Blog Quickie: Argentinian Subsidiary Buys Stake in ImpreMedia

A US-based subsidiary of the Argentinian newspaper group S.A. La Nacion, US Hispanic Media recently announced that it has acquired a controlling stake in ImpreMedia. La Nacion publishes newspapers, magazines, and websites in not only Argentina but throughout Latin America and Spain.

Under the deal, ImpreMedia's management structure is expected to remain in place, and US Hispanic Media has no plans to affect content.

The two companies have been in talks for months and the deal was finally reached Monday, although no exact terms (either percentage obtained or pricetag) were kept under wraps.

Additional sources here, here, and here.

Welcome to Miami: Telenovela Hollywood?

Miami has long been known as the proverbial cultural melting pot (Just ask the Fresh Prince), and the city is fast becoming home to production of an increasingly popular program genre in America: the telenovela.

Hollywood may be losing movie and TV sets to less expensive locales and New York may be losing English soap operas, long-running series "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" have vanished, but Miami is seeing a boom in the production of telenovelas. Five telenovelas are being shot in Miami up from only a couple a few years ago. Last year producers spent a combined $40 million in the area, up from $11.5 million in 2009, according to the Miami-Dade County Office of Film & Entertainment.

Mexico has long churned out many popular telenovelas over the years and these shows can still garner big ratings, but the two Spanish TV titans in the US, Univision and Telemundo, are increasing production in South Florida. The booming Hispanic population, generous incentives offered by the city and state, the cheap set prices brought on by the state's housing crisis, and even the escalating crime rates in Mexico are all being credited in part for Miami's growing popularity.

While making television in Miami is still more expensive than in Mexico, Univision and Telemundo said Miami productions give the networks the ability to integrate products from a telenovela’s inception, which means they can charge advertisers more.

via the New York Times

Univision, Telemundo, and Fall Elections

Hispanic media companies want Latinos at the fall elections, and two Spanish language television networks have chosen to launch their own "get-out-the-vote efforts." Spanish language network rivals Univision and Telemundo have launched their own campaigns with advocacy groups to "capitalize on their reach into Hispanic households" and get the Latino community involved.

Just last month Univision partnered with smaller media outlets and Hispanic advocacy groups to launch "Ya Es Hora," which translates into "It Is Time." The campaign was created in order to disseminate information on voter registration. In November, Telemundo also partnered with advocacy groups to launch “Vota por Tu Futuro,” which translates into "Vote for Your Future." This campaign added political story lines into its soap operas.

Both Spanish language networks reach over 90% of Hispanic households, and have been very careful in not letting the community's inclination manipulate its coverage. Univision and Telemundo "have embraced voter advocacy as part of their missions, setting them apart from their mainstream English counterparts."

To read the actual article written by Roll Call on the GOTV mission please click the link below: http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_103/GOTV-a-Mission-of-Hispanic-Media-212838-1.html?zkMobileView=true

ScholarShare's Spanish Language Offers

ScholarShare, the 529 College Savings Plan for California, announced its new Spanish language website content. Created "to help ensure all California families have the information they need to plan and save for the cost of a college education," ScholarShare's website (www.scholarshare.com/espanol) offers tools that feature investment options.

According to the article written by Marketwire, Latinos living in California find great value in getting a college education and are becoming very concerned about tuition costs increasing. The senior vice president of TIAA-CREF and head of TFI Financial Services, Doug Chittenden, stated that "planning for college sooner, opening a 529 plan and regularly contributing to it can help offset these significant cost increases and help steer families towards a debt-free college education."

To read the actual article written by Marketwire on ScholarShare's Spanish language content please click the link below: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/scholarshare-announces-launch-spanish-language-163000851.html

The 2012 AEJMC MidWinter Conference Was A Success!

As previously posted on Friday, the staff from the Center for Spanish Language Media attended the 2012 AEJMC Midwinter Conference in Norman, Oklahoma to present an overview of the 2011 State of Spanish Language Media Report. Shortly after arriving Friday afternoon (March 2), registration took place and two sessions of paper presentations followed.

Professors, students, and media professionals gathered for the conference from many different places, some of which include: Alabama, Florida, Korea, Texas, and DC. Paper topics ranged from social media to sports to journalism and the media's effect on children.

On Saturday (March 3), the Center staff presented the highlights of the State of Report, and because this was the only presentation pertaining to Spanish language media, those who attended the session seemed to be interested in the topic. Overall, the conference was very informative and gave the Center an opportunity to spread knowledge on the growing Spanish language media market.

America Movil to Ready a Netflix-esque Service?

Billionaire Carlos Slim’s America Movil SAB (AMXL) is considering starting an online service for movies and television shows in Mexico that would be similar to Netflix. The company is holding off on starting the service, awaiting a ruling from Mexico's communications authorities on whether or not distributing streaming video on the Internet would violate the company's ban on providing TV services.

Offering video to home-phone and Internet customers would put Mexico City-based America Movil in more direct competition with Grupo Televisa SAB and TV Azteca SAB. Televisa, the nation’s biggest broadcaster, has lured away Slim’s clients with voice, Internet and TV-service bundles.

The company is currently banned from using its landline telecom network to offer video (and thus television) under the terms of its telecommunications license which was originally granted in 1990. Slim has tried unsuccessfully to obtain a TV license since, with the government arguing that the company hasn’t met requirements in its network connections with rivals.

The issue gets complicated:
Telmex (the name given to the company's fixed-landline service) currently offers some online video for free, including news programming, UNO TV Noticias, and has previously streamed sporting events live including last year's Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. That particular broadcast led prominent broadcaster TV Azteca to complain to Mexico's Federal Telecommunications Commission that Telmex's offerings were in violation of the company's license.

The streaming video complaint is just the latest in a long line of squabbles among Mexico's large telecommunications companies and Slim' companies. (Further background info here, here, and here, among other places)

A ruling on this issue is pending, and the CSLM plans to bring you further details regarding the ruling as it becomes available.

Blog Quickie: MundoFOX Plants Its Flag in LA

FOX (a subsidiary of News Corp.) over the weekend struck a deal to make KWHY-TV the flagship station for the new MundoFOX network.

KWHY channel 22 (owned by the Meruelo Group) currently airs Spanish programming, and is thus already a known entity in Los Angeles among viewers. Herman Lopez, president and chief executive of Fox International Channels, cited this as a reason why NewsCorp chose that station over an independent station that they own, KCOP Channel 13.

According to Lopez, MundoFOX shows will strive to be edgier and bolder, saying "We intend to be different in a way that the Fox network was different."