Content from free streaming service Canela.TV is joining virtual MVPD Fubo’s Spanish-language package lineup under a new deal, Canela Media announced Thursday.
Subscribers to Fubo’s Latino plan, as well as its Latino Plus add-on channel package, will get access to thousands of hours of content and four FAST channels: Canela Deportes, Canela Clasicos, Canela Cinema and Canela Telenovels. Fubo’s Latino plan costs $32.99 per month for more than 50 channels and 100 live events, plus 250 hours of cloud DVR storage. The Latino Plus add-on package is $20 per month and can be added to any English-language streaming package.
The distribution brings over 10,000 hours of entertainment form Canela.TV across sports, movies, novelas, children’s programming and more to Fubo viewers. It includes original content such as drama reality series “Secretos de Villanas” and daily shows like Canela News, as well as sports coverage with Canela’s newly launched original “100% Futbol.”
“We are excited to extend Canela.TV’s content offerings to Fubo customers,” said Isabel Rafferty Zavala, CEO and founder of Canela Media. “Canela Media continues to curate and produce celebrity-driven and culturally relevant content across all genres, tailored specifically for Hispanic audiences. Canela.TV’s distribution on Fubo marks another milestone in Canela Media’s growth to reach U.S. Hispanic audiences.”
Canela.TV last month marked another deal, that time with Dish Network that brought six ad-supported channels and thousands of hours of Canela content to the Sling Freestream FAST service.
In June, Canela unveiled its summer programming slate, which includes new originals and premieres across its verticals of Canela Deportes, Canela Kids and Canela Music.
“Canela Media continues to add content and new original productions to bring more entertainment to the Hispanic community in the U.S. as part of our commitment to produce over 2,000 hours of original content for our audience. The Verano Canela Summer programming offers something for everyone in the family,” Zavala said in a statement.
Canela.TV first stepped into the original content realm last fall, at which time the streaming service counted 23 million unique users across the U.S., Mexico and Colombia. Speaking to CNBC in September, Canela founder Zavala told the outlet the service’s niche focus is a chance to better serve the U.S. Hispanic community, noting when it launched major streaming services were all focused on the general market segment of viewers.
“Some services might have a section for Latinos, but it was an after thought, you had to scroll, scroll, scroll, and would be outdated,” Zavala told CNBC last year.
Streaming services have been making efforts to cater to Latino audiences, such as the Roku Channel’s Espacio Latino destination hub, which is geared toward U.S. Hispanic audiences and features a broad aggregated collection of Spanish-language programming. Others, including vMVPDs YouTube TV and Fubo have come out with Spanish-language only plans and add-on options.
A report last July from Horowitz Research found that almost half (45%) of Latinx content viewers did not find Spanish content to be on par with that of English content, a sentiment the research firm expected to change as media companies continued to invest in quality content.
“We have always been bullish about the Spanish-language and Latinx-themed content space, but until recently, this audience was underserved and presented an opportunity that was not being fully realized,” said Adriana Waterston, chief revenue officer and insights & strategy lead for Horowitz Research, at the time.