MIAMI—TelevisaUnivision has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Pantaya, LLC (“Pantaya”), a streaming platform in the U.S. offering Spanish-language movies and series, as part of an ongoing strategy to expand its streaming operations.
TelevisaUnivision has entered into an agreement with HMTV DTC, LLC, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Hemisphere Media Group, Inc. to acquire Pantaya in exchange for cash and certain Puerto Rican radio assets including WKAQ AM and KQ105 FM currently owned by TelevisaUnivision, the companies said.
TelevisaUnivision launched its AVOD service ViX in April and the deal will help TelevisaUnivision bolster its global streaming offering ViX+, a SVOD service that is expected to launch in the second half of 2022.
Pantaya is a premium streaming destination for movies in Spanish that offers 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.
“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.”
The deal for Pantaya 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, the company said.
