MIAMI & ORLANDO—Hemisphere Media Group and Entravision have announced a partnership to launch WAPA Orlando, a new full power broadcast television station with programming to serve the Orlando–Daytona Beach–Melbourne DMA.
WAPA Orlando started broadcasting on Feb. 4 on Entravision’s WOTF (Channel 26).
WAPA Orlando will be carried by multichannel video programming distributors throughout the Orlando–Daytona Beach–Melbourne region.
Broadcasting programming from WAPA-TV, Puerto Rico’s #1 TV network for 16 consecutive years, the backers of the new station that will be also be customized and programmed for Central Florida’s Latino population, with a particular focus on the region’s large and rapidly growing Puerto Rican community. The Orlando area is now home to the second largest Puerto Rican population in the continental U.S. and has seen sustained population growth over the past decade.
WAPA Orlando will take advantage of WAPA-TV's news and entertainment production infrastructure, which now produces 80 hours per week of original content, and will be the first station specifically serving Orlando’s Puerto Rican community. Its programming will feature news and entertainment produced in WAPA’s Puerto Rico studios, complemented by locally produced newscasts branded NotiCentro Orlando from Entravision’s award-winning news organization.
The station will initially launch with two daily locally-produced newscasts—morning and midday—with plans to expand to evening and late-night editions over time.
The partnership also will also draw on Entravision’s news resources from stations across 24 U.S. markets to drive expanded local news and editorial coverage for WAPA Orlando. This access to Entravision's extensive content and resources will complement WAPA Media’s original programming and journalism, enhancing coverage of issues relevant to Latino communities locally and nationally.
“We are excited to bring WAPA’s world class news and entertainment content and programming expertise to Orlando, which is often referred to as Puerto Rico’s ‘79th municipality’.” said Alan J. Sokol, president and CEO of Hemisphere Media Group. “By combining WAPA’s trusted programming and journalism with Entravision’s broadcast infrastructure and market expertise, we are creating a compelling and completely unique local service custom made for the Orlando Hispanic community.”
“The launch of WAPA Orlando reinforces our commitment to delivering relevant, community-focused media in key Latino markets,” said Jeffery Liberman, president and COO of Entravision.” This strategic collaboration leverages the complementary strengths of trusted brands to better serve our audiences, distributors, and advertisers throughout Central Florida. Our expertise in local media and news programming will be instrumental in driving WAPA Orlando's growth, especially as we develop and manage its new standalone digital platform to connect with the Orlando Latino audience."
Entravision will develop and manage WAPA Orlando’s digital strategy, which includes a rollout of digital platform solutions, including a website. In addition, Entravision will fully handle the sales operations and maintain a dedicated sales team and production staff in the market. As part of its customary service to clients, Entravision will offer creative support, talent-driven integrations, and turn-key video production, alongside traditional commercial and digital buys.
