Spanish-language media giant Univision is stepping up its streaming game. The company has launched its own direct-to-consumer streaming service, Univision Now, which provides live broadcasts of the Univision and UniMás networks, as well as on-demand access for shows for up to seven days after their on-air premier, all for $6 per month.
The new streaming service is available in app form for iOS and Android, and offers viewers the opportunity to watch everything from sports to soap operas. That’s especially cool for soccer fans: the company has the right to digitally stream all matches from Mexico’s extremely-popular soccer league Liga MX, as well as Major League Soccer matches.
Univision Now also includes streams of news broadcasts in New York, Los Angeles, and Houston.
Creating its own in-house streaming service is a smart way to maintain subscribers in a world that is increasingly going digital, and shows that the company is focused on maintaining its high viewership numbers.
“Our loyal and passionate audience leads the market in live television viewing, and also over indexes on smartphone penetration and digital video consumption,” said president of content distribution and corporate business development Tonia O’Connor in a statement about the new service. “Our goal is to serve all U.S. Hispanics.”
For a channel like Univision, which has a relatively captive audience among the Hispanic community in the United States, it’s a smart play by executives looking to keep the company’s audiences happy. The move also secures Univision a spot in a more diverse array of Internet streaming content, which is becoming increasingly available to Spanish-speakers online.
“Providing access to our broadcast networks, Univision and UniMás, on mobile devices is critical to our mission to entertain, empower and inform,” said O’Connor of the service.
Univision Now will also allow the company to serve users who are on the go, who do not have regular access to a television set, or who simply don’t want to pay for a typical cable subscription.
