By Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson in New York
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp is making a pitch for the 50m-strong Hispanic population in the US with plans to launch a free-to-air Spanish-language television network this autumn in partnership with RCN Television Group, the Colombian broadcaster.
MundoFox, announced on Monday, it will go up against Univision, the private equity-owned market leader in Spanish language television in the US, and Telemundo, part of Comcast-controlled NBCUniversal.
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Both companies, as well as a list of smaller Spanish-language cable channels, have seen strong ratings and revenue growth as America’s Hispanic population has expanded in numbers and buying power, attracting rising interest from advertisers.
News Corp’s Fox International Channels division gave no details about the scale of its planned investment. Talks with local affiliates to secure distribution were under way, it said, as it predicted that the new network would be carried on stations covering three-quarters of all US households.
MundoFox faces intense competition for content ranging from rights to sporting events totelenovela dramas. Executives said it would take bulletins from NTN24, RCN’s 24-hour news channel, and told the Associated Press it would be “editorially independent”.
The new network will air shows from RCN, which made the Betty La Fea series on which Ugly Bettywas based; Fox Deportes, the Fox cable sports channel for Hispanic audiences; and Shine, the independent production company built by Elisabeth Murdoch and bought by her father’s company last February.
Hernan Lopez, president and chief executive of Fox International Channels, likened the plans for MundoFox to News Corp’s launch 25 years ago of the Fox broadcast network in competition with ABC, CBS and NBC, and said the new network would have “a similar sensibility” to the network that now airs Glee,House, American Idol and X Factor.
“There is an increasing demand for quality Spanish-language content in the US from both viewers and advertisers,” he said: “It would be a missed opportunity not to provide an alternative for the 50m-plus Latino viewers who currently have limited options in Spanish-language broadcast television.”
It was unclear how the venture would affect programmes supplied by RCN to existing US Hispanic channels. “RCN has provided the main Hispanic networks in the US with much of their primetime content for over two decades,” said Gabriel Reyes, its chief executive: “We now plan to maximise our capabilities and bring an increasing variety of fresh and innovative productions directly to Spanish-speaking viewers.”
Colombian media reported that Mr Murdoch made a flying visit to the country last September to stop in at local Fox production facilities.
Courtesy of
Manuel Canales
Managing Director
CSDC Group Inc.
ON THIS STORY
Gillian Tett Pick your channel, choose your news
Sport remains king for America’s TV networks
Inside Business US election has multicultural message for brands
ON THIS TOPIC
News Corp looks to buy stake in LA Dodgers
News Corp bolsters legal team
Murdoch quits as News Group director
Murdoch denies misleading parliament
IN MEDIA
C4 to boost UK programme spend to £450m
Clear Channel restructures outdoor ads
Aegis wins $3bn GM global media contract
‘The Artist’ leads Oscar nominations
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