21st Century Fox Unloads Spanish-Language MundoFox

[mvcg66b3r]

21st Century Fox is about to habla a little less Español.

The company’s Fox International Channels said Thursday it had sold its interest in U.S. Spanish-language broadcast network MundoFox to its joint-venture partner RCN Television Group, ending an ambitious bid by the media company to gain broader entry to the Spanish-language television market, long dominated by Univision and NBCUniversal’s Telemundo.

MundoFox launched in the fall of 2012, burnishing what it touted as “teleseries,” or programming that emulates the action and drama of such well-known U.S. shows as “24” or “Bones.” The idea at the time was to draw more interest from male viewers, who may not have been interested in the soapy telenovelas that are so much a part of the Univision and Telemundo schedules. Early series included “Kadabra,” an action-based serial that had proven popular in Spanish-language broadcasting, and “El Capo,” a drug-cartel drama known as one of Colombia’s most expensive. Many of the series were produced in Colombia, and the network also featured U.S. TV shows with Spanish-language dubbing.

The network has over 50 affiliates and serves the major U.S. Hispanic metropolitan markets.

https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/21st-century-fox-spanish-language-mundofox-rcn-1201541670/

 

[JayR]

What becomes of the network? Will 21st Century Fox continue to allow RCN to use the MundoFox brand? Will it be renamed?

 

[only1moore]

Chances are that once the sale is completed we could see a rebranding and possibly a move towards more Hispanic programming.

 

[davideduardo]

Chances are that once the sale is completed we could see a rebranding and possibly a move towards more Hispanic programming.

MundoFox was already 100% in Spanish. How could it be "more Hispanic" under sole RadioCadenaNacional Colombian ownership?

 

[Bill_W]

Does it stay as a subchannel on all the Fox owned stations?

 

[DToTheJ]

If it retains the MundoFox branding, more than likely.

 

[Sammi Brie]

If it retains the MundoFox branding, more than likely.

They've promptly unloaded the name too. Meet MundoMax: http://www.mediamoves.com/2015/07/m...cancels-national-newscast-lays-off-staff.html

This is the worst branding execution ever. The channel bug has not changed. The logo hasn't either. I'm watching it now and it hasn't changed. The website hasn't moved. Only Facebook and Instagram tell you that they have a new name.

They have also cut their national newscast and its staff, I should note.

 

[nathannah]

They've promptly unloaded the name too. Meet MundoMax: http://www.mediamoves.com/2015/07/m...cancels-national-newscast-lays-off-staff.html

This is the worst branding execution ever. The channel bug has not changed. The logo hasn't either. I'm watching it now and it hasn't changed. The website hasn't moved. Only Facebook and Instagram tell you that they have a new name.

They have also cut their national newscast and its staff, I should note.

Do they not realize how many Spanish networks are suffixed with "Max"? First thing comes to mind; simple confusion with BandaMax, a Televisa product with Univision backing which could rather easily get RCN into court and force them to change the name real quick. And Google's top result? A Brazillian music store. I assume won't be happy to see their brand co-opted.

In a matter of days this network went from trying to take down Univision and Telemundo, to trying to survive against Estrella TV, the worst Spanish-language network out there. This is making the G4/Style/Esquire bungle look well-planned.

 

[Sammi Brie]

Do they not realize how many Spanish networks are suffixed with "Max"? First thing comes to mind; simple confusion with BandaMax, a Televisa product with Univision backing which could rather easily get RCN into court and force them to change the name real quick. And Google's top result? A Brazillian music store. I assume won't be happy to see their brand co-opted.

In a matter of days this network went from trying to take down Univision and Telemundo, to trying to survive against Estrella TV, the worst Spanish-language network out there. This is making the G4/Style/Esquire bungle look well-planned.

To me, it's like Telemundo and Cinemax had a baby. This whole rebrand was very poorly (and probably quickly) thought out. I mean, I still see MundoFox on the TV, on the website, and on Twitter (Facebook and Instagram have changed their names but nothing else). Fox probably told RCN "you need to rebrand the network within two weeks/15 days of this breakup". This is the result.

 

[Ultimajock]

Does it stay as a subchannel on all the Fox owned stations?

...it never was such. In Los Angeles, for instance, it was on the .1 of KWHY, and not anywhere on the signals of KTTV or KCOP...

 

[JayR]

They've promptly unloaded the name too. Meet MundoMax: http://www.mediamoves.com/2015/07/m...cancels-national-newscast-lays-off-staff.html

This is the worst branding execution ever. The channel bug has not changed. The logo hasn't either. I'm watching it now and it hasn't changed. The website hasn't moved. Only Facebook and Instagram tell you that they have a new name.

They have also cut their national newscast and its staff, I should note.

The newscast will be filled by "quality" programming:

That time slot will be filled by “Lo más Intrépido,” a compilation of extreme action videos.