network was spun off and given to the University of Guanajuato. By then, it included stations in León, Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende, all of which are now part of the university's radio network. The rest of the former RTG was then restructured, becoming in 2001 the Unidad de Televisión de Guanajuato (Guanajuato Television Unit or UTEG).

In the 2010s, TV4 transitioned to digital and high definition. The León transmitter was the first to convert to digital, receiving its authorization in September 2011. Others were authorized in the years leading up to the Mexican digital transition in 2015.

A reaward of all of TV4's concessions effective January 1, 2022, resulted in new call signs across the network.

Programming

TV4 produces around 48 percent of its program output, which includes kids' shows, educational programming, local sporting events, and newscasts covering Guanajuato. It fills the remainder of its broadcast day with Deutsche Welle programs, as well as productions from the other state networks. TV4 also offers coverage of local cultural events such as the Festival Internacional Cervantino.

Transmitters

TVCUATRO is available through a statewide network of repeaters located throughout Guanajuato. There are 27 main stations and a further three translators of XHCPDQ (formerly XHLEG), the León transmitter. TV4 uses virtual channel 4 in all areas.^[2]

While all TV4 transmitters held authorizations at the time to broadcast in digital, and the León and Celaya transmitters were the first to broadcast as such, the León transmitter was the only one that shut off its analog signal on December 11, 2015.

In March 2018, in order to facilitate the repacking of TV services out of the 600 MHz band (channels 38-51), ten transmitters of TV4 were assigned new channels for continued digital operations. XHGCO, XHLEG, and XHGTA were assigned channel 25; XHGJI and XHGSC were assigned channel 30; and XHGAC, XHDLG, XHATO, XHGHU, and XHGJR were assigned channel 35.

TV4 programming is available to Guanajuatense audiences abroad via Mexicanal and Canal Sur México; in the US, broadcasts are also available from DirecTV and though multicasting.

Digital subchannels

All TV4 transmitters are multiplexed, carrying two subchannels with programming primarily consisting of TV4 repeats: TV4 Media on channel 4.2 and TV4 Expresa on channel 4.3.