MGM Launches Channel Aimed at U.S. Hispanic Women

‘Canal Ella' Launches in Front of 500,000 Cable Homes

By Laura Martinez -- Multichannel News, 2/15/2012 11:46:00 AM

On the heels of News Corp.'s decision to launch a new Spanish-language broadcast channel (MundoFox) and news that Univision and The Walt Disney Co. are in talks for launching a news cable channel, a new entrant has made its debut in the U.S. Hispanic television world.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on Tuesday (Feb. 14) launched Canal Ella, a 24-hour Spanish-language cable network for Hispanic women. Pitching itself as a Pan-Latin American channel with a "heavy Mexican component," it features a combination of programming from MGM Networks Latin America that "focuses on the culture and traditions of our viewers," executives said.

Content consists 60% of original productions and 40% of acquired fare.

Canal Ella's schedule consists of six daily, sub-branded programming blocks focused on specific audience segments: Familia (family) on Mondays, Look (beauty) on Tuesdays, Casa (home) on Wednesdays, Sabor (flavor) on Thursdays, Ser (Self) on Fridays and Ella Weekend on weekends.

The network will launch in some 500,000 homes on Cablevision Systems and in select Comcast markets, as well as Liberty Cablevision, Choice Cable TV and Claro TV in Puerto Rico.

Meyeringh, who recently joined MGM from ImaginaUS, said that U.S. Hispanic women "has to be the last underserved segment." The demo, which controls many household purchasing decisions, consists of some 23 million U.S. residents, he said.