Viacom is planning to launch a Hispanic streaming service later this year, after it completes the acquisition of Pluto TV.
Speaking on Viacom’s earnings call with analysts Tuesday morning, CEO Bob Bakish said “we see a compelling near-term opportunity to creating a Spanish-language offering.”
The service is expected to roll out in the U.S. later this year, with Latin America to follow, Bakish said.
The new service would take advantage of “very deep content assets” including Spanish-language versions of its cable networks’ original programming plus Latin American originals from Viacom’s Telefe unit, Bakish said.
“U.S. Hispanic is a large and quickly growing market and a wide open space with no significant streaming service currently dedicated to this audience,” he said.
On the call, Bakish laid out other ways in which Pluto TV will benefit Viacom after the acquisition closes, which is expected in March.
Advertising inventory on Pluto TV is digital and targetable, which will help to grow Viacom’s Advanced Marketing Services business. Viacom said that about half of Pluto TV’s current ad inventory is not being monetized, creating a big opportunity for Viacom going forward.
