Dish Inks Wide-Ranging Univision Pact

Programmer to Launch New Channels, TV Everywhere Platform

By Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 1/16/2012 12:01:00 AM

While Dish Network was extolling its company relaunch on Jan. 9 at the Consumer Electronics Show (see Cover Story), it was also expanding its position within a community that has long been a business strength — U.S. Latinos.

The No. 2 satellite-TV provider forged a far-reaching, multiyear distribution deal with Univision Communications that will key the initial launch of the U.S. Hispanic market leader’s three new cable channels, as well as the programmer’s fi rst steps into the TV Everywhere realm.

The pact, financial terms of which were not disclosed, calls for Dish to launch Univision Deportes, Univision Novelas and Univision Noticias over the next few months. Dish will also offer exclusive access to Univision Deportes Dos, a second sports network.

In addition to the new services, authenticated Dish subscribers will gain access to the primetime lineups of Univision, broadcast sibling TeleFutura and cable cousin Galavision, while the satellite giant is also receiving thousands of hours of library content that will become part of its Blockbuster @Home service.

ALIGNED INTERESTS

“Our interests are aligned here,” said Tonia O’Connor, president of distribution, sales and marketing at Univision. “Dish long has been a big supporter of Hispanic consumers. Both companies have made significant investments in this business, and we’re excited that our content will be made more widely available.”

Dish senior vice president of programming Dave Shull said: “We are pleased to have reached an innovative deal with Univision for their newest channels and their primetime novelas on demand. Dish is the leading provider of Latino content in the United States. This deal for exclusive linear and VOD content from Univision provides our customers with the broadest selection of top quality Spanish-language content.”

The agreement also includes renewals of Univision, TeleFutura and Galavisión, plus the channel suite of De Película, De Película Clásico, Bandamax, Ritmoson and Telehit. Clásico TV has also gained a Dish berth through the pact, which covers retransmission-consent extensions for Univision owned-and-operated stations.

O’Connor said the deal didn’t dawn from the parties facing a year-end retransmission-consent deadline, but rather from Univision’s interest in opportunities to grow its platform reach and the satellite-TV provider looking to “expand its footprint with a consumer group that Dish has made a priority.”

Under the new contract, Univision will make its initial foray into the TV Everywhere arena, which has become a point of emphasis for programmers and distributors alike as they look to add value to and sustain the subscription model that has been the underpinning of the multichannel video industry against challenges posed by over-the-top providers.

O’Connor said Univision, which controls much of its content in the U.S. via its exclusive programming contract with Televisa that covers all platforms, has been very judicious in making its fare available digitally. She noted, though, that when it has made product accessible on demand and through Univision.com, Hispanic consumers have displayed a “great appetite” for it, and she anticipates a strong response from Dish subscribers.

With this TV Everywhere gambit, authenticated Dish customers will gain access to Univision, TeleFutura and Galavision’s primetime lineups, sometime during the first half of 2012.

That’s about the same time frame when Dish will be able to begin integrating 4,000 hours of Univision library fare, spanning novellas, series, kids programming and films, into its Blockbuster @Home service, previously known as Blockbuster Movie Pass. Blockbuster @Home provides DVDs by mail and streaming video over the Internet. The service is free for 12 months to new Dish subscribers and $10 per month for existing customers.

“We want to make our programming available all the time on as many platforms as possible,” O’Connor said.

As to the new cable networks, Univision made its intention known around its upfront presentation in New York last May that it wanted to secure carriage for the trio.

NETS READY TO ROLL

Targeted for a March 1 launch, Univision Telenovelas will present a mix of top recent and past favorites from the genre, some of which have never screened before in the United States.

Univision Noticias, bowing April 1, will present the latest and most relevant news from Mexico, Latin America and around the world. Coverage will extend to the top of the news, as well as current affairs and the entertainment realm. Like the novela network, Noticias will be positioned on the Dish Latino package.

Conversely, Univision Deportes — like Univision, TeleFutura and Galavision — will be situated in AT200, Dish’s second- most broadly distributed level of service, starting on April 1, and will provide more than twice as many Mexican Primera Division matches as any other U.S. network. During 2012, it will be flanked exclusively on Dish by Univision Deportes Dos, which O’Connor describes as a supplementary service that will feature news, analysis and encores of the soccer matches shown on the programmer’s primary sports channel.

“Dish didn’t have the same VOD infrastructure the cable operators do, so we created that channel,” O’Connor said. “They did a great job of marketing the channel, and Dish customers liked the holistic, 360-degree experience. Dish has so much invested in the Hispanic community, this makes sense for them.”

O’Connor said Deportes Dos would be made available to other providers beginning in 2013. Noting that the Dish agreement could serve as a template in some respects, O’Connor said, “We’re talking to everybody and expect to sign other distribution pacts in 2012.”