NBCUniversal Forms JV for LatAm Channels

LONDON: NBCUniversal International Networks and Ole Communications have formed a new joint venture in Latin America made up of five NBCU pay-TV channel brands: Universal Channel, E! Entertainment Television, Studio Universal, Syfy and Telemundo Internacional.

Effective immediately, this new multi-region, multi-channel partnership is set to align NBCUniversal’s assets in one combined portfolio covering Spanish Latin America and E! in Brazil. According to the company, the new venture will fuel the growth of NBCU’s channel brands in the region, unified to compete even more effectively and build profile with affiliates, advertisers and viewers. NBCUniversal also announced that Klaudia Bermúdez-Key will lead the new partnership as senior VP and general manager.

The five channels are distributed by HBO Latin America Group (HBO LAG) throughout Spanish Latin America, as well as E! in Brazil. The exception is Telemundo Internacional in Mexico, which continues to be distributed by Televisa. NBCUniversal also maintains a joint venture with Globosat in Brazil.

Kevin MacLellan, the chairman of NBCUniversal International, commented: “We have a strong, long-standing relationship with Enrique Cusco and the Ole team, mainly via our E! Latin America JV. Ole is an excellent partner and we have the utmost respect for Enrique and his team. We are excited to expand our relationship with Ole to create a robust, five-network portfolio, which will be a game-changing move for our business in the market. Latin America is an important region for NBCUniversal International, and this strategic channels realignment will help drive growth for our pay-TV operations into the future.”

Enrique Cusco, the CEO of Ole Communications, added: “We have been in the pay-TV business in Latin America for nearly 25 years and are confident about the industry’s continued growth in the region. We are delighted to announce that we will be expanding our partnership with NBCUniversal after 20 successful years jointly managing E! Entertainment Latin America.”

Marcos Santana, the president of Telemundo Internacional, added: “As a result of this new NBCU venture, the Telemundo Internacional channel will be significantly strengthened in Latin America, and I am confident that it will be a key driver for growing the venturess overall business.”