New Spanish-Language Station Set for March Rollout

NEW YORK, February 7: V-me, a new Spanish-language network,
is slated to launch next month in major Hispanic markets in the U.S. in
partnership with public TV stations across the country.

V-me (pronounced "veh-meh") is the first venture announced by the newly formed media
production and distribution company V-me Media. The company is a partnership of
the Educational Broadcasting Company (EBC), the parent company of PBS flagship
station Thirteen/WNET New York and WLIW New York, and private investors, led by
The Baeza Group and including Syncom Funds. Revenues will be derived from the
development and launch of strategic partnerships, the international syndication
of its programs, and sales of post-broadcast products such as DVDs.

V-me launches in March as a digital broadcast network being
multicast by public TV stations in major Hispanic markets including New York,
Miami, Los Angeles, Houston, Chicago, San Francisco and San Antonio, among
others. As a public TV station multicast, it will also be carried on basic
digital cable platforms. Public broadcasters receive V-me at no cost and can
customize certain segments of the service with select local content.

At launch, with deals in place with about 18 public stations,
V-me will be in markets representing more than 60 percent of all U.S. Hispanic
homes and carried in approximately 24 million U.S. homes. Within its first
year, V-me expects to grow its distribution to 50 million homes.

"All across the country, Latinos want more from
media—more visibility, more quality and more choices,” said Carmen
DiRienzo, the president of V-me. “V-me provides intelligent entertainment that
explores interests and issues Hispanics share with all Americans, and connects
the many diverse Latino communities across the country."

Mario Baeza, the founder and executive chairman of V-me,
added: "Latinos contribute so much to our country, culturally and
economically. Yet quality programming in Spanish that reflects that experience,
showcases those contributions, and entertains and educates our families, is
sorely missing from the landscape. Through V-me, investors can do well for
their businesses while doing good for the community. Few investments allow you
to meet these two missions simultaneously and V-me is solid on both fronts.”

The programming mix will include original productions,
exclusive premieres and acquisitions, as well as content from U.S. public TV
stations, adapted for the Hispanic market. Kids’ content will cover
Spanish-language preschool programs, educational online resources for children
and parents, and local activities. According to reports, there will be about 6
hours of kids’ content on the schedule. The lifestyle content will include
shows on Latino-focused food, travel, design, home and self-improvement,
parenting, health and wellbeing. The station will also provide factual and
current affairs content as well as contemporary Spanish-language films every
night, plus international concerts and special events. About 25 percent of
V-me’s schedule will be original productions, among them the interview program Viva
Voz. The New York Times reported today that
V-me will air just one telenovela: Nuestro Barrio, a message-based show intended to teach financial
literacy.

Content partnerships are in place with WGBH, Thirteen/WNET,
BBC Worldwide, Sesame Workshop, HIT Entertainment and Alliance Atlantis, among
others.