UPDATE 1-Mexico's Televisa eyes mobile phone market

* Televisa eyes fiber optic, spectrum auctions

* Company could launch mobile phone services in Mexico

* Will have new cable sports channel in July (Recasts, adds analyst comments, other details, adds MEXICO CITY to dateline)

LOS ANGELES/MEXICO CITY, June 11 - Broadcaster Televisa said on Thursday it wants to offer mobile phone services in Mexico, stepping into the market dominated by billionaire Carlos Slim.

A top Televisa official told Reuters that the company, the biggest producer of Spanish-language content in the world, is interested in bidding for a fiber optic network and wireless spectrum.

Mexico's government says it will launch tenders for the use of mobile telephone frequencies before the end of 2009 in a new bid to boost competition.

The Mexican mobile phone market is led by America Movil, owned by Slim, with nearly 60 million subscribers. Spain's Telefonica stands in a distant second place.

The Televisa source said mobile phone services would be offered through cable companies.

Televisa owns Cablevision, Cablemas and Cablevision Monterrey, which recently teamed with Guadalajara-based Megacable to offer a blanket, low-priced video, fixed phone and Internet package, known as triple-play.

"Some of these big media conglomerates may be doing triple play over their television networks, but really the icing on the cake would be to also provide mobility services," said Michael Minges, senior market analyst with Telecommunications Management Group in Virginia.

Additionally, Mexico's Federal Electricity Commission plans to tender two strands from its 27,000 kilometer fiber optic network to create a new telecom backbone for the country.

Analysts believe launching new telecom infrastructure across Mexico could hurt dominant fixed-line operator Telefonos de Mexico -- also part of the Slim empire -- which owns all of the country's telephone cables and even the copper wire leading into home.

The source also said Televisa will launch in Mexico a new sports cable network, which would compete against giants like ESPN and Fox.

Televisa shares rose 0.49 percent to 47.48 pesos Thursday afternoon, and its New York-listed shares gained 2 percent to $17.73.