Companies controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim said Wednesday that Mexico's No. 2 broadcaster, TV Azteca SAB (TVAZTCA.MX), is refusing to sell them advertising space unless the phone companies controlled by Slim offer lower interconnection rates to the phone company of TV Azteca's controlling shareholder, Ricardo Salinas Pliego.

The dispute with TV Azteca comes less than a week after Slim's companies decided not to advertise with Mexico's biggest broadcaster, Grupo Televisa SAB (TV, TLEVISA.MX). The companies include mobile phone giant America Movil SAB (AMX, AMX.MX), fixed-line phone company Telefonos de Mexico SAB (TMX, TELMEX.MX), and Grupo Carso SAB (GPOVY, GCARSO.MX), which includes the Sanborns restaurant and store chain and other retail operations.

A Slim spokesman said Wednesday that unlike the disagreement with Televisa, which was over a proposed 20% increase in advertising rates, TV Azteca is refusing to sell advertising to the companies unless America Movil unit Telcel and Telmex offer lower interconnection rates to Grupo Iusacell, the mobile phone company controlled by Salinas Pliego.

In an emailed statement, TV Azteca cited a Grupo Salinas executive as saying "we would be delighted to sell to Grupo Carso [Slim] companies at market prices. We would also be delighted if Telmex y Telcel had a fair interconnection rate and at market prices. Telcel's interconnection price is discriminatory and depredatory and protects its monopoly."

TV Azteca operates two of the country's six nationwide broadcast channels, and Televisa runs the other four. Telcel has about 70% of the country's mobile subscribers.

Earlier this month, Telcel published a public offer to extend to other operators the same interconnection rates agreed among Telcel, Telmex and the local unit of Spain's Telefonica SA (TEF), which is Mexico's No. 2 mobile operator. The interconnection rates agreed were 95 peso cents (8 U.S. cents) per minute in 2011, falling gradually to 69 peso cents in 2014, as well as introducing billing by the second after the first minute.

Other operators, including NII Holdings Inc. (NIHD) unit Nextel Mexico, reject the rates as still too high, arguing that the mobile interconnection rate should be around 40 peso cents per minute.

Telmex, Mexico's largest fixed-line phone company, is seeking to enter the television market from which it is barred until telecommunications authorities authorize a change in its concession. Cable operators, of which Televisa is the largest, are already offering bundled TV, broadband Internet and phone service, or "triple play."

In January, Televisa filed a complaint with the Federal Competition Commission, or CFC, calling for an investigation into Telmex's agreement to do billing and marketing for satellite TV company Dish Mexico, which set up direct competition with Televisa's Sky Mexico satellite TV service. Slim's spokesman denied the advertising pullout was in retaliation.

Telmex says its activities with Dish Mexico are authorized by the CFC, rejecting assertions that it goes beyond the marketing agreement and is a way of skirting the ban on offering television.

-By Anthony Harrup, Dow Jones Newswires; (5255) 5980-5176, anthony.harrup@dowjones.com
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