The head of Content Partnerships and Acquisitions for US Hispanic, and David di Lorenzo, SVP of Acquisitions and Partnerships, spoke to ttvnews at LA Screenings about the type of content they’re searching for as they seek to build their Spanish-language offer for the US Hispanic market.
*With production by Luis Cabrera, from Los Angeles
With vast experience in the Hispanic audiovisual industry, Jorge Balleste has recently joined Future Today, a California-based company which offers cutting-edge AVOD technology and distribution across CTV platforms, enabling content owners to launch ad-supported OTT channels, and advertisers to reach targeted audiences.
In his new role, he will be working alongside David di Lorenzo, SVP of Acquisitions and Partnerships, with the goal of growing the company’s offer and business for the US Hispanic market.
And as a step towards this goal, both executives were present at the current edition of LA Screenings, to find new content and strengthen their relationship with players in the region. “This is a good event, we have a full schedule. We’ve seen good Spanish-language content and it’s a perfect place to find it”, Balleste said to ttvnews in Los Angeles.
In regard to what type of content they’re looking for, the executive explained it’s a varied search. “We are building up the Spanish-language offer for US Hispanic, searching for top quality Spanish-language content, series, realities, movies, across multiple genres. Basically, a selection of content we know is relevant for the US Hispanic market”.
“We have a very small portion of the content that’s in Spanish right now, so we’re really building that offer from scratch. We’re using our existing relationships in the market to get top quality productions”, added David Di Lorenzo. “Right now we’re looking for completed library shows, that are recognizable and have strong casts. Shows and movies that we know the audience loves”.
The goal, the executive explained, is to replicate the success they’ve had with their English-language offer with a Spanish-language catalog. “In English, we have a wide variety of content, whether it’s big blockbuster movies or independent productions. We have a lot of different genres, thriller, horror, crime, drama… So we want to be able to take what we’ve been able to build in English and make it available to Spanish-speaking audiences.” (also by Di Lorenzo)
“Within this year we’ll have a very strong offer for the market and it will continue to grow”, Balleste predicted. “By this time next year, we’ll have a strong curated offer and good monetization for our partners. Having an in-house sales team and the distribution that we have, it puts us in a very good position to monetize content.”
This strategy is aimed at meeting a demand the company finds in the US Hispanic market, where services are abundant, but high-quality offers are not. “I feel US Hispanic is under-served. Some services have tried their hand at Spanish-language content, but it’s not their focus. This audience is very particular. If you don’t focus on what they find relatable and what their likes are, you won’t be successful. There’s a lot of potential in the market, but you have to do it right”, he concluded.
