Lionsgate, Univision to Launch Branded SVOD Platform

The studio, led by Jon Feltheimer, and Univision will launch the streaming service for U.S. Hispanic movie fans in early 2017.

Lionsgate and Univision Communications are teaming up to launch a premium Spanish-language SVOD service aimed at the Hispanic moviegoing audience in the U.S.

Launching in early 2017, the unnamed streamer will target Spanish-speaking and bilingual Hispanic viewers with varied comedy, family, kids, horror and drama titles, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer and Univision CEO Randy Falco said Monday in an announcement.

The joint venture SVOD will draw Spanish-language films from Lionsgate's Televisa and Pantelion Films brands, and Hollywood films from the studio's 16,000-title library and other catalogs dubbed into Spanish. The streamer also will use the marketing and distribution muscle of Univision as it targets cable and satellite operators for carriage.

"Our premium movie service checks all the boxes for success — a world-class partner in Univision, films from the Pantelion brand that has great equity among Spanish-speaking audiences, strong management, terrific intellectual property and a well-defined market opportunity,” said Feltheimer.

Lionsgate earlier partnered with Tribeca Enterprises to launch another SVOD, Tribeca Shortlist, and with Comic-Con International on a separate fanboy SVOD, Comic-Con HQ.