As part of its acquisition of Spanish language television streaming platform Pantaya from Hemisphere Media Group, TelevisaUnivision will divest some of their radio holdings in Puerto Rico.
Hemisphere will acquire assets that include Spanish News/Talk 580 WKAQ San Juan and Bilingual CHR “KQ 105” WKAQ-FM San Juan in the deal along with cash for Pantaya. The announcement does not make clear if WKAQ simulcasters 600 WYEL Mayagüez and 1420 WUKQ Ponce and WKAQ-FM simulcaster 98.7 WUKQ-FM Mayagüez are part of the deal.
Hemisphere Media CEO Alan Sokol states in the announcement that “they will continue to work closely with the TelevisaUnivision Uforia programming team who, with its deep music expertise, will continue to program the KQ105 FM station”. The Puerto Rico radio station assets will be paired with the company’s WAPA-TV network on the island.
TelevisaUnivision, Inc. (the “Company” or “TelevisaUnivision”), the world’s leading Spanish-language media and content company, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with HMTV DTC, LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Hemisphere Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: HMTV) (“Hemisphere”) to acquire Pantaya, LLC (“Pantaya”), a streaming platform in the U.S. for Spanish-language movies and series in exchange for cash plus certain Puerto Rican radio assets including WKAQ AM and KQ105 FM currently owned by TelevisaUnivision.The addition of Pantaya’s content, subscribers and world class team further accelerates the transformation of TelevisaUnivision, effectively bolstering its global streaming offering ViX+, which is expected to launch in the second half of 2022.
“The acquisition of Pantaya, which includes renowned content titles such as ‘Señorita 89’ and ‘A La Mala’, is an exciting opportunity to build upon our strategic growth plan as we continue to redefine the global streaming landscape,” said TelevisaUnivision President and Chief Transformation Officer Pierluigi Gazzolo. “We look forward to welcoming the Pantaya team, the existing subscribers, and having access to the thousands of hours of content assets which perfectly complement TelevisaUnivision’s prolific long-form content engine, industry-leading library, and extensive portfolio of IP and sports rights. In April we launched our global AVOD service ViX, and we will launch our global SVOD service ViX+ in the second half of this year, which will be further accelerated by this strategic acquisition.”
Commenting on the transaction with TelevisaUnivision, Alan Sokol, Chief Executive Officer of Hemisphere stated “Pantaya will flourish under TelevisaUnivision’s ownership. Given the highly competitive multi-language SVOD streaming environment, Pantaya’s service is best positioned under an organization that can provide the resources and investment it needs to scale and grow. In addition, Hemisphere’s acquisition of certain Univision Puerto Rican radio assets will be an ideal complement to WAPA, Puerto Rico’s leading broadcast network. Post-closing, we will continue to work closely with the TelevisaUnivision Uforia programming team who, with its deep music expertise, will continue to program the KQ105 FM station.”
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals in the United States.
Pantaya, a premium streaming destination for world-class movies in Spanish offers a compelling selection of current and classic, blockbusters and critically acclaimed titles from the U.S. and Latin America. Pantaya features first-run exclusive and original titles, including instant access to select movies available on the same day they debut theatrically in Latin America.
