On the heels of News Corp.'s decision to launch a new
Spanish-language broadcast channel (MundoFox) and news that Univision and The
Walt Disney Co. are in talks for launching a news cable channel, a new entrant
has made its debut in the U.S. Hispanic television world.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on Tuesday (Feb. 14) launched Canal
Ella, a 24-hour Spanish-language cable network for Hispanic women. Pitching
itself as a Pan-Latin American channel with a "heavy Mexican component," it
features a combination of programming from MGM Networks Latin America that
"focuses on the culture and traditions of our viewers," executives said.
Content consists 60% of original productions and 40% of
acquired fare.
Canal Ella's schedule consists of six daily, sub-branded
programming blocks focused on specific audience segments: Familia (family) on
Mondays, Look (beauty) on Tuesdays, Casa (home) on Wednesdays, Sabor (flavor)
on Thursdays, Ser (Self) on Fridays and Ella Weekend on weekends.
The network will launch in some 500,000 homes on Cablevision
Systems and in select Comcast markets, as well as Liberty Cablevision, Choice
Cable TV and Claro TV in Puerto Rico.
Meyeringh, who recently joined MGM from ImaginaUS, said that
U.S. Hispanic women "has to be the last underserved segment." The demo, which
controls many household purchasing decisions, consists of some 23 million U.S.
residents, he said.
