Cadenatres was a Mexican free-to-air network owned by Grupo Empresarial Ángeles (GEA), a company headed by Olegario Vázquez Raña and directed by Olegario Vázquez Aldir. Originally started by its flagship XHTRES in Mexico City as an independent terrestrial television station serving the Federal District and the Valley of Mexico, it later expanded coverage throughout the entire country through various subscription television systems and a handful of free-to-air affiliates. Cadenatres was shut down on 26 October 2015, to allow Grupo Imagen, the communications subsidiary of GEA, to focus on building the Imagen Televisión national network, which launched on 17 October 2016. History After acquiring the television station XHRAE from Raúl Aréchiga Espinoza on July 18, 2006, GEA relaunched XHRAE-TV under the name CadenaTres (lit. Network Three) on May 28, 2007. Its goal was to become the third major national private-owned network in Mexico (hence the name). In order to achieve said goal, Grupo Imagen (GEA's multimedia branch) created a full commercial schedule for the general audience which included newscasts, films, sports, comedy shows, dramas, telenovelas, political satire, daytime programming and children and teens programming. Throughout its run, several associations with international networks and production companies enriched CadenaTres programming. The network's coverage expanded from Mexico City to the entire Mexican republic through various cable television systems and its three broadcast affiliates in Baja California, Chihuahua and Sonora. It struggled to become a major network against fierce completion from the "duopoly" of TV Azteca and Televisa and laws that prevented to easily acquire stations throughout the country (namely, the Federal Telecommunications Act better known as the Televisa Law). By September 30, 2009, its flagship station had changed its call sign to XHTRES-TV from XHRAE, reflecting its network identity. The goal of becoming "The Third Network" finally materialized for Grupo Imagen, thanks to the 2013 Federal Telecommunications Act that ordered the creation of two nationwide over-the-air digital networks. On March 11, 2015, Grupo Imagen was granted the operation of one of the networks that would carry the CadenaTres signal nationwide over-the-air. However, in a sudden and unexpected decision, Grupo Imagen shut down CadenaTres on October 26, 2015, and replaced its feed in its flagship channel (XHTRES Channel 28) with the Excélsior TV news network. Except for their news anchors and paid programming (infomercials, TV ministries), all of CadenaTres programming suddenly ended its run. Allegedly, about 300 employees lost their jobs with the shutdown. Programming