Independent free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) platform DistroTV announced a new Spanish-language bundle, DistroTV Espanol. The free-to-stream package includes over 20 Spanish-speaking channels, available to audiences in the U.S., as well as in Latin America.
The new bundle includes movie channels that show films either produced in Spanish or dubbed, among them award-winners and independent features. Additionally there are Entertainment and Lifestyle channels, as well as the Euronews Espanol channel for news and opinion.
Read more: 2022 Predictions: CTV and cross-channel advertising
By breaking into Latin America, DistroTV is making it easier for audiences to see many shows that are produced in their country but weren’t available through free ad-supported channels. For U.S. audiences, they will be able to access programming not available through other OTT services.
Why we care. The growth of free, ad-supported streaming TV depends on the kind of programming and, of course, the audience.
A recent study we reported on suggested that U.S. consumers might be leveling off in their appetite for ad-supported streaming. But still, about three quarters of the public are interested. This is a massive audience for advertisers that want to run ads on streaming.
And as the expansion of DistroTV shows, there are many flavors of ad-supported streaming. It’s one thing to choose an ad-free version of HBO Max over the one with ads, when your intent is to watch widely-distributed feature films uninterrupted. But for Spanish-speaking news and lifestyle programming you can’t get elsewhere or don’t wish to pay for, ads might be more readily accepted as part of the value exchange.
About The Author
Chris Wood draws on over 15 years of reporting experience as a B2B editor and journalist. At DMN, he served as associate editor, offering original analysis on the evolving marketing tech landscape. He has interviewed leaders in tech and policy, from Canva CEO Melanie Perkins, to former Cisco CEO John Chambers, and Vivek Kundra, appointed by Barack Obama as the country’s first federal CIO. He is especially interested in how new technologies, including voice and blockchain, are disrupting the marketing world as we know it. In 2019, he moderated a panel on “innovation theater” at Fintech Inn, in Vilnius. In addition to his marketing-focused reporting in industry trades like Robotics Trends, Modern Brewery Age and AdNation News, Wood has also written for KIRKUS, and contributes fiction, criticism and poetry to several leading book blogs. He studied English at Fairfield University, and was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. He lives in New York.
