Estrella MediaCo said it is expanding its connected TV portfolio by launching three new channels with Curiosity that will first appear on Samsung TV Plus.

The three free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels, Curiosity Español. Curiosity Animales and Curiosity Motores, were announced at Estrella’s NewFront presentation Wednesday. 

Estrella also said it would be putting Hallmark Channel content in Spanish on its app and linear channels, and adding 300 hours of content from Hemisphere on its app.

Last year Estrella said unique users of its CTV programming grew 28% last year.

“We are a content company first, with strong distribution platforms making the content available anywhere at any time for our fans,” Steve Mandala, chief revenue and local media officer for Estrella, said. “Our content strategy of focusing on the brand of ‘topical entertainment’ focuses us on how we entertain and inform — from our reality and competition shows, personality and pop culture series, and our award-winning news that has tremendous impact during this election year.”

MediaCo recently acquired the assets of Estrella TV.

MediaCo Holding, which owns radio stations WQHT (Hot 97) and WBLS in New York, said it acquired Estrella Media’s Spanish-language video, audio and digital content operations.

MediaCo said former Telemundo executive Jacqueline Hernández was named interim CEO and will run the company with its new assets, which include the Estrella TV network, free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels Estrella TV, Estrella News, Cine Estrella TV and Estrella Games plus the Estrella TV app.

“This leverages the strengths of two great companies to build something new,” said veteran television executive Deb McDermott, chair of MediaCo. “We are committed to representing and serving the Hispanic marketplace, as well as continuing to represent and grow the diverse audience that MediaCo already serves. We see a need for media brands to embrace opportunities with all audiences, and Estrella Media is a key part of our growth strategy.”

As part of the deal, Estrella Broadcasting is receiving a warrant to purchase up to $28.2 million shares of MediaCo Class A common stock, $60 million of newly-issued MediaCo Series B preferred stock paying 6% annually, a $30 million second-lien five-year note paying 6% and about $30 million in cash.

“This combination of tested media brands and talented teams will fuel growth of content and distribution for the benefit of our multicultural audiences,” Hernández said. “We believe this combination is the first step in building a unique multicultural media company that will reach diverse U.S. audiences wherever they choose to consume content and create value for marketers working to reach these important audiences.”

Estrella will continue to own and operate its local radio and television stations, with MediaCo.providing programming.

“This is a natural next step in the evolution of Estrella Media’s content operations to better serve our important U.S. Hispanic audience,” Estrella Media CEO Peter Markham said. “This transaction helps secure a bright and growing future for MediaCo to become the preeminent media company serving the multicultural audiences who drive ad spend ROI and brand growth.”

WhiteHawk Capital Partners provided a $45 million first-lien term loan facility to MediaCo in connection with the transaction, $35 million of which was drawn at closing. 

Three designees of Estrella Broadcasting were added to the board of directors of MediaCo. 

The transaction was approved by the boards of directors of MediaCo and Estrella Broadcasting.

Estrella Media’s Estrella TV is launching a new image campaign and debuting six new primetime and daytime shows on February 12.

The new campaign uses the slogan “Hablamos el Mismo Idioma,” or “We Speak the Same Language.” 

“Hablamos el Mismo Idioma is more than just a name; it is how we see our programming and ourselves as one with our audience,” Estrella Media chief content officer Enrique Guillen said. “From the launch of La Hora Nichols in primetime to our new daytime shows, strengthened local news programming and the consistency of our flagships Cierre de Edicíon and Alarma TV, we are committed to celebrating, advocating for, and empowering our audience.”

The weeknight primetime lineup starts the new show El Lavadero, a nightly gossip and games show hosted by Juan Alberto Santos.

Also new in primetime is La Hora Nichols, a topical entertainment and opinion show starring Rolando Nichols.

Joining the daytime lineup are El Factor Nour starring Estrella News 24 Horas anchor and Alarma TV host Nour Milla; Línea Directa con Abel, starring EstrellaTV and Estrella News anchor Abel Alvarez; and En la Mira con Palmira starring EstrellaTV and Estrella news anchor Palmira Perez. 

El Interrogatorio will air Sunday evenings. On the show, celebrities and newsmakers will sit down with radio host Don Cheto and EstrellaTV’s Said Garcia.

EstrellaTV also said it has revamped its original local news programs in Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston and Miami. The revamped newscast features the return of EstrellaTV news and sports anchor Alexandra Stergios. 

EstrellaTV can be seen across its broadcast network and on the EstrellaTV app on iOS and Android devices.

Estrella Media is kicking off a new bilingual identity campaign extolling the Hispanic identity of the network and its viewers.

The campaign uses the theme Celebro Quien Soy (celebrating who I am) and starts in time for Hispanic Heritage Month.

But Estrella plans to run the campaign for at least four months. 

“There’s a number of companies and brands that really love to jump on the bandwagon for 30 days for Pride month or Hispanic Heritage Month,” Hanna Bolte, senior VP, marketing, communications and talent relations at Estrella Media, told Broadcasting+Cable. “We talked about it. We’re Latino 365 days a year and so we wanted a campaign that would span not only Hispanic Heritage Month, but had more legs and was more connected to the identity of Estrella TV.”

The multi-platform campaign features Estrella’s talent telling relatable success stories about their journeys becoming who they are as Hispanics in America.

The first promo, airing Thursday (September 7), features national news anchor Abel Alvarez and top-rated regional morning show host Don Cheto. 

“People can and say how much Don Cheto means to them. They want to talk to him about a story they saw on the news,” Bolte said. “We know we have this connection with our fan base.”

Campaign ads will appear in prime and news on TV, radio, FAST channels, streaming audio and on Estrella’s app.

Estrella is also getting its affiliates and sponsors to get involved in the campaign.

The spots precede Estrella’s Fiestas Patrias (Mexican Independence Day) Celebrations on September 10, when the network is mounting events with live music and food in Los Angeles and Houston. Bolte said 20,000 people are expected to attend each of the events. 

Estrella talent will be at the events, doing meet and greets and taking pictures with viewers.

“We are also going to be shooting content for our news division,” Bolte said. “People will tell their stories about how they came here. It’s more than an immigration story. Its their identity. It’s how the community sees themselves.”

Amid the turmoil in the television business, Hispanic media has remained relatively strong and continued to grow.

Estrella is something of an upstart, competing with giants like TelevisaUnivison and Comcast’s Telemundo.

“They’re a well-oiled machine. They are very big corporations,” Bolte said. “We’re a scrappy company. We’re small. We’re like a start up” 

Estrella Media emerged from the bankruptcy of LBI Media in 2020. 

The company has distinguished itself by focusing on reality programming and news, as opposed to the novellas that appear on other networks. It was also quick to jump into the free, ad-supported streaming television business.

“You can’t come out of bankruptcy and not be scrappy. There’s not one person here at this company that’s just phoning it in. Everyone here is acutely aware of how everyone’s action helps drive a business and helps connect with an audience.”

The campaign was created in-house. “I’d say 90% to 95% of it was created by Latinos,” Bolte said.

She said the campaign aims to be authentic.

“We’re in a world of influencers and content creator culture. Everyone’s trying to be bigger, flashier, louder,” she said. “We’re real. These are true stories.”

The campaign is partly built on the idea of Hispanics being “more than,” Bolte added, “Our audience is more than a demo study. They’re more than a focus group. They are the most influential population group in the United States right now. We all strive to be more than what we first imagined ourselves to be. Everyone has been building a career, a business and legacy and that’s what this campaign is.”

Estrella will be producing a series of 15-second individual spots featuring interviews with the on-air talent from the network and its stations. They will share their inspiring personal stories.

Another spot will use the backgrounds of Estrella's on-air talent to highlight the cultural diversity within the Hispanic community.

The campaign also employs special graphics, banners, social graphics, custom logo treatments and lower thirds.

Each week, the network’s news team will present an inspiring success story, highlighting the determination, resilience, and accomplishments of these individuals.

The campaign also supports the network’s expanded one–hour program block of Noticiero EstrellaTV: Cierre de Ediciion and the one-hour expansion of Alarma TV.

Hearst Television, which owns a number of Estrella affiliates is looking to shoot local promos with its stations’ talent that would be part of the Estrella campaign.

Estrella’s sales department is also talking to brands that want to be a part of the campaign–partly because it will last beyond Hispanic Heritage month.

“We used to say there was general consumer media and Hispanic media. It’s now one. Latinos are consumers, period,” Bolte said. “Our audience--we like to say our fans--are sticky. They’re loyal.. They’re not only driving culture and politics and community, but they’re going to be driving business.”

Estrella Media said it launched Estrella Media Audience Solutions (EMAS), a new advertising sales group that will represent Estrella and other independently owned Spanish-language media companies with a combined reach of 21.5 million viewers.

Signed up already are Hemisphere Media Group and beIN Sports. By banding together under EMAS, smaller Spanish-language media companies can better compete with giants TelevisaUnivision and Comcast NBCUniversal’s Telemundo.

“We’ve taken all of the sales and marketing capabilities that we have within Estrella and we’ve partnered with other media companies that are independent and represent strong brands,” Steve Mandala, chief revenue and local media officer for Estrella Media, said. “By bringing them all together, we make it easier for marketers to reach an expanded audience with really terrific content.”

Mandala will lead the EMAS sales team, which will be the exclusive seller for all of the participating companies. Revenue will be split based on the inventory sold..

EMAS estimates that it will deliver 21.5 million unique viewers per month across national linear and national digital platforms. Mandala said he expects EMAS to add a few more media companies to its roster by the time it makes a video upfront presentation on May 9.

EMAS will do business with agencies and advertisers through direct sales and programmatically. Advertisers are welcome to buy inventory from one of the participating networks or all of them.

“We want to work in any way that an advertiser or agency wants to work with us,“ Mandala said. “We want to remove obstacles, not create them.” 

EMAS is working with Nielsen to estimate its cross-platform reach. “We’ve developed our own method using Comscore data to try to understand and estimate” the combined networks’ digital and linear reach, he added.

Mandala said he expects more marketers to advertise on Spanish-language media. While the overall ad market has been weak “there’s been steady growth in Spanish with brands activating because they want to speak to this consumer.”

Estrella Media said it is working with Comcast’s FreeWheel unit to help boost its connected TV advertising businesses.

The combination will take advantage of the growth in Hispanic CTV viewing, the companies said.

"Our passionate audience is watching more CTV than ever before," said René Santaella, chief digital & streaming officer, Estrella Media. "We need to make sure they get an excellent free ad-supported experience surrounding the content they love. FreeWheel is helping our ad sales operation achieve better ROI on CTV so everyone wins."

Estrella’s streaming channels generated 1.33 billion minutes of viewing of original content in November, with a third of that on CTV, Estrella said.

FreeWheel technology will enable direct and programmatic ad sales of Estrella’s CTV and OTT inventory. 

"As audiences fragment across screens, programmers and advertisers need  solutions that can help them find and scale this viewership across CTV," said Katy Loria, chief revenue officer at FreeWheel. "Estrella is seeing significant growth with the important U.S. Hispanic market across its CTV audiences. We're thrilled to be a key partner to help the company drive and monetize this business." ■

Estrella Media named René Santaella chief digital and streaming officer, a new post.

Santaella had been executive VP, digital and streaming media and helped launch the company’s streaming and ad-supported video-on-demand platforms.

"Since joining our team, René has been hyper-focused on creating and building a dominant streaming and on-demand digital content business," said Estrella CEO Peter Markham. "In less than two years, we have grown into a market leader, hitting over 1 billion streaming minutes viewed across our platforms. We are a leader in FAST and streaming audio for Spanish-language content and a compelling content option for audiences in the U.S. and around the world. We are re-imagining the Spanish-language digital landscape, and René is an important part of the company’s continued growth and transformation.”

Also: Estrella Media Launching FAST Movie Channel Cine Estrella TV

Santaella joined Estrella in 2020. He had been senior VP, head of ad sales and business operations at Sony Pictures Television Digital Networks where he helped build the Crackle streaming network. Before that he was with Disney Interactive.

“I’m truly excited to continue to drive digital growth and innovation in the Spanish-language marketplace and build free ad-supported streaming content options for our Estrella Media audiences,” Santaella said. “It is an audience that demands more attention and investment from the advertising and entertainment industries and to be able to lead this effort during such a transformative time is inspiring. From news to digital-first series to streaming live video and audio, we are just scratching the surface of how our audience is entertained and informed.” ■

Estrella Media said it plans to launch a free ad-supported linear Movie Channel as part of its upfront presentation Monday.

Cine EstrellaTV, launching later this year, will be a 24 channel featuring Latin Cinema with a curated daily playlist of hundreds of titles. It will have drama, comedy, thrillers and documentaries.

The company also announced additional carriage for its existing businesses. FuboTV will carry Estrella’s KRCA-TV in Los Angeles and its FAST Channels EstrellaTV and Estrella News.

Samsung TV Plus will be adding Estrella Games to its channel lineup and continue to carry Estrella TV and Estrella News.

“Estrella Media is on track to have two of its most successful and innovative years in 2022 and 2023," said Estrella Media CEO Peter Markham. "We are expanding our content offerings with production partners, growing our audience through our FAST, AVOD, and streaming platforms, and distributing our content to our audience where, when, and how they choose to consume media."

Estrella said that between its FAST channels and the result of its multi platform media portfolio, it has an average monthly total reach of more than 4 billion minutes viewed.

Steve Mandala, chief revenue and local media officer at Estrella told Broadcasting+Cable that content and platform innovations are going to fuel Estrella Media’s growth.

Mandala, previously with Univision, said that over the years there’s a heightened awareness that brands need to reach out to Hispanic viewers, but there are still many that don’t.

“It’s one of those classic situations. It’s good, it’s gotten better and there’s still an opportunity to get even better for marketers who want to speak to this consumer,” he said.

Estrella offers markets a unique package of both growing linear and digital platforms, all of which is provided for free to the consumer, he said. Its audience grew 4% year over year. On top of that, most of its programming is targeted to the U.S. Hispanic consumer and produced here in the United States.

“Almost a third of our audience doesn’t watch our competitors, which means that we deliver an exclusive audience,” Mandala said. Every marketer and agency wants to extend their reach. They don’t want to just grow frequency, they want to speak to more consumers and that’s what we can help them do because we deliver that exclusive audience.”

During its virtual upfront presentation on Monday, Estrella Media promised media buyers it would have more than 600 hours of new primetime content, in addition to returning series and acquired programming.

Some of the new content will stem from Estrella’s co-production deals with TV Azeca, Endemol Shine Boomdog and Fremantle Media.

Some of the new shows include the return of reality series Rica Famosa Latina, which will be available in the fall, first on EstrellaTV’s AVOD app and then simultaneously in the U.S. on Estrella TV and in Mexico on TV Azteca; Odisea Cheta, based on the radio show Don Chetoa Al Aire and TTMT El Rancho, described as a cousin to Tengo Talento, Much Talento, in which competitors aim to win an Estrella Media Music contract.

Show produced as co-productions from EstrellaTV and TV Azteca for 2022 including La Academia, Premios de la Radio, Una Dia Para Vivir, Loteria del Crimen and Madres A Hijos.

Estrella and Endemol Shine Boomdog are jointly producing MasterChef Mexico.■

Estrella Media said it named Carlos Díaz Warns as senior VP of news.

Díaz, who was Mexico bureau chief for Univision, will lead the editorial vision for national and local broadcast news for Estrella TV and Estrella News’ linear and digital networks.

He will be based at Estrella Media’s headquarters in Burbank.

“With his extensive background as an innovator in leading-edge news and digital operations, Carlos’ proven record of advancing community-based coverage with cultural and ethical standards in news reporting will enhance our mission of widening audience engagement,” said Ivan Stoilkovich, executive VP, television content, Estrella Media. “Well-respected, knowledgeable, and forward-thinking, Carlos is the ideal person to expand Estrella Media's position as a leading Spanish-language news content provider.”

Before becoming Mexico bureau chief, Díaz was bureau chief for interactive media and launched Univision’s digital news operations in Mexico. 

He also served as news director at KLDO-TV/KOXF, Laredo, Texas, and multimedia general vice director for E.L. Universal CPN, a big newspaper in Mexico. ■

Estrella Media and TV Azteca said they will work together to produce more than 600 hours of Spanish-language programming for the U.S. and Mexico.

Under a two-year agreement, Estrella and TV Azteca have committed to co-produce original content and specials, including Estrellas regional Mexican music awards show Premios de la Radio. The co-produced content will include scripted and unscripted show for broadcast, over the top, ad supported VOD and free ad-supported streaming television channels.

The deal follows Spanish-language giant Univision combining its media operations with Televisa of Mexico. The other big Spanish language market player is Telemundo, which is part of Comcast NBCUniversal.

Also: NewFronts: Estrella Launching AVOD Channel for Gamers

“This agreement brings two unique Spanish-language media companies together to create unparalleled content for Hispanic audiences in the U.S. and Mexico,” said Peter Markham, CEO, Estrella Media. “Providing additional high-quality content is going to enable us to continue to grow our business across our linear and digital platforms and expand opportunities in branded entertainment. Estrella Media reaches an unduplicated audience in the U.S., and through this partnership we will be able to strengthen the content that we deliver to our viewers.”

Also: Estrella Media Get Fubo vMVPD Distribution Deal

TV Azteca, part of Groupo Salinas, is the second largest media company in Mexico behind Televisa. It operates TV networks in Mexico and owns part of the Azteca America network in the U.S.

“TV Azteca has set its goals on the creation of the best content for the audiences, and this partnership with EstrellaTV will allow us to broaden the reach of the best productions to Mexico and the U.S.,” said Benjamín Salinas, VP of the Board of Grupo Salinas. “We believe in joining efforts with key partners, and our alliance with EstrellaTV means a great enhancement to what the public will find on multiple platforms: high-quality productions wherever and whenever they want them.”

Some details about the two companies’ programming plans will be disclosed at Estrella’s NewFront presentation on Thursday, May 5 and its virtual upfront presentation on Monday, May 9. ■

Estrella Media said it promoted several members of its advertising sales team, including Brian Fisher, who was named senior VP, digital sales.

The moves follow former Univision and NBCUniversal sales executive Steve Mandala joining Estrella as chief revenue and local media officer in December. 

Fisher had been VP, digital sales, and reports to Mandala. Rogerio Alves was named to replace him as VP digital sales.

Also promoted to VP and regional director of sales posts were Claudia Santana, Daniel Lowry, Nicolas Valls, BJ Perez and Reza Hariri. 

Since joining the Estrella Media team three months ago, I've been impressed with the passion, creativity, and best-in-class work by these leaders," said Mandala. "With this organizational alignment, we create the framework to change and fuel the Hispanic marketplace. This team will lead and develop diverse teams who educate and advocate for the important Estrella audience. It is a strengthened marketplace with Estrella, and with this change, we will continue to shape how the Hispanic audience and content is supported by brands, agencies, and its audiences."

Santana had been general sales manager in Los Angeles and will be responsible for all of Estrella Media’s Southern California television and digital properties. 

Valls was general manager of WGEN-TV in Miami. He will continue to be responsible for WGEN as well as WASA-TV, New York.

Lowry was director of sales for Dallas and will now overseer all of Estrella’s Texas TV, radio and digital properties.

Perez, formerly general sales manager for Denver, will continue to manage sales for KETD and will also oversee WESV-TV, Chicago.

Hariri was general sales manager in San Francisco and will also be responsible for KVPA-TV in Phoenix.■

Estrella Media said it signed a multi-year deal renewing its local TV measurement deal with Nielsen.

Nielsen has opened the year with a couple of local renewals despite complaints that it undercounted local viewership during the recession, a lack of accreditation from the Media Rating Council and resistance to Nielsen’s plan to add broadband only homes to local market measurement.

Also: New York Interconnect Renews Measurement Deal With Nielsen

Under the new deal with Estrella, Nielsen will provide a suite of analytic and performance services for Estrella’s stations in Dallas, Denver, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Phoenix and San Francisco.

“Estrella, like every media company, seeks full measurement of our audiences, and we are pleased to continue working with Nielsen to ensure every user, viewer, and listener is fully counted,” said Steve Mandala, chief revenue and local media officer for Estrella Media. “As our audience continues to grow, it is valuable for us to access the full suite of Nielsen’s measurement tools. While important to all broadcasters, it is especially relevant to Spanish language stations as over-the-air penetration among Hispanic households often doubles that of the general market.”

Also: NBCU Taps iSpot as First Cross-Platform TV Measurement Alternative to Nielsen

The stations will have access to Nielsen’s Local TV View, Nielsen’s Arianna overnight service, Ad Intel, Nielsen Scarborough and Nielsen Rhiza.

“Estrella’s commitment to ensuring Hispanic representation is unwavering, and we are excited to empower them in developing data-driven growth strategies, to better showcase their value to advertisers,” said Catherine Herkovic, executive VP, managing director, Nielsen Local TV. “The importance of capturing viewing from over-the-air homes is further demonstrated by the comprehensive measurement that Estrella will utilize to meet the needs of their audiences and advertisers.” ■

Estrella Media said it named former Univision ad sales head Steve Mandala as chief revenue and local media officer, effective Dec. 1.

“Steve is a leader in Hispanic media and was instrumental in leading the revenue teams at Univision, NBCU, and Telemundo,” said Peter Markham, CEO at Estrella Media.

“He has a unique skill set to develop high-performing teams and highly successful advertising partnerships in multiplatform companies. He understands the importance of the U.S. Hispanic consumer and Estrella Media’s leadership in reaching our audience on all screens,” Markham said. “Steve is going to be a driving force behind our continued evolution and in creating value with our partners across our multiple platforms, accelerating our revenue growth both nationally and through our valuable local media assets.”

Mandala was president of ad sales and marketing at Univision until earlier this year, when the company was acquired by former Viacom CFO Wade Davis. Before Univision, he was with NBCUniversal as executive VP, cable entertainment sales from 2007 to 2012 and senior VP for Telemundo networks sales, marketing and distribution from 1999 through 2007.

He is replacing Jason Hall, executive VP, Advertising Sales

“This is a transformational time for Estrella Media with respect to serving our Hispanic audience and also continuing our digital and streaming transformation,” said Mandala. “I have spent my career developing and connecting this valuable audience with the brands and content they want to consume, and helping to lead the major Spanish-language networks in the U.S. to record revenues. I’m excited to be part of the team driving Estrella Media’s growth and brand across the industry.”

Estrella Media is a multiplatform company serving the Spanish-language market. It has a national broadcast television network and 17 owned and operated TV stations. It’s digital platforms including Estrella News and Estrella Games. ■

Spanish-language programmer Estrella Media said it is launching a third free, ad supported streaming TV channel, Estrella Games.

The new channel is part of the “Experience Estrella. Everywhere” strategy the company unveiled at its NewFront presentation on Wednesday and during virtual upfront meetings with advertisers and media buyers..

Estrella differentiate itself from other Spanish language programmers by focusing on news, sports, game shows and reality programming. 

“We amplify the voices of our fans and give them the content they want in an expanded digital and linear universe. It's time for our fans to Experience Estrella. Everywhere,” said Peter Markham, who became CEO after LBI Media emerged from bankruptcy last year and rebranded as Estrella Media.

Estrella Games, was planned as the first full-time Spanish-language game show channel, launched on Vizio’s SmartCast. On Wednesday Xumo, Game Show Network and Sony Picture Television also announced the launch of Sony Canal Competancias, a game show destination in Spanish.

Estrella Games will have multi-generational family and interactive programs including 100 Latinos Dijeron, La Mascara del Amor, Reto Famoso, Jugando co Patanito and Still Standing.

The channel joined EstrellaTV and Estrella News, which are on Pluto TV and other outlets. 

The company said the EstrellaTV AVOD app will be available on Roku this month and Apple iOS this summer, with other platforms coming soon The app gives user access to the three streaming channels and  20,000 of on=demand programming. 

EstrellaTV will continue to offer its programming on-demand through YouTube and has chosen Google Ad Manager for monetizing its live and on-demand streaming TV platforms.

Arya Towfighi has been named EVP and general counsel of Estrella Media.

Towfighi has headed up legal functions as SVP since November 2019 as well as heading up its response to COVID-19.

Also Read: FCC OK's Estrella Foreign Ownership

“Arya has proven to be an indispensable member of the senior leadership team during his time at Estrella Media, and we look forward to him taking on additional responsibilities in this expanded role,” said Peter Markham, CEO, Estrella Media, Inc. “As Estrella Media continues its transformation as a digital and linear broadcast media company, we are happy to have Arya providing his steady guidance and partnership.”

Estrella, formerly LBI Media, owns and operates 21 full-power TV and radio stations.

The FCC has allowed Estrella Broadcasting, which owns and operates 21 full-power TV and radio stations, to exceed the 25% foreign ownership benchmark for those stations, up to a 100% voting and equity interest, as Estrella had sought.

The FCC was essentially making permanent a structure it allowed when Estrella proposed it as part of a bankruptcy proceeding.

Also Read: FCC OK's Univision Sale to Searchlight

The 25% figure is only a trigger for an FCC review of an ownership interest proposal, rather than a cap that needs a waiver. 

No Executive Branch agency, which vet foreign media ownership proposals for potential national security issues, had any issues with the Estrella restructuring.

Also Read: Liberman Adopts Estrella Media Name

The decision on Estrella came in a declaratory ruling issued this week by the Media Bureau. The FCC allows up to 100% foreign ownership on a case-by-case basis and this case warranted it, the FCC concluded: "[W]e find that the public interest would not be served by prohibiting the foreign ownership that would be held in Estrella," the bureau said.

Estrella had gotten a temporary waiver back in October for its bankruptcy restructuring, then applied for a declaratory ruling.

Also Read: LBI Files for Bankruptcy

Estrella had argued that allowing the foreign ownership would 1) "enhance its abilities to compete and innovate in the media distribution marketplace"; 2) "serve the Commission’s interest in encouraging foreign investment in broadcasting"; and 3) "further U.S. trade policy without raising any national security, law enforcement, or other risks." 

The petition was unopposed, though one commenter did express reservations, which the bureau did not share because it said they were unsupported and unrelated to the petition.

At issue were the transfer of: Estrella Radio License of California, LLC; Estrella Television License of Houston, LLC; Estrella Television License of Dallas, LLC; Estrella Radio License of Houston, LLC; Estrella Television License, LLC; and Estrella Radio License of Dallas, LLC.

In 2013, the FCC lifted its ban on foreign ownership above 25%. Such ownership can now be as much as 100%, so long as it is found, as reviewed on a case-by-case basis, to be in the public interest.

Estrella Media said it signed a distribution agreement with streaming platform fuboTV.

Under the agreement--the first virtual MVPD deal for Estrella Media--the Estrella TV channel and its Los Angeles TV station KRCA-TV will be available to fuboTV subscribers as part of its Latino package in the U.S.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

“Partnering with fuboTV is a great opportunity to continue expanding EstrellaTV’s distribution channels outside of traditional cable and broadcasting. fuboTV will make our network and local KRCA-62 Los Angeles station available to their growing number of subscribers across the U.S. and increase our footprint in the live streaming universe,” stated Peter Markham, CEO, Estrella Media, Inc. “We are truly excited about cord-cutting services like fuboTV and look forward to reaching our fans on more devices and new platforms in the near future.”