U.S. HISPANIC
THEMA: Mexico offers great opportunities for niche channels like Mezzo Live and Kanal D Drama
Maribel Ramos-Weiner| 30 de junio de 2023
Francheska-Leon de la Barra de THEMA America
For THEMA, Mexico is an important market due to its territorial extension and population, and it also sets the pace of television and digital consumption trends in the region. “So it offers the company many opportunities to be there with our niche channels such as Mezzo Live and Kanal D Drama”, said Francheska León de la Barra, VP of Marketing and Communications at THEMA America.
León mentioned that this year is full of challenges, with important changes in a dynamic industry such as content. “We will continue working closely with operators, large and small in Mexico, in an attractive and flexible design of television entertainment offers, which will allow us to reach many more viewers in the Aztec country.”
She indicated that a good distribution rhythm exists in Mexico where at the beginning of the year they closed an agreement with Prime Video Channels, which allowed them to incorporate a selection of more than 3,000 hours of Turkish series into that important streaming platform. “Recently, we worked on a special Mother’s Day campaign together for Prime Video subscribers in Mexico. The exclusive premieres of new Turkish series such as the Asi series, which debuts this week, continue to have great acceptance among viewers in Mexico, with a captive audience that is constantly growing and following productions from Turkey.”
León referred to the pay-TV model in Mexico, stating that it has been a difficult year for the sector due to the increase in inflation, causing end users to seek flexibility and cheaper entertainment options. “But I firmly believe that the pay TV model has a long life ahead of it. Claro will continue to coexist with other display models. What we have noticed is that viewers continue to seek niche content like the one we offer in our portfolio of thematic pay TV channels.”
Asked about the balance of THEMA America’s FAST channel strategy, León pointed out that the income from these channels continues to impress a dynamic industry, which increasingly seeks to monetize its content through the greatest number of windows possible. “At THEMA we saw the opportunity in this segment, and last year we launched a wide range of thematic FAST channels for the enjoyment of Spanish-speaking audiences in Spain, the US Hispanic, and Latin America. For example, a FAST that has been very well received in the region is iTV DEPORTES, which is devoted 24 hours a day to the most popular sports in Mexico.”
