News Corp, Colombia's RCN to develop 'MundoFox' US broadcast net

[easttxtv]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204624204577177040922692750.html

The article (on page B10 in Monday's WSJ) says they want to launch in the fall, and they are already talking to several stations. The 2 firms plan a lineup of news, movies, sports, and scripted/variety shows. RCN will produce 2 daily newscasts, and has 11,000 hours of content to contribute to the future channel.

I wonder when the point will come when the US has enough--or too many--Spanish broadcast channels.

 

[Markxxx]

I'm assuming this will be a subchannel network for the most part. If that is the case, then I can see their point. Why not use some of that bandwidth for a subchannel on their Fox and MyNetwork TV O&O stations

 

[radiojomo]

This is actually big news for Hispanic broadcasting. As seen with Fox and Fox News Channel, News Corp. is dangerous when it comes to starting up new networks. They have a lot of capital to fund the venture and it won't be a "temporary thing".
Univision and Telemundo (NBComcastUniversal) should be very scared that such a big player is coming into scope out their viewers. NBC should know about this. It's exactly what Fox did to the "Big Three".
As far as their affiliates, I have a good feeling that News Corp. is going to flip their 10 MyNetwork stations to this network and try to convince some more affiliates to go along with the change. Fox has their work cut out for them, the big problem is acquiring content.

 

[arnoldevns]

Fox will not flip their My Network TV affiliates. This will be a subchannel/cable type of venture.

 

[radiojomo]

Fox will not flip their My Network TV affiliates. This will be a subchannel/cable type of venture.

This is going to be bigger than a subchannel/cable venture as far as I know.
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/NewsCorp-MundoFox/2012/01/23/id/425239

Lopez said MundoFox is seeking affiliate agreements with large TV stations that are independent and already broadcast in Spanish, although it would also seek English-language or other language stations willing to make the switch.

My only guess would be that in a large Hispanic populated market like Los Angeles, News Corp would see it more fit to let go MNT and try out something new that could gain more traction.

 

[Mediafrog+]

My only guess would be that in a large Hispanic populated market like Los Angeles, News Corp would see it more fit to let go MNT and try out something new that could gain more traction.

A market such as Houston, perhaps? Large and rapidly expanding Hispanic population. Fox has O&O KRIV for the main network, and KTXH for MNT. Houston also has five full-power Spanish language stations running Univision, Telefutura, Telemundo, Estrella TV, and MegaTV, all O&O's.

If Fox plans to flip any of its MNT stations, you would think Houston would be in the mix.

 

[stationi]

It is interesting that they are pursuing full-power stations as main affiliations.

They said they are looking at independent Spanish stations to flip. Unfortunately for them, there are not that many independent Spanish full-power stations left. The only ones that come to mind are KWHY in Los Angeles, WGEN in Key West/Miami, and a handful of stations in Puerto Rico.

They might want to consider a deal with or acquisition of Spanish Broadcasting Systems' Mega TV. Mega TV has a rimshot full-power in the Miami market with must carry rights, a full-power in Houston, and several station affiliations already in place.

Is MundoFox a threat to Univision or Telemundo? I don't think so. Univision has all the hot programming, best distribution of any Spanish network, top talent and a huge radio network to promote their network. Telemundo also has pretty good distribution, pretty good programming, and great financial backing from its parent company.

 

[dhett]

If MundoFox wants full-power coverage in Phoenix, they're probably going to have to flip their MyNetwork station, KUTP. I don't see Belo switching over either their indie KTVK or their CW station KASW, and I don't see KAZT flipping their indie, either. In Tucson, either the MyNetwork or CW stations might be in play, but I wouldn't count on either.

KMCC might be a possibility for Vegas, but I'm not sure if they have must-carry status there.

I think MundoFox will have to get on the primary subchannel of a full-power station in order to get cable coverage - I don't see cable picking them up on a LPTV station or a secondary subchannel, at least not in the early going.

 

[radiojomo]

Is MundoFox a threat to Univision or Telemundo? I don't think so. Univision has all the hot programming, best distribution of any Spanish network, top talent and a huge radio network to promote their network. Telemundo also has pretty good distribution, pretty good programming, and great financial backing from its parent company.

That's what people said when Murdoch was launching Fox and Fox News Channel. No one thought anyone could beat NBC or CNN. But they did. News Corp is also a very well endowed company and if they take this venture as seriously as they took the launch of Fox, then they will end up becoming a serious competitor. Murdoch knows that the basis to the launch of a successful network is sports, and Fox Deportes has a great hold on that.

 

[JeeperOne]

This is actually big news for Hispanic broadcasting. As seen with Fox and Fox News Channel, News Corp. is dangerous when it comes to starting up new networks. They have a lot of capital to fund the venture and it won't be a "temporary thing".
Univision and Telemundo (NBComcastUniversal) should be very scared that such a big player is coming into scope out their viewers. NBC should know about this. It's exactly what Fox did to the "Big Three".

Telemundo has the most to fear as they don't have very good O&O's (Let alone affiliates). Univision is a VERY popular network that gets high ratings & big stations for O&O's & affiliates

As far as their affiliates, I have a good feeling that News Corp. is going to flip their 10 MyNetwork stations to this network and try to convince some more affiliates to go along with the change.

I can't see them flipping WWOR 9 or KCOP 13 (Especially the latter) to this new network however the others are fair game. As far as their affiliates go, I think it's safe to rule out both of the Gannett owned affiliates as they don't own a single Latin station

Cheers & 73 ;D

 

[Mediafrog+]

A market such as Houston, perhaps? Large and rapidly expanding Hispanic population. Fox has O&O KRIV for the main network, and KTXH for MNT. Houston also has five full-power Spanish language stations running Univision, Telefutura, Telemundo, Estrella TV, and MegaTV, all O&O's.

If Fox plans to flip any of its MNT stations, you would think Houston would be in the mix.

Actually I forgot about the Azteca America station, so Houston has six full power Spanish language stations. It would be a crowded field, but I just don't see Fox passing up the market.

 

[mnradiofan]

Reading between the lines, this could spell the end for MNT, at least on Fox O&O stations. If they want to hit the ground running and be a serious competitor to Univision, this would be the quickest way to do that.

This would give them immediate affiliates in New York, LA, Chicago, Dallas, DC, Houston, Phoenix, Minneapolis, Orlando, and Baltimore. That covers 9 of the top 20 markets, and 4 of the top 5 with little or no effort.

 

[justpassingthough]

Rupert Murdoch is a sly dog. As most of the national media has pointed out, there is no path to a Republican in the White House that doesn't include 40% of Latinos voting for the Republican candidate. If MundoFox has the ability to aid in reaching an audience unserved by a conservative viewpoint, and make money in the process, then Murdoch would be stupid to pass up the opportunity.

And to think, a fall launch would be square in the center of political advertising season...

 

[mnradiofan]

Rupert Murdoch is a sly dog. As most of the national media has pointed out, there is no path to a Republican in the White House that doesn't include 40% of Latinos voting for the Republican candidate. If MundoFox has the ability to aid in reaching an audience unserved by a conservative viewpoint, and make money in the process, then Murdoch would be stupid to pass up the opportunity.

And to think, a fall launch would be square in the center of political advertising season...

Could very much take on a liberal slant too, much as Fox and FX have taken on (unless you can tell me how Family Guy, Archer, It's Always Sunny, etc fit into the republican agenda). It seems like the entertainment arm holds a liberal slant, while the news arm plays to conservatives. What division will be in charge of the network, Fox Entertainment, or Fox News?

 

[mjlarochelle]

I HIGHLY doubt FOX would flip WWOR/9 to this network on its main channel, because of the politics of the area. WWOR provides a local news service in New Jersey as a result of the city of license move in the early 1980s that came out of the RKO debacle, and New Jersey legislators have kept a close eye on the station to make sure it doesn't stray off to NYC.

Question: In the United States, do station operators have to get permission from the FCC to broadcast in a language other than English?

 

[justpassingthough]

Rupert Murdoch is a sly dog. As most of the national media has pointed out, there is no path to a Republican in the White House that doesn't include 40% of Latinos voting for the Republican candidate. If MundoFox has the ability to aid in reaching an audience unserved by a conservative viewpoint, and make money in the process, then Murdoch would be stupid to pass up the opportunity.

And to think, a fall launch would be square in the center of political advertising season...

Could very much take on a liberal slant too, much as Fox and FX have taken on (unless you can tell me how Family Guy, Archer, It's Always Sunny, etc fit into the republican agenda). It seems like the entertainment arm holds a liberal slant, while the news arm plays to conservatives. What division will be in charge of the network, Fox Entertainment, or Fox News?

Agreed- and it sounds like this will very much be controlled by the Entertainment division. However, when Fox stations air national news (which is few and far between save for the Sunday Morning program), its the same anchors/commentators from Fox News, which tend to be more conservative in their slant. Tonight's State of the Union coverage that will air on Fox affiliates will illustrate that.

Even if the news is a small part of MundoFox, it could very well be an inroad into the Latino audience. I don't anticipate it will play a large part in the network, though.

 

[Nate Wesley]

Rupert Murdoch is a sly dog. As most of the national media has pointed out, there is no path to a Republican in the White House that doesn't include 40% of Latinos voting for the Republican candidate. If MundoFox has the ability to aid in reaching an audience unserved by a conservative viewpoint, and make money in the process, then Murdoch would be stupid to pass up the opportunity.

And to think, a fall launch would be square in the center of political advertising season...

Not the biggest fan of Murdoch or Fox News Channel, but I'm pretty sure getting the good conservative word out to Spanish-speaking households is pretty low on the goals for this particular network effort.

An Fox News Channel SAP offering would do what you talk about much better, assuming they'd dare to promote multilingualism.

 

[radiojomo]

From what I've seen and heard from press releases, MundoFox seems to be targeting an edgy, younger audience, similar to the audience Univision was looking for in Telefutura.

It really comes down to who has the most money and the best programming. RCN has developed programming that has been fairly successful for Telefutura, so Fox has great support on content creation. What really is going to help out the network is sports programming and I would not be surprised if Fox tries to lure away Univision talent.

Azteca is a pretty giant broadcaster in Mexico, so I don't think that they would agree to a buy out of their US operations from Fox. Estrella TV will probably just fade to dust because of the Fox network.

 

[recto101]

Well NewsCorp is best know for running the biggest media empire in the UK, Australia as Sky and USA as Fox I hope it leans more like Fox Sports Net. But my doubts would be Colombians would not like to watch Mundofox because of the News of the world thing back in the UK and they will protest and boycott it like what happened in the UK and to some extent the USA when 9/11 families were spied on. But I like to watch Fox myself only for 49ers games, NY giants games NFC games and MLB games and my sister would like to watch Fox for X-Factor and Idol not for the Tabloid and Propaganda stuff.

Rupert Murdoch is a sly dog. As most of the national media has pointed out, there is no path to a Republican in the White House that doesn't include 40% of Latinos voting for the Republican candidate. If MundoFox has the ability to aid in reaching an audience unserved by a conservative viewpoint, and make money in the process, then Murdoch would be stupid to pass up the opportunity.

And to think, a fall launch would be square in the center of political advertising season...

Not the biggest fan of Murdoch or Fox News Channel, but I'm pretty sure getting the good conservative word out to Spanish-speaking households is pretty low on the goals for this particular network effort.

An Fox News Channel SAP offering would do what you talk about much better, assuming they'd dare to promote multilingualism.

 

[recto101]

This is actually big news for Hispanic broadcasting. As seen with Fox and Fox News Channel, News Corp. is dangerous when it comes to starting up new networks. They have a lot of capital to fund the venture and it won't be a "temporary thing".
Univision and Telemundo (NBComcastUniversal) should be very scared that such a big player is coming into scope out their viewers. NBC should know about this. It's exactly what Fox did to the "Big Three".

Telemundo has the most to fear as they don't have very good O&O's (Let alone affiliates). Univision is a VERY popular network that gets high ratings & big stations for O&O's & affiliates

As far as their affiliates, I have a good feeling that News Corp. is going to flip their 10 MyNetwork stations to this network and try to convince some more affiliates to go along with the change.

I can't see them flipping WWOR 9 or KCOP 13 (Especially the latter) to this new network however the others are fair game. As far as their affiliates go, I think it's safe to rule out both of the Gannett owned affiliates as they don't own a single Latin station

Cheers & 73 ;D

How about putting Mundofox on "Subchannels" of KCOP 13 and WWOR 9. or KICU 36 in Oakland . Look Mundofox does not have to be on WWOR 9