Chellomedia Establishes Latin American Operation

MIAMI: Chello Latin America is a new operating business from Chellomedia that integrates Pramer, MGM Latin America and Canal Cosmopolitan Latino America, which have a combined footprint of 124 million TV households.

Alejandro Harrison, the CEO of Pramer, becomes the CEO of Chello Latin America. The Chello Latin America portfolio includes movies, with MGM, MGM HD, Film&Arts, Europa Europa and Canal (á); women’s and lifestyle, with Elgourmet.com, Cosmopolitan TV, Casa Club TV and Ella; and men, Reality TV and AM Sports.

Chello Latin America will be headquartered in Miami, with offices in Buenos Aires. The outfit is responsible for the management and distribution of pay-TV channels as well as the development of the business through mergers and acquisitions, strategic partnerships and investments. Its activities will complement Chello Multicanal (Spain and Portugal), Chello Central Europe, Chello Benelux and Chello Zone (U.K. and international).

Niall Curran, the president of Chellomedia, commented, “We are excited about the opportunities in Latin America and look forward to developing the very good relationships we enjoy with the many clients, advertisers and partners from which we acquire rights and commission original productions.

“With our teams in Miami and Buenos Aires and Alejandro’s leadership, we have a wealth of experience in the pay-TV markets in Latin America. And with the support of Liberty Global, Chellomedia expects to play a full role in developing new services in the region’s dynamic economies. We are looking forward to working with our pay-TV partners who carry our channels throughout Latin America and support their exciting growth and innovation.”

Mauricio Ramos, the president of Liberty Global Latin America and Chello Latin America chairman, added: “We have always been committed to this continent and I am delighted to see Liberty Global’s content division setting up its operations here. We look forward to developing partnerships and finding more opportunities in the region.”