The Indalo Group, whose majority shareholder is businessman Cristóbal López, was the media conglomerate that benefited most from official advertising in the province of Buenos Aires in 2025. Last year it received 12.2% of the total advertising revenue from the government of Axel Kicillof (Unión por la Patria), more than double that of other large companies. holdingssuch as Grupo Clarín or Grupo América.
This is due, among other reasons, to the fact that Buenos Aires management does not have advertising distribution criteria established by law. Purchase orders are made through direct contracting and are decided by the Media Secretariat provincial. From the Ministry of Communication they pointed out Checked that the criteria vary “depending on the nature of the campaigns to be communicated, their scope, their target audience, and their importance or contingency depending on government action.”
At the national level, the Government of Javier Milei (LLA) reduced the official guideline to a minimum, although advertising by YPF, the oil company with a state majority, increased during the administration of Horacio Marín, its president. Furthermore, it does not make transparent where and how it invests its resources, despite requests for access from this medium.
According to the resolutions analyzed by CheckedIn 2025, an election year, spending on official Buenos Aires advertising was $58.3 billion and increased 63% compared to 2024 in real terms, that is, discounting the effect of inflation. “In all cases, a plural distribution is sought, which reaches all the inhabitants of the Province of Buenos Aires from the most suitable media – from national media to segmented communication on social networks – and which includes at the same time the promotion of the media based in the province, and particularly those that fulfill functions of local roots and communication,” reported from the portfolio directed by Jessica Rey.
The data collected arises from the analysis of almost 90 resolutions dictated by the Buenos Aires Media Secretariat with payment orders to suppliers that correspond to the government. This leaves out decentralized entities, such as Banco Provincia (BAPRO) or the Lottery of the province of Buenos Aires.
In 2024, according to the latest complete data available from the General Accounting Office of the Province, the Buenos Aires Government spent $23.7 billion on advertising between the central administration and decentralized entities. Other agencies, such as BAPRO and the Lottery, spent $17.3 billion. That same year, YPF spent $97 billion on advertising, and the Buenos Aires Government, almost $100 thousand.
In the first half of 2025, YPF increased its advertising expenses by 5.4% in real terms
The policy of the Kicillof Government in the Indalo Group
Cristóbal López’s holding company received Buenos Aires advertising for 7 media outlets. The main recipient is its cable channel, C5N, which in 2025 received a total of $4.025 million.
He Indalo GroupIn addition, he is the owner of 5 radio stations (1 AM and 4 FM) in the City of Buenos Aires. The one that received the most advertising is Pop Radio 101.5, with $781 million in 2025. It is followed by Mega 98.3, with $673 million; Radio 10, with $669 million; It is worth 97.5, with $292 million; and Radio One 103.7, with $262 million. La Corte, also the group’s producer, received $256 million.
Most of the advertising is channeled through the company Parador Diez SA, based in Chubut (where López is from), which is the owner of the channels and radios. Two other production companies are involved in some of C5N’s purchase orders: Rabona SRLby Fabiana Segovia, and Plaza Contents SRLby Julián and Martín Capasso, both journalistic producers of Víctor Hugo Morales’ programs.
C5N fights for first place in audience among cable channels, but none of the other media in the group lead audience measurements in each of its areas, according to data by Kantar Ibope.
The information analyzed allows us to know the amounts and the recipient of a contract. But it is not possible to know its purpose. That is, if that money was part of a prevention campaign by the provincial Ministry of Health, the announcement of the inauguration of a work by the Ministry of Public Works or the purchase of new patrol cars by the Ministry of Security.
“Campaigns linked to investment in security, recruitment of the Police and the need to inform citizens about the provincial legislative elections explain around 50% of the investment in advertising made by the Ministry,” they pointed out to Checked from the Ministry of Communication.
The Olmos Group, the second group
The second recipient of Buenos Aires advertising, if analyzed by media group, is Grupo Olmos or Grupo Crónica. This conglomerate includes the channel and the newspaper Crónica, the BAE Negocios website, the Veintitrés Magazine and various media outlets in the interior of the country. According to the 2025 datathe group received 6.2% of the provincial guideline.
Within the group, the majority of the revenue corresponds to Crónica TV, the newspaper Crónica and the newspaper’s website, with more than $3 billion. BAE Negocios was assigned $309 million and Channel 10 of Mar del Plata, $215 million. Nor are Grupo Olmos’ signals leaders in their segments.
The top 5 is completed by the groups América, Clarín and El Destape
The América Group – of businessmen Claudio Belocopitt, Daniel Vila and José Luis Manzano – occupies third placewith 5.2% of the total Buenos Aires revenue. The free-to-air channel América TV received $1,661 million throughout 2025. For A24, the group’s cable channel, it was $716 million, and for El Cronista (the website and newspaper), $363 million. Finally, radio La Red received $351 million.
Grupo Clarín, the largest media conglomerate in the country, came in fourth place, with 5% of the total provincial advertising. Channel 13, the group’s on-air channel, received $1,828 million from the Buenos Aires Government. Between the Clarín newspaper and its website they received $509 million; for Radio Miter it was $200 million; the TN cable channel and its website received $260 million; and the Olé sports newspaper website received $131 million.
In fifth place is El Destape, the group owned by journalist Roberto Navarro, with 4.9% of the total advertising. In this case, El Destape’s website received $2,192 million, and the group’s radio station received $675 million.
The ranking is completed by Infobae, by Daniel Hadad; the Alter Group, specialized in campaigns on public roads; Editorial Perfil, by Jorge Fontevecchia; Grupo Octubre, belonging to the Single Union of Rental and Horizontal Building Workers (Suterh), led by Víctor Santamaría; and Grupo Elías, by Gustavo Elías, with a strong presence in Bahía Blanca.
Data on YouTube advertising
The Buenos Aires Government also advertised on other platforms, mainly on YouTube. On the list of beneficiaries there are media outlets and journalists, but also advertising agencies that hire programmatic advertising. That is to say, they convey the Government’s digital guidelines for the notices that appear before the playback of a video. (pre-roll) or during (mid-roll). Expenses are included according to how they appear in the purchase orders. In this case, the expenditures that had been specified as destined for YouTube were counted.
Of the analysis of official data It appears that the company that received the most funds to advertise on this platform is Iprospect Media SA, which is the local version of a Japanese media agency of the Dentsu Group. Received $60 million in 2025 for YouTube. The agency also received funds to advertise in the Grupo América media and on Facebook. If all payment orders are added, he received almost $3 billion in 2025. He did not respond to this media’s query.
In second place is the actress Nydia Ximena Caligiuri, known artistically as “Ximena Rijel”, who received a total of $57.5 million from Buenos Aires revenue in 2025 for the YouTube platform. In October, Rijel was a candidate for Buenos Aires national deputy for the party of Santiago Cúneo (Nuevo Buenos Aires), her partner.
Rijel responded to the query of Checked and said: “These are 3 different monthly guidelines intended for Channel 22 web, for the programs ‘Uno Más Uno Tres’, ‘Infoshow’ and ‘La Juntada del Domingo’. They are program guidelines and not YouTube.”
The company P35SUR SRL, owner of Cenital – whose director is journalist Iván Schargrodsky – received $49.2 million for the YouTube broadcasts of this medium, and another $19 million for the website.
On the other hand, the Media Secretariat allocated $43.5 million to sports journalist Flavio Azzaro (the purchase orders appear in his name), owner of the AZZ Channel, for YouTube broadcasts.
Contacted by this means, the AZZ authorities stated: “The official advertising they mention was directed at the channel. It was for a period of 5 months, but it is important to note that – due to the usual administrative processes of the public sector – in 2025 we will not receive any payment from that pattern.”
And they added: “These were campaigns about the Buenos Aires elections in September (what was voted according to the section, how to consult the registry, etc.) and the tourist offer of the province (‘Provincia Bonita’). It is worth clarifying that, in addition to having a high average of views on YouTube, the channel has a predominantly young audience concentrated in the AMBA.”
Then the production company Abre Producciones SRL appears, whose president is Jorge Ortega, which registers 2 purchase orders for a total of $30 million to be advertised on YouTube. It is not recorded for what contents. The production company received official advertising in other periods for programs on FM Milenium and Radio Cultura.
Menta Comunicación SRL, from journalist Luciano Galup, received $25 million to advertise on YouTube. He also received funds to advertise on Google and on 2 of his own websites: New Cityfocused on Buenos Aires themes, and New BAfor Buenos Aires current affairs. If these areas are added, it is almost $100 million in 2025.
Futurock, which is a radio station that broadcasts over the internet, received $23.2 million in 2025 to advertise on YouTube. If you add what you received to schedule in Futurock.fmthere are a total of $210 million in 2025.
There are also $21.7 million destined for the company Class 79 Productions SRLwhich has had Guido Valeri and Pablo Jiménez on its board since mid-2025, and is attributed be the company that controls the channel streaming Carnival.
Advertising billed by journalists or media owners
In the official data analyzed by this means There are also purchase orders that are intended directly for journalists or media owners. for advertisements on their websites or in their radio or television programs or on platforms such as YouTube.
In that group, Rogelio Rotonda, businessman and owner of El Eco Multimedios, stands out, which has a television channel, a radio, a newspaper and a website in the city of Tandil. He received, in his name, $351 million in 2025. “It seems like a tiny amount to me in relation to the number of employees our media has and the reach. El Eco is the oldest media outlet in the Province, with paper (every day), TV, radio and web,” they explained to Checked from the group.
Javier Targize, owner of Owen Publicidad – a public advertising company – invoiced $275 million in his name to the Buenos Aires government.
Martín Noir -journalist and director of La Brújula 24- billed $58 million in his name for that medium and for FM 93.1.
The already mentioned cases of Rigel ($58 million) and Azzaro ($44 million) also appear. And with $48 million is Magdalena Landrobe, from Land Comunicación – a digital marketing agency – with advertising on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Next, with $44 million, is Santiago Fernández, owner of SkyShock Media, a company specialized in aerial advertising.
Update 02/20/2026: the responses of the Buenos Aires Government to the consultations of Checked.
Correction 02/21/2026: in the original version the media La Brújula 24 and FM 93.1 were included as part of Grupo Elías.
