West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Olympusat this month is expected to announce that it will add 11 networks to its existing channel lineup serving the fast-growing Hispanic demographic.
The new channels, some of which already have distribution in Latin America, will be represented exclusively by Olympusat in the U.S.
The new networks include Telecentro, a 24-hour channel delivering programming from five Central American countries (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Nicaragua); Dar TV, a Madrid, Spain-based network featuring movies from that country; and Venezuela-based Sun Channel, featuring travel and lifestyle programming.
Not all of the networks are new to the U.S., and Olympusat will help some gain additional carriage. For instance, Telecentro is carried by DirecTV, but seeks additional cable distribution.
The new entries will give Olympusat a total lineup of 30 owned, operated or managed channels by year-end. They follow the summertime launch of nine HDTV Spanish-language networks by Verizon Communications’ FiOS TV.
Olympusat is also touting a new digital film production facility for the restoration of classic movies. Olympusat 360, through the company’s Florida headquartersand a Mexico-based team, will work to restore films frame by frame to their original glory.
“The process of restoring a 90-minute movie can take up to three months,” Albert Estrada, senior vice preisdent of marketing and business development at Olympusat, said.
Other services offered by the division include color correction, a process done by 30 digital editors at Olympusat’s Mexico City studios “at a fraction of the cost.”
