Pongalo CEO Jorge Granier
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, U.S.-based Latino digital media company Pongalo (formerly Latin Everywhere) announced that it has launched a preview of its new global subscription streaming service allowing consumers to ¡Dale Play! (hit play) on over 10,000 hours of hit telenovelas and a Pongalo original, Hollywood blockbuster movies, TV series, documentaries, and kids programming in Spanish with additional content being added weekly.
Pongalo, which offers the largest collection of telenovelas currently available on a single, global digital platform, debuts at a price of US$5.99 per month in the U.S., and includes one-month free with a paid monthly subscription.
“Latinos own more mobile devices than any other demographic, they have US$1.6 trillion of buying power, and they over-consume entertainment…and yet, they’re still drastically under-served in digital media. What better time than during Hispanic Heritage Month to launch a premium subscription streaming service that is tailored made for our audience,” said Pongalo CEO Jorge Granier.
As part of the new service, Pongalo subscribers will have exclusive access to the world digital premiere of its original telenovela Piel Salvaje (co-produced with RCTV Productions), a story of two families divided by power, vengeance and love, starring Miss Universe runner-up Irene Esser and Carlos Felipe Álvarez.
In addition, a second original telenovela will be coming soon to the service, which also features the greatest classic telenovelas of all time from Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia, including Kassandra, La Mujer de Judas, El Cartel de los Sapos, and Juana la Virgen, the basis for the hit U.S. television series Jane the Virgin.
Granier and Pongalo´s Chairman Rich Hull said in a joint statement: “Over the past two years, we really took the time to build our programming expertise through successful partnerships with our friends at Netflix and Hulu, and then by building our own audience on YouTube, which will surpass 3 billion views this year. As such, audiences can be certain that, with a Pongalo subscription, they’ll be seeing a robust offering of their favorite content within an authentically-Latino experience – all at about half the price of general population services.”
While a U.S. leader has yet to emerge in the nascent Spanish-language SVOD OTT space, the robust market potential has been validated by recent announcements about upcoming Latino-focused streaming services from major media players, such as Cox Communications’ Glosi, and a new partnership formed this month by Lionsgate and Univision to stream Spanish-language movies.
