Univision, Telemundo Delve Into Licensing, E-Commerce
Spanish-Language Nets Ink Merchandising Deals
by Laura Martinez -- Multichannel News, 6/23/2009 4:40:29 PM
Not content with scoring double-digit ratings growth, the nation's two largest Spanish-language networks, Univision and Telemundo, this month unveiled their respective plans to enter the licensing business.
The hope: That U.S. Hispanics will buy their merchandise as well as watch their shows.
On June 2, around the time of this year's Licensing International Expo in Vegas, Telemundo announced its first-ever merchandising initiative by signing a partnership with New York-based branded entertainment company Big Tent Entertainment. Under the deal, Big Tent becomes Telemundo's exclusive licensing agency of record for the U.S. Hispanic market.
The idea is to help NBC Universal-owned Telemundo continue to evolve from a TV network to a full-fledged lifestyle brand, said senior vice president of consumer marketing Susan Solano. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Licensing deals will be made through the NBC Universal Television, DVD, Music and Consumer Products division. Although no products are yet in development, the company aims at leveraging some of its most popular properties, including Club de Noveleras, Mujer de Hoy, Rumbo al Mundial, Al Rojo Vivo and Ritmo Deportivo, among others.
"We are still in the early stages, but we see a huge potential in products targeted to women, from health and beauty products to clothes, jewelry and home décor," said Solano.
The expected retail launch of the initial Telemundo lifestyle line is scheduled for the first quarter of 2010.
Also set to turn its shows into lucrative memorabilia is Univision Communications, which this month announced a partnership with privately held Delivery Agent, a San Francisco-based company that specializes in shopping-enabled programming for TV shows, motion pictures and sports. The deal, whose terms were not disclosed, includes the development of a multichannel commerce operation to "shop-enable" some Univision, TeleFutura and Galavision programs.
As part of this partnership, Delivery Agent will create merchandise assortments for Univision's most properties, such as República Deportiva, Premio Lo Nuestro a la Música Latina and Nuestra Belleza Latina. The properties do not include shows or property produced by Univision's programming partner, Grupo Televisa.
A Univision spokesperson said it is too soon to give out specifics as to which shows will be the first to turn into merchandise. In a statement, the companies said they will launch the "interactive commerce solution" during the fall, so that Univision's audiences can purchase the new merchandise in time for the holiday shopping season.NBC Universal Television Group
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