National Geographic Networks
and Fox Networks on April 4 will announce
the creation of Nat Geo Mundo, a Spanishlanguage
nonfiction entertainment network
for U.S. Hispanics,
launching July 1.
The new outlet will
join Spanish-language
sports net Fox
Deportes and women’s
lifestyle net Utilisima
as the third
network within newly
formed Fox Hispanic
Media, designed to
help marketers reach
the growing U.S. Hispanic
population.
Like sister Englishlanguage
networks
National Geographic
Channel and Nat Geo
Wild, Nat Geo Mundo’s
programming
will center on nature,
science, culture and
history.
The new network
has commitments
to launch in more than 4 million homes
this year, through AT&T’s U-Verse TV, Cox
Communications, Dish Network and Verizon
Communications’ FiOS TV. Utilisima,
which launched in July 2010 as a destination
for Latina women, reaches 4 million U.S.
households, 2 million of them Hispanic, and
Deportes is in 18 million homes (6 million of
them Hispanic).
Nat Geo Mundo will draw from shows
on National Geographic Channel in Latin
America that have not aired in the U.S. as
well as newly commissioned and acquired
original series and specials.
Among the shows acquired from Nat Geo
Latin America are Phenomenal, which takes
viewers inside natural disasters like earthquakes
and storms, and Animals Amongst
Us, which tells stories about the bond between
humans and animals.
The network will also repurpose existing
Nat Geo series for a Hispanic audience, like
Dog Whisperer With Cesar Milan and Mega
Estructuras, which tours engineering feats.
However, executives don’t intend for
Nat Geo Mundo just to translate Englishlanguage
content for a Spanish-speaking
audience. “These sophisticated consumers
want high-quality content, and they will not
pay attention to programming with secondary
production values merely because the
program is in Spanish,” Fox Networks senior
vice president Sean Riley, who oversees the
distribut ion efforts
of Fox Global
Networks, said.
The programming
on Nat
Geo Mundo and
launch of FHM
are devised to
connect with an
increasingly impor
tant demog
raphic. “The
census data is reaffirming the
growing importance
of the Hispanic
community,
and we believe the
marketplace lacks
content for the sophisticated
new
Latino consumer
who demands
high-quality original
programming,
rather than mere translations of
existing material,” Fox International CEO
Hernan Lopez, who oversees the three networks
in the portfolio, said.
The launch of another niche Hispanictargeted
cable channel is a natural progression
in FHM’s effort to reach the changing
Latino community — one that is no longer
served by broadcast alone — much like
the growth of cable that occurred in general-
market programming 20 years ago, the
programmer said.
“Advertisers know it is increasingly crucial
to reach this tech-savvy, bicultural
Latino community and gain their loyalty,”
Fox Hispanic Media senior vice president
of advertising sales Tom Maney said. “Our
specialized consortium will allow them
to target a valuable consumer segment of
influencers across multiple platforms and
diverse demographic slices.”
FHM plans to announce additional programming
details for Nat Geo Mundo at its
upfront event in New York on May 17.
Andrea Morabito is staff writer at
Broadcasting
& Cable.
