ADAM LEWINSON AND EMILIO ALIAGA: “TUBI AND TV AZTECA IS A LOGICAL PARTNERSHIP”

Tubi and TV Azteca initiated a partnership, which has driven the American streaming service into Mexico, its first Latin American country. Under the terms of their deal, TV Azteca will sell advertising and promote Tubi across broadcast and digital platforms. A selection of TV Azteca titles will be accessible for free to Tubi customers in Mexico. “It certainly seemed like a very logical extension based on our viewership and our learnings in the US,"  Tubi's Chief Content Officer, Adam Lewinson said. "We had an understanding of how a Spanish language,  AVOD  service, ad supported video on demand could work. For us, it's all about finding the right partner and certainly with Azteca, it's just this powerful combination of this amazing library of content.”

TV Azteca's Digital VP, Emilio Aliaga says that the partnership serves as a good OTT opportunity for TV Azteca since its group consists of streamers, cable companies, products, among others, but no OTT. Mexico. AVOD viewership statistics indicate that just over 1% of the Mexican households had a streaming service. A year ago, the figure increased to 25%. Price Waterhouse Cooper also estimated that Mexico will land ahead Brazil as the largest OTT market in Latin America by 2022. “We have many things, but we don’t have an OTT, and this is a great opportunity for us to showcase content and at the same time, cross audiences and make a digital and advertising product,” Aliaga said. 

The business model implemented in the launch is surrounded by ad-supported, free content, some directly from agencies, while others are directly from large, advertising sites. Part of the plan includes offering the service in a bundle with the companies’ TV and digital offerings, as well as creating other advertising extensions and strategies, Both companies are focused on keeping the cost of the launch effective and on the “lower part of the pyramid.” "There's a huge growth opportunity in Mexico, and a great young population, very eager for streaming,” Lewinson said. “Put that in as well, that's a great recipe for success between us.”

Tubi worked with a TV manufacturer, Hisense to make its Vidaa platform the exclusive connected-TV partner in the country. Content from the platformwill be preloaded and prominently placed on the Vidaa TV homepage,  as well as the“Vidaa Free” section of the platform. “We have the platform for access to tremendous amounts of content,” Lewinson said. “Pair that with Azteca and their stellar content, their muscle in the marketplace. It has really been synergistic.”

Though the AVOD market being fairly new in Mexico, both parties expect massive growth for OTT viewership in the region. “Our expectations are exponential growth,” Aliaga said. “We're learning from the market and tuned up what we needed to do on the corporate side. I do believe that expectations are very high. I think that we have a great product, we have a great catalog, and there is a huge interest in the market.”

Lewinson told Senal that the main drivers for the platform’s interest in the region are its power of ad sales force and senior level of experience in the market. Although the streaming giant is solely focused on its launch in Mexico, it plans to expand further into Latin American, and ultimately other regions around the world. The company’s next international rollout with taking place in the UK.

By: Karla Florez