Created “exclusively for the U.S. Hispanic audience,” PrendeTV is Univision’s entry into the streaming wars, offering a collection of free Spanish programming.
PrendeTV, which gets its name for the Spanish phrase for “switch on,” will launch this quarter, according to Univision. The service will have “an unprecedented collection of high-quality, curated Spanish-language series [and] movies,” as well as some other entertainment. PrendeTV will also offer 30 live channels and more than 10,000 hours of on-demand content at launch, according to the company, with the goal to expand that offering once launched. It will be available on desktop and mobile, as well as a free app on connected TVs.
Univision’s biggest competitor in the Spanish marketplace for US customers, Telemundo, does not have its own streaming service. Owned by NBCUniversal, Telemundo instead has a hub and several “channels” on Peacock, NBCUniversal’s own ad-supported streaming platform. Univision CEO Wade Davis, who previously worked on ad-supported streaming strategy at ViacomCBS, told Deadline in 2020 that “it’s remarkable” there’s not really a “high-quality, differentiated OTT service for this audience that is at scale.”
“It’s a huge opportunity that is completely open from a competitive standpoint,” he said.
Although Univision is entering an already crowded market, with services like Disney Plus, HBO Max, Peacock, Apple TV Plus, and more launching all within the last 14 months, Univision is banking on PrendeTV being “the only premium, free ad-supported streaming service designed and curated exclusively for U.S. Hispanics.” The fact that it’s free, something that ViacomCBS is also reportedly seeing success with on its own ad-supported platform, Pluto TV, should also help.
Exact launch dates, new exclusive series, and what platforms it will be available on will be announced closer to launch.
