Regulators extend ruling on Televisa-Cablemas deal

MEXICO CITY, April 29 (Reuters) - Mexico's anti-trust watchdog is now seen taking until mid-May to rule if broadcaster Televisa can purchase cable firm Cablemas, two weeks later than expected as it examines more information.

Eduardo Perez Motta, the head of the Federal Competition Commission, told Reuters in an interview on March 31 that the agency's decision was likely to be ready in no more than four weeks, although he said there was no set deadline.

"It could take two more weeks," a source at the commission (CFC) told Reuters on Tuesday.

Televisa (TV.N: Quote, Profile, Research) (TLVACPO.MX: Quote, Profile, Research), the biggest producer of Spanish-language content in the world, has an option to buy a 49 percent stake in Cablemas, one of the country's biggest cable companies.

But in order to win regulators' approval, the broadcaster has already had to meet a number of requirements, including sharing its content with smaller regional competitors, to guarantee a level playing field for all cable operators .

Anti-trust representatives have held regular meetings with Televisa for almost a year in the hope of reaching a final decision in a market that lacks solid regulation.

The Cablemas deal is key for Televisa to expand in the pay-per-view television and Internet markets in Mexico and to tap new businesses like phone services as media companies make a better use of broadband networks to boost revenue.

Televisa was not immediately available for comment. (Reporting by Cyntia Barrera Diaz; editing by Gunna Dickson)