Television networks Mundo Fox and RCN are joining forces to form a Spanish-speaking channel for the United States.
“It is going to consititute a joint venture, a contract of shared risk. Fox will have 50% and RCN will have 50%,” said Gabriel Reyes, the president of Colombian network RCN Television.
“We hope to be launching in September and October of this year,” Reyes added.
Mundo Fox is operated by Fox International Channels, part of the NewsCorp conglomerate which is owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
In September 2011 Rupert Murdoch made a two-day visit to Bogota in which he visited the Fox Telecolombia facilities.
Spanish-speaking television in the United States is currently dominated by rival operators Univision and Telemundo.
From January to September 2012, spending on advertising on Spanish-speaking television in the U.S. increased by 7.4% compared to the same period the previous year, while spending on advertising for all channels grew by only 2.3%, according to Kantar Media, a company which monitors media spending.
Reyes said that RCN will be in charge of generating all fiction and news content on the new channel with the support of Latin American news network NTN24.
RCN produced the telenovela “Yo Soy Betty La Fea” which went on to become global televisual phenomenon, and more recently, “A Corazon Abierto,” a successful medical telenovela.
Lucas Kappaz, manager of international channels at RCN, told BBC Mundo,”There are several key ingredients for a venture like this and the first is content. I think we have the best content, which will be provided by RCN as much as NTN24. Second is investment … Third is the brand.”
