By Kevin McCauley
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. is joining with Colombia’s RCN Television SA to create a Spanish language broadcaster in the U.S. to compete with leader Univision.
The venture called MundoFox will debut in the fall, offering a “more action-packed type of telenovela,” Lucas Kappaz, managing director of RCN’s international channels, told the Wall Street Journal, which is owned by News Corp.
The partners will contribute programming, but also buy shows from third-parties. Sports, news, fantasy, variety programs, movies and scripted shows are on tap.
MundoFox is projected to lose less than $50M during the first year.
Kantar Media reports that U.S. ad spend on Spanish TV rose 7.4 percent last year compared to an overall 2.3 percent hike.
The future is bright due to the robust growth prospects of Spanish speakers in the U.S. Currently, Hispanics account for 16.3 percent of the U.S. population. That percentage is expected to hit 30 percent by 2050, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. |