MEXICO CITY — Televisa founding chairman Emilio Azcarraga Milmo, Latin America’s pre-eminent media mogul, died Wednesday, at the age of 66.

Evening newsflashes broadcast by Televisa’s Channel 2, the network that formed the basis of the world’s largest Spanish-lingo media empire, announced that the mogul had died in Miami.

No cause of death was given, but insiders say Azcarraga Milmo had suffered from a brain tumor.

Related Stories

A hand holding up a controller into the air VIP+

Why the Video Game Industry Can’t Shake Its Struggles

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 01: Christopher Ciccone poses for a portrait while promoting his new book "Life With My Sister Madonna" on August 1, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Christopher Ciccone, Artist and Brother of Madonna, Dies at 63

The news comes barely a month after he resigned from the Televisa presidency, anointing his son Emilio Azcarraga Jean, 29, president, and his chief dealmaker Guillermo Canedo White, 37, chairman (Daily Variety, March 5). Azcarraga Milmo’s death places the weight of Televisa leadership squarely on the shoulders of his son, who is now majority shareholder of the company. Insiders say that after the March succession, Azcarraga Jean continued to seek his father’s approval of most decisions.

Popular on Variety

But Televisa execs are due to convene next week to formalize a new executive committee. The new lineup is to include old hands, young execs and faces new to the company, sources say, and the committee will likely lead Televisa in more democratic fashion than did Azcarraga Milmo, who was renowned for his hands-on, autocratic style.

Televisa enjoys a 70% TV share, employs 20,000 and recorded revenues of $1.4 billion last year, which makes it by revenue Latin America’s second-largest entertainment conglom after Brazil’s Globo.

But in terms of regional influence and global presence, Televisa is by far the bigger player. Its novelas are primetime hits from U.S. Hispanic net Univision down to Argentina, and accounted for about 85% of Televisa’s $114 million in program exports last year.

Televisa is also the world’s largest publisher of Spanish-lingo magazines, and owner of the largest indie record company in the Spanish-speaking Americas.

This international reach owes largely to Azcarraga Milmo, who in 1972 inherited Televisa — then TeleSistema Mexicano — from his father, Emilio Azcarraga Vidaurreta.

In 1993, Forbes named Azcarraga Milmo as Latin America’s richest man, worth $5.1 billion. But Mexico’s 1994 devaluation and Televisa’s subsequent poor stock performance meant that last year Forbes figured Azcarraga’s fortune at just $2 billion.

Known as “El Tigre” for his aggressive style, Azcarraga Milmo was a charismatic businessman but also a controversial player in Mexico’s political life. Carlos Salinas’ presidential election victory of 1988 has been largely attributed to blanket support from Televisa, which ignored or badmouthed Salinas’s opponents.

Azcarraga Milmo’s passing follows soon after the death of two close friends who were key to his empire building: ad sales guru Othon Velez and senior exec Guillermo Canedo de la Barcena, who masterminded Televisa’s dominance of Mexican soccer and brought two World Cup soccer tourneys to Mexico.

Sources close to the family say Azcarraga Milmo suffered a heart attack in February on hearing of the death of Canedo. On his hospitalization in Los Angeles, doctors reportedly discovered a brain tumor.

Azcarraga spent most of his final weeks aboard ECO, a luxury yacht said to be the world’s largest, in the waters off Miami. As well as his son, Azcarraga leaves three daughters and his fifth wife, Adriana Abascal.

Read More About:

Jump to Comments

More from Variety

Most Popular

Must Read

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Variety Confidential

A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9mhnqDjqyanqaVZMOxrcaeZq2dnJrDqr%2FAZqSon6WheqW1xKxkmqxda4NufZBqbm1rZGx%2Bd3s%3D