TelevisaUnivision is catching up in the streaming space as it continues to prepare to launch its ViX+ global streaming offering later this year.
The company acquired Spanish-language streamer Pantaya from Hemisphere Media Group. With a focus on movies, Pantaya had over 900,000 subscribers as of 2021.
Exact terms are not disclosed, but TelevisaUnivision will pay cash, as well as certain Puerto Rico-based radio assets, including WKAQ AM and KQ105 FM.
Pantaya was launched in 2017 as a joint venture between Hemisphere and Lionsgate. Lionsgate sold its majority stake in Hemisphere for $124 million last year, choosing to focus its streaming efforts on Starz. However, as the broadcast space becomes increasingly crowded, Hemisphere believes that Pantaya will benefit from the scale it seeks with the TelevisaUnivision ViX+.
“Given the highly competitive, multilingual SVOD broadcast environment, Pantaya’s service is best placed with an organization that can provide the resources and investments needed to scale and grow,” said Alan Sokol, CEO of Hemisphere. “In addition, Hemisphere’s acquisition of Univision Puerto Rico’s radio assets will be an ideal complement to WAPA, Puerto Rico’s premier broadcast network.
Meanwhile, TelevisaUnivision instantly gains a subscriber base and can add a library of Pantaya content to ViX+ when it launches.
Shop Pantaya, which includes content titles known as senior 89 s To love her“This is an exciting opportunity based on our strategic growth plan as we continue to redefine the global broadcast landscape,” said Pierluigi Gazolo, president and chief transformation officer, TelevisaUnivision. “We look forward to welcoming the Pantaya team, our existing subscribers, and having access to thousands of hours of content assets that perfectly complement TelevisaUnivision’s prolific long-term content engine, industry-leading library, and broad portfolio of intellectual property rights and sports. ”
The Spanish-language media giant was formed earlier this year when Univision merged with the entertainment assets of Televisa. The joint venture, led by CEO Wade Davis, is focusing its growth efforts on broadcast, hoping to create a global Spanish-language offering enhanced by the large content libraries of Televisa and Univision.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
