Azteca America Explores Options in Houston, San Francisco

LOS ANGELES, April 4: Following yesterday’s announcement
that Pappas Telecasting is ending its affiliation agreement with Azteca America
in several markets, the Hispanic broadcaster announced today that it is
exploring other options for continued carriage in Houston and San Francisco.

The company said in a statement that it expects to
“promptly” finalize new affiliation agreements in those two markets.

"Better aligned interests with other partners in these
markets will translate into substantial benefits for audiences, clients and our
entire affiliate group," said Luis J. Echarte, the chairman of Azteca
America. "We will now be able to build common marketing and operational
plans, and coordinate promotional strategies oriented to give an extra boost to
overall ratings and sales."

As reported yesterday, the Pappas Telecasting affiliation
contracts for stations in Houston, San Francisco and three other markets will
be terminated effective June 30.

"We are quite pleased about our ability to work with
new partners in these markets," said Adrian Steckel, the president and CEO
of Azteca America. "Azteca America is making significant investments in
programming specifically for the U.S. market and believes the network and its
affiliates will strongly benefit from these initiatives. These short-term issues
will be resolved and we will maintain our coverage and standing as a network.
We look forward to our next press release when we can announce the beginning of
those long-term affiliations for July 1."