THE HISPANIC BLOG BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ
MundoFox Lines Up Affiliate Deals
MundoFox, the fledgling Spanish-language, general-entertainment network, is off to a fast start on the affiliate front, inking carriage deals covering nearly 40% of U.S. Hispanic households. MundoFox, the joint venture of Fox International Channels and Colombia’s RCN Television Group that is eyeing a fall launch, has secured affiliate deals in 20 DMAs, according to the parties. Deal terms for the service, which was announced in January, were not disclosed.
The initial affiliate list includes flagship KWHY (channel 22) in Los Angeles, the top Latino market in the U.S., which owned by the Meruelo Group and WJAN (channel 41) in Miami (Hispanic DMA No. 3) owned by America CV Group.
Carriage was also secured in San Antonio (7), San Francisco (8), Phoenix (9), Sacramento (11), Fresno (14), Tampa (20), Las Vegas (23), West Palm Beach (28), Bakersfield (31), Monterey (34), Fort Myers (37), Palm Springs (39), Odessa (43), Santa Barbara (45), Lubbock (51), Boise (71), Abilene (78) and San Angelo (92). All affiliates in the top 10 markets are full power stations or are fully distributed in cable and satellite, according to Fox International and RCN Corp.
“Only six weeks have passed since we announced MundoFox, and we have exceeded our expectations by securing affiliate partnerships in many of the key U.S. Hispanic markets,” said Hernan Lopez, president and CEO of Fox International Channels, in a statement. “In the last 20 years, no U.S. broadcast network has secured such a large footprint so quickly without assistance from O&O stations. Interest in MundoFox has been tremendous, and we now expect to exceed our original goal of securing distribution in 75% of U.S. Hispanic households by launch.”
Distribution agreements in the remaining top 50 Hispanic markets across the country are still being negotiated.
“The positive response and increasing interest by affiliates is a true testament to the goal of MundoFox, which is to fill the gap in Latino entertainment in the U.S. and bring quality content and differentiation from the options currently available to Spanish-speaking viewers,” noted RCN CEO Gabriel Reyes. “We plan on keeping the momentum going in the upcoming months and are confident we’ll be widely distributed prior to our fall launch.”
The joint venture aspires to bring the sensibilities of the Fox broadcast network to Latino audiences, featuring entertainment, sports and news, among other programming formats.
MundoFox plans to integrate programming from a variety of sources into its lineup. Colombian broadcaster RCN Television S.A., the creative force behind the original Betty La Fea (Ugly Betty) and El Capo, will be contributing.
NTN24, RCN’s international, 24-hour channel will offer Spanish-language news, analysis, opinion, sports and entertainment news programs from a Latin point of view.
For its part, Fox International Channels, which has produced weekly dramas combining U.S.-style, character-driven story-telling, plus factual and lifestyle programming. Fox Deportes will also kick in with its exclusive U.S. Spanish-language rights to the UFC, as well as various soccer tournaments
The service also plans to tap product from Shine Group, Elisabeth Murdoch’s U.K. production company that owns Reveille in the U.S. and which News Corp. purchased last February.
The network also plans to license and commission fare from third-party suppliers.
MundoFox will represent Fox International Channels’ fourth U.S. service, joining Fox Deportes, Utilisima and NatGeo Mundo. Globally, FIC operates 350 channels in 35 nations.
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