TelevisaUnivision said it agreed to acquire Pantaya LLC, a Spanish-language streaming platform carrying movies and series, from a subsidiary of Hemisphere Media Group.
Hemisphere will receive an undisclosed amount of cash plus TelevisaUnivision radio assets in Puerto Rico including WKAQ AM and KQ105 FM.
TelevisaUnivision said the acquisition will bolster ViX Plus, the streaming service the company plans to launch in the second half of the year,
"The acquisition of Pantaya, which includes renowned content titles such as Señorita 89 and A La Mala, is an exciting opportunity to build upon our strategic growth plan as we continue to redefine the global streaming landscape,” said TelevisaUnivision president and chief transformation officer Pierluigi Gazzolo.
“We look forward to welcoming the Pantaya team, the existing subscribers, and having access to the thousands of hours of content assets which perfectly complement TelevisaUnivision’s prolific long-form content engine, industry-leading library, and extensive portfolio of IP and sports rights. In April we launched our global AVOD service ViX, and we will launch our global SVOD service ViX Plus in the second half of this year, which will be further accelerated by this strategic acquisition,” Gazzolo said.
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022 and is subject to regulatory approvals in the United States.
“Pantaya will flourish under TelevisaUnivision’s ownership. Given the highly competitive multi-language SVOD streaming environment, Pantaya’s service is best positioned under an organization that can provide the resources and investment it needs to scale and grow,” said Ala Soko, CEO of Hemisphere. “In addition, Hemisphere’s acquisition of certain Univision Puerto Rican radio assets will be an ideal complement to WAPA, Puerto Rico’s leading broadcast network. Post-closing, we will continue to work closely with the TelevisaUnivision Uforia programming team who, with its deep music expertise, will continue to program the KQ105 FM station.”■
