Venevision International Ramps Up New-Media Activity

MIAMI: Venevision International (VVI) has set new media as one of its priorities for the year, beginning with the launch of an entertainment portal as well as a dedicated channel on YouTube.

Luis Villanueva, VVI’s president and CEO, noted: "Following the strategy of our Chairman and CEO, Gustavo Cisneros, we have decided to initiate in 2009 the most significant transformation this company has undergone in recent years. Not long ago, Venevision International repositioned itself from a traditional distributor of television programming to an entertainment company, which lead to its incursion into new markets and platforms, such as the production of television programming, distribution of films through all outlets, production and distribution of music, production and distribution of mobile entertainment and web content, music publishing, and pay-TV television channels. Today, the company undertakes its most profound technological challenge as it confronts the new frontier and solidifies its foundation for long-term stability."

NOVULU will distribute directly to the consumer films, music, mobile and television content from the company, with free video clips and the sales of movies and music. The site, Villanueva says, “makes our Spanish-language content available to consumers in all corners of the world via downloads or physical product, from television programs, music, movies, and mobile entertainment, utilizing current territorial rights administration tools to ensure compliance with existing contractual commitments. This portal, which includes community elements such as ratings, comments, recommendations and links with other services such as Facebook, MySpace and others, looks to advertising as well as direct sales of content for revenue-generation and in this sense it will spearhead our new media ventures."

The YouTube channel, meanwhile, delivers clips from a range of VVI content. The company has also re-launched its online stores and updated all of its websites.