ZDF Studios to launch a new FAST channel in Latin America

ZDF Studios announced today its partnership with international media development company Castalia Communications to develop a FAST service for the LatAm region. The venture will make quality programming from the ZDF Studios catalog available to Spanish-speaking end-users in Latin America and the Hispanic market in the US. The launch of the first offering is scheduled for Q2 2024 and will focus on a selection of drama programming that will be available to viewers in Spanish.

Luis Torres-Bohl, Founder and CEO of Castalia Communications, said: "We are delighted to be working with one of Europe's leading producers and distributors of television content. We are confident that our groundbreaking media project will be very successful throughout Latin America and with Spanish-speaking audiences in the US. We are honored to be part of this project that will bring stories of contemporary "Goethes and Schillers" that will be very popular with viewers across the region."

Susanne Frank, Director of Drama at ZDF Studios, negotiated the deal. "We are very excited about this opportunity to work with an established partner and expert in this subject matter to bring our great catalog of programming to an interested audience in the Americas. We are convinced that this way, we will be able to open up completely new, interested target groups in the Spanish-speaking market."

Latin America is one of the fastest-growing markets for Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST) channels. The collaboration aims to satisfy this audience's appetite for more entertainment programming by offering both new and classic content in their language at no cost. Consumption of streaming OTT services has increased dramatically during and after the pandemic due to technological advances in smartphones, tablets, and mobile TV. According to a report by Global Industry Analysts Inc., the market is expected to grow by over US$217 billion by 2026.