Televisa & Viacom LatAM Joins Forces.

Viacom’s MTV Networks Latin America and Televisa have entered into a strategic alliance that will expand their existing relationship to include other key areas of business in order to grow both operations in terms of high quality content and distribution. The announcement was made by Pierluigi Gazzolo, Senior Vice President of Distribution, MTV Networks Latin America and José Bastón, Televisa’s Corporate Vicepresident of Television.

The multi-year agreement will add MTV Networks Latin America’s licensing, merchandising and publishing businesses to the existing pay TV and broadcast distribution agreements with Televisa. Carriage for MTV, Nickelodeon and VH1 will continue on Sky Mexico and Cablevision. Additionally, transmission for the MTVN Digital services (MTV Hits, MTV Jams, VH1 Soul, VH1 Megahits and GAS) will continue on Cablevision. Lastly under the existing broadcast agreement, Channel 5 will continue airing Nickelodeon programming blocks that include such shows as “Rugrats”, “Dora the Explorer”, “Spongebob”, “Jimmy Neutron” and “Blues Clues” to name a few. Furthermore, both companies will continue to work together to strengthen this relationship by exploring other opportunities.

“This partnership brings together two powerhouses with great expertise in complementing areas,” said Gazzolo. “Televisa’s strong leadership as a multimedia company and its broad distribution capability, joined with MTV Networks Latin America’s impressive brand awareness and its high quality international content take the multimedia market in Mexico to a whole new level”.

“Consolidating our relationship in this way really speaks to the business opportunities we see in Mexico when content and distribution work together,” added Jose Bastón. “Televisa has a unique relationship with their customers and this partnership will reflect Televisa’s permanent concern for its audiences by offering fresh and relevant content to the consumers.”

Under the agreement, Televisa will be the exclusive licensing agent for Nickelodeon’s consumer products in Mexico. This marks the first time a global entertainment powerhouse such as MTV Networks has partnered with a broadcaster in Mexico to manage their licensing and merchandising business. Televisa’s licensing team will lead the growth of Nick’s hit properties such as “SpongeBob”, “Dora the Explorer”, and “Rugrats”, among others, as well as help launch a portfolio of new properties.

“For the first time ever, one of the strongest kids’ entertainment franchises and the biggest media company in the Spanish-speaking world, will work together to create a strong and unmatchable licensing team in this market,” said Manuel Torres, VP Consumer Products Latin America & MTVN International. “This unique agreement will allow the licensees and retailers in the market to plan their business with more accuracy.”

On the publishing side, Editorial Televisa division will be in charge of the re-launch of Revista Nick, which is scheduled December 2004. The general entertainment magazine will feature humorous Mexican and international content targeted to kids aged 6-14 and will include Nick comics, behind-the-scenes from movies and TV, Nick programming information, celebrity interviews, sports, activities and more. The monthly magazine will be advertiser supported and sold through news stands and subscription. Editorial Televisa will also produce two special issues including one that will support the feature film release of “SpongeBob”.

“Joining forces with Latin America’s biggest magazine publisher gives us an opportunity to go beyond our channel reach with content and creativity that will give Spanish-speaking kids a fun and interactive experience as part of their play and learning time,” said Sofia Ioannou, SVP Business Affairs and General Counsel MTV Networks Latin America.