Spanish-language media company Hemisphere Media said that it formed WAPA Media, a multiplatform media company in Puerto Rico.

WAPA Media’s television assets including WAPA San Juan, the top broadcaster in Puerto Rico; sports network WAPA Deportes; and WAPA America, which services Puerto Ricans living in the in the 50 U.S. states.

The group also includes two radio stations acquired from TelevisaUnivision — WKAQ (AM) San Juan and WKAQ-FM San Juan, known on-air as KQ105 FM -- as well as WAPA Digital.

“WAPA Media is a major milestone for Hemisphere Media Group, and we are thrilled to bring this innovative, multiplatform media company to Puerto Rico,”Alan Sokol, CEO of Hemisphere Media Group, said. 

“With the addition of Puerto Rico’s two leading radio stations, we are furthering our commitment to delivering the highest-quality content to audiences across every relevant media channel. With WAPA Media, we are redefining the media landscape in Puerto Rico and cementing our position as the go-to destination for Puerto Rican consumers and advertisers alike,” Sokol said.

Jorge Hidalgo was named president of WAPA Media. Hidalgo was general manager of WAPA. 

“For advertisers and marketers, WAPA Media presents a powerful platform to reach the diverse and engaged Puerto Rican audience,” Hidalgo said. “By offering tailored advertising solutions across multiple platforms, including traditional radio and television, digital media, podcasts, and social media channels, WAPA Media will provide an unparalleled opportunity for brands to connect with consumers and drive business growth.” 

TelevisaUnivision said it agreed to acquire Pantaya LLC, a Spanish-language streaming platform carrying movies and series, from a subsidiary of Hemisphere Media Group.

Hemisphere will receive an undisclosed amount of cash plus TelevisaUnivision radio assets in Puerto Rico including WKAQ AM and KQ105 FM.

TelevisaUnivision said the acquisition will bolster ViX Plus, the streaming service the company plans to launch in the second half of the year,

"The acquisition of Pantaya, which includes renowned content titles such as Señorita 89 and A La Mala, is an exciting opportunity to build upon our strategic growth plan as we continue to redefine the global streaming landscape,” said TelevisaUnivision president and chief transformation officer Pierluigi Gazzolo.

“We look forward to welcoming the Pantaya team, the existing subscribers, and having access to the thousands of hours of content assets which perfectly complement TelevisaUnivision’s prolific long-form content engine, industry-leading library, and extensive portfolio of IP and sports rights. In April we launched our global AVOD service ViX, and we will launch our global SVOD service ViX Plus in the second half of this year, which will be further accelerated by this strategic acquisition,” Gazzolo said. 

The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2022 and is subject to regulatory approvals in the United States.

“Pantaya will flourish under TelevisaUnivision’s ownership. Given the highly competitive multi-language SVOD streaming environment, Pantaya’s service is best positioned under an organization that can provide the resources and investment it needs to scale and grow,” said Ala Soko, CEO of Hemisphere. “In addition, Hemisphere’s acquisition of certain Univision Puerto Rican radio assets will be an ideal complement to WAPA, Puerto Rico’s leading broadcast network. Post-closing, we will continue to work closely with the TelevisaUnivision Uforia programming team who, with its deep music expertise, will continue to program the KQ105 FM station.”■

Former Federal Communications Commission chairman Ajit Pai has joined Searchlight Capital as a partner, the investment firm said Monday.

Pai led the FCC as chairman from 2017 to 2020 under then President Donald Trump administration and first joined the Commission in 2012 after being appointed by then President Barack Obama. Prior to his FCC appointment, Pai served in various positions at the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Senate, was a partner at the law firm of Jenner & Block and worked as in-house counsel at Verizon Communications. At Searchlight, he will focus on the company’s investments in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors.

During his tenure as chairman of the FCC, Pai helped advance major initiatives in 5G and other wireless technologies, led programs to help close the digital divide, promote innovation, protect consumers, public safety, and national security, and helped make the agency more open, transparent, and diverse. 

“TMT has always been a core focus at Searchlight and in recent years we have seen the opportunities in these sectors grow, a trend accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Searchlight founding partner Eric Zinterhofer said in a press release. “Given our strong presence in this space and Ajit’s distinguished career in the industry, we are excited to welcome him as our newest partner. His outstanding accomplishments at the FCC had a material impact on the broadband, wireless, and broadcast sectors, and his deep knowledge will be invaluable in accelerating our efforts in TMT and digital infrastructure.”

Searchlight is a global private investment firm with more than $8 billion in assets under management, with offices in New York, London, and Toronto and currently has holdings in Liberty Latin America, Univision Communications, Hemisphere Media Group, Ziply Fiber and others.

“I am excited to join the Searchlight team and help build on the firm’s demonstrated success in the technology media, and telecommunications sectors, especially with respect to digital infrastructure—an area that is essential to consumers and businesses in the United States and around the world,” Pai said in a press release. “Searchlight’s flexible investment strategy and partnership-driven approach have distinguished it from its peers, allowing the firm to capitalize on opportunities that provide value for its clients and the companies it invests in. I look forward to joining Eric, Erol, and Oliver, and contributing to the firm’s continued investment efforts.”

Hemisphere Media said it has purchased the remaining 75% interest in Spanish-language SVOD service Pantaya from Lionsgate for $124 million in cash. 

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 1, Hemisphere said it funded the purchase through a combination of cash on hand and a $50 million incremental term loan under its existing credit facility. With the deal Hemisphere now owns 100% of Pantaya, up from its original 25% stake. 

Pantaya offers more than 400 movies and series and claims about 900,000 subscribers in the U.S. The service was launched in August 2017 and Hemisphere Media estimates it can grow its paying customers to 2.5 million to 3 million by the end of 2025. 

“In a very short period of time, Pantaya has become the destination for U.S. Hispanics seeking premium Spanish-language movies and series,” said Hemisphere CEO Alan Sokol in a press release. “... Pantaya’s success to date affirms the tremendous appetite of our audience for our unique content offering. Hemisphere plans to increase investment in content, expanding the output of series and movies, with the goal of accelerating subscriber growth and becoming a ‘must have’ entertainment option for the large and growing U.S. Hispanic audience.”

Pantaya CEO Paul Presburger added that the SVOD service’s attractive price point -- it costs about $5.99 per month -- a user-friendly interface and wide content selection has helped boost subscriber rolls by 40% in the past year. “...we believe we have significant runway for additional expansion ahead,” Presburger said in the release.

Pantaya said it also will create a strategic content relationship with Lionsgate and its international premium subscription service StarzPlay for Spanish-language movies and television series, and that Pantaya will continue to license Spanish-language content from Lionsgate’s 17,000-title film and television library. 

“We’re very proud to have helped build Pantaya into the leading premium Spanish-language platform in the U.S., and Hemisphere is the right owner to continue their growth and success,” said Lionsgate chief operating officer Brian Goldsmith said in a press release. “This agreement enables us to maintain a robust strategic content relationship among Lionsgate, StarzPlay and Pantaya that benefits Pantaya’s continued ascendancy.”

Hemisphere Media Group, the Miami-based parent of Spanish-language networks like Cine Latino and WAPA America, has approached Univision about a possible buyout, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

According to the Journal, Hemisphere is one of three potential suitors for Univision -- Los Angeles-based private equity fund Platinum Equity and an undisclosed company are the other two. Univision, which withdrew an initial public offering in 2018, has been looking for an exit for its private equity owners for months.

Hemisphere Media and Univision declined to comment. Platinum Equity did not respond to a request for comment.

Univision hired Morgan Stanley, Moelis & Co. and LionTree Advisors in July to explore possible strategic opportunities, including a sale. With three potential offers at the door, Univision’s owners could be closer to an exit than they have been in years.

Hemisphere, led by industry veteran and former InterMedia Partners executive Alan Sokol, has several Spanish-language broadcast and content properties in the U.S., Colombia and Puerto Rico, and reached a deal earlier today (Dec. 18) for continued carriage of its WAPA America channels on Dish Network. 

Platinum Equity was launched in 1995 and although it doesn’t have any traditional media companies in its portfolio, has about $19 billion in assets under management and specializes in acquiring companies with “operationally complex businesses,” according to its website. Its founder, chairman and CEO Tom Gores also is the owner of the NBA Detroit Pistons. 

Univision is currently owned by Saban Capital Group, Madison Dearborn Partners, Providence Equity Partners, TPG and Thomas H. Lee Partners, which took the company private in 2006 in a leveraged buyout worth about $13.7 billion. It reportedly turned down an offer in 2017 from Liberty Media’s John Malone that would have valued the company at $13.5-to-$15 billion. The 2018 IPO was expected to raise about $1 billion but would have valued the company at about $20 billion.

The withdrawal of the IPO touched off a series of events at the Spanish-language broadcaster, staring with the resignation of CEO Randy Falco and CFO Francisco Lopez-Balboa in March of that year. In the following months, several top executives, including former chief revenue officer Tonia O’Connor and chief content officer Isaac Lee, left the company for other opportunities. Univision shed some assets -- it sold its online unit Gizmodo Group to Great Hill Partners in April -- and endured some layoffs in July 2018.

Univision hired former Media General CEO Vincent Sadusky in June 2018 to take the helm, and the veteran broadcaster spent the next several months righting the ship by improving ratings and viewership in key demographics and ending a nine-month blackout with Dish Network. Sadusky also is familiar with Hemisphere Media. According to Univision's website, Sadusky served on Hemisphere's board of directors before taking the Univision position. He no longer serves on the Hemisphere board.

In the meantime, Univision has continued in an upward path, completing its most recent Upfront sales cycle up by mid-single digit percentages, its strongest growth in four years. In addition, Univision will rank as the No. 1 Spanish-language network in primetime (Monday through Sunday) for the 27th and 16th straight year among Total Viewers 2+ and Adults 18-49, respectively and its UniMás national broadcast network is reporting double-digit Q4 primetime audience growth year-over-year in all key demos. And TUDN (formerly the Univision Deportes Network) is one of the fastest growing sports networks and climbed a notch in Q3 to become the country’s fourth largest sports network in that period during primetime, regardless of language.

Hemisphere Media Group networks WAPA Televisión and WAPA Deportes were restored to Dish Network in Puerto Rico and WAPA América will return to Dish in the United States in January after the companies reached a new distribution agreement, Hemisphere said today (Dec. 18). 

The networks went dark on Dish on Oct. 24. The deal also extends CentroAméricaTV carriage on the DishLATINO programming tier in the U.S.

Hemisphere said broadcast channel WAPA Televisión and sports service WAPA Deportes were restored to Dish in Puerto Rico on Monday (Dec. 16). 

Related: WAPA Channels Are Back on DirecTV in Puerto Rico (2018)

Hemisphere Media CEO Alan J. Sokol said in a release: “We are deeply grateful to our viewers for their loyalty and support during our time off air, and are pleased to have reached an agreement with Dish, allowing our loyal audience to once again enjoy the news, entertainment and sports from the #1 television network in Puerto Rico. We are also pleased that Dish will continue to distribute CentroAméricaTV, reflecting the importance and value of these networks to Hispanics living in the U.S.”

Atlantic Broadband, the cable operator serving Miami’s beach communities, has added the Pasiones and Televisión Dominicana networks to its roster of channels in that market.

With the additions, subscribers to Cogeco Cable subsidiary Atlantic Broadband now have access to Hemisphere Media Group’s entire suite of channels, including Centroamérica TV, Cinelatino and WAPA América.

Customers must subscribe to the “Mundo Latino Basico” package in order to view the two newly added networks. Programming on Pasiones (channel 207) is focused on telenovelas and serialized dramas; Televisión Dominicana (channel 248) is a general entertainment network for Dominicans living in the U.S.

“Our networks are ideally-suited to meet the growing needs of Hispanics in Atlantic Broadband’s South Florida footprint, and we are thrilled to work with them on this exciting launch,” Hemisphere Media Group president and CEO Alan Sokol said.

The addition of Pasiones and Televisión Dominicana comes following the mid-December arrival of former People en Español publisher Lucia Ballas-Traynor as Hemisphere’s executive vice president of advertising sales. Ballas-Traynor’s TV experience includes prior stints as GM for Galavisión and Viacom International Media Networks’ MTV Tr3s prior to its U.S. Hispanic dissolution.