Local television, also called proximity television, promotes democratic and participatory communication that makes local territories visible and gives value to the local, communal or regional identity. This article analyzes the relationship between the institutional mediations of local television and the production of proximity content and identifies successes and threats. We conducted in-depth interviews with producers of local television in Coquimbo Region (Chile), which includes urban and rural populations, far from the political center and towns that are geographically difficult to reach.. The results show that the municipalities are the institutions that are most closely and frequently linked with local television channels, since they are media used to broadcast public policies of all kinds, but they also put on screen the voice of the authorities, weakening -on some occassions- informational authonomy and pluralism. Another relevant relationship is the one that these television channels establish with the private company that finances part of their production, contributing to the generation of content, but affecting editorial autonomy. Regarding the production of content, the lack of technical and journalistic training continues to be a threat that is exacerbated due to financing difficulties.