NATPE 2021: HOW IS PRENDETV'S PLATFORM GOING TO BE LIKE?

After the opening presentation of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming Chairman, Mark Lazarus, and also as part of “The BIG Opening: Vision of Television 2021” session, it was the turn of Sameer Deen, Chief Digital Officer at Univision Communications, to join NATPE Virtual Miami and talk about PrendeTV, the only streaming service created exclusively for the US Hispanic audience featuring free, premium 100% Spanish-language programming.

Set to debut in the first quarter, Univision’s PrendeTV will feature a comprehensive offering of unlimited premium and exclusive content ever curated for US Hispanic consumers, including a collection of high-quality, curated Spanish-language series, movies and more featuring the biggest celebrities in the world.

“PrendeTV is very different from what you see out there. First and foremost, the most important thing is that it has been built from the ground up for the US Hispanic. What we see as an opportunity is that the US Hispanics are really underrepresented and underserved in the streaming marketplace,”  Deen assured.

“We are really taking the time, the energy and bringing all our expertise, to build a product that is 100% in Spanish language, in-culture, and really offers a unique and compelling user experience. Moreover, all of that is complemented by fantastic content across a wide variety of genres,”  he added.

In an OTT market where the paid subscription model predominates, PrendeTV prouds itself of being a free option. “A free product made a lot of sense for us. There are various platforms, and a lot of people are trying different things, but when we talked to our audience and got to know them, the free option was the most compelling one for the US Hispanic marketplace. It is about understanding what users are looking for, making it complementary to additional services that they may already be using and really focusing on making it easy to try,”  the executive explained.

The service will launch with over 30 channels and 10.000 hours of video-on-demand programming in Spanish from global content partners to serve consumers who are eager for more easily accessible content in-language and in-culture. Furthermore, PrendeTV will allow viewers to watch content on any screen, anytime and anywhere. The service will be available at launch via desktop and mobile web, and via free mobile and connected TV apps with additional details on distribution partners to be announced at a later date.

Being an ad-supported platform, Univision is “really focused in creating a really great ad-experience,”  according to Deen. To explain that, he said: “We are making sure that commercial breaks are limited, really giving people the ability to dive in and enjoy the programming”.

Lastly, Deen described the launch of PrendeTV as “a first step, but an important driver of growth for the future”. And he added: “It is a way for us to continue to build a direct relationship with our audience”.