Lionsgate And Univision To Stream Movies

Lionsgate and Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) are teaming to launch a premium subscription video on demand (SVOD) service for the Hispanic movie-going audience in the U.S., it was announced Monday by UCI President-CEO Randy Falco and Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer.

Launching early next year with a deep line-up of titles, the companies say this is the first premium SVOD movie service designed specifically for the tens of millions of Spanish-speaking and bilingual Hispanic consumers in the U.S.

The service will include Spanish-language box office hits spanning the comedy, family, kids, horror and drama genres and current titles from across the Spanish-speaking world, with many available on the same date as their theatrical release in Latin American markets.

It will also encompass titles from Lionsgate’s joint venture with Televisa, Pantelion Films, and Hollywood films from Lionsgate’s 16,000-title library and other catalogs dubbed into Spanish.

Pantelion Films has rights to more than 70% of the top-grossing films from Mexico over the past five years, including such blockbusters as Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.; the animated hit Un Gallo Con Muchos Huevos; and the breakout comedy No Manches Frida, which opened recently with the highest per screen average of any national release.

The venture will capitalize on the marketing and distribution expertise of Univision, which will offer the new service to cable and satellite operators individually as well as in tandem with its own Univision NOW, a subscription service for its broadcast networks Univision and UniMas. Univision will also license titles from its classic Latino cinema library to the new service.

“Our premium movie service checks all the boxes for success – a world-class partner in Univision, films from the Pantelion brand that has great equity among Spanish-speaking audiences, strong management, terrific intellectual property and a well-defined market opportunity,” said Feltheimer. “This new service has all the ingredients to be the leading premium movie channel for Hispanic audiences in the U.S. as well as a great addition to our growing portfolio of SVOD services.”

“Hispanic movie-goers are one of the fastest-growing segments of the entertainment business today, and this platform offers a unique value proposition combining premium content, advanced technology and tremendous accessibility,” said Falco. “We’re pleased to bring our marketing and distribution experience to an exciting new service driven by current and classic Spanish-language films and Hollywood favorites that will resonate with our audience. Univision’s experience and vast reach coupled with Lionsgate’s and Pantelion Films’ successful track record demonstrate the tremendous opportunity of the Spanish-language movie audience in the U.S.”

The new premium movie service joins a growing portfolio of Lionsgate SVOD services that already includes Tribeca Shortlist, launched with Tribeca Enterprises last fall, Comic-Con HQ, which debuted in July, and superstar Kevin Hart’s Laugh Out Loud comedy platform which premieres early next year.