The Hispanic group has acquired the remaining 75% stake of Pantaya from Lionsgate, becoming the sole owner of the VOD platform, which currently has over 900,000 subscribers in the US Hispanic market.
Hemisphere Media Group, the only publicly traded pure-play US media company targeting the high growth U.S. Hispanic and Latin American markets with leading broadcast and cable television and digital content platforms, today announced that it has acquired the remaining 75% stake of Pantaya, the US Hispanic SVOD Service from its joint venture partner, global content leader, Lionsgate.
As a result of the transaction, Hemisphere now owns 100% of Pantaya, up from its previous 25% minority stake.
Launched in August of 2017, Pantaya is the first premium streaming destination for U.S. Hispanics/Latinos.
The platform, which features over 400 movies and series, has experienced outsized growth and is the clear leader in Spanish-language subscription video services. User demand has rapidly increased, and Pantaya now boasts approximately 900,000 paying subscribers, clearly demonstrating that U.S.-based Hispanics/Latinos enjoy – and want – culturally relevant, targeted streaming content. Hemisphere estimates that Pantaya’s subscriber base will grow to 2.5 to 3.0 million by the end of 2025.
“In a very short period of time, Pantaya has become the destination for U.S. Hispanics seeking premium Spanish-language movies and series,” said Hemisphere Chief Executive Officer Alan Sokol.
“Pantaya offers access to blockbuster movies, original, exclusive series and other premium, world-class content unavailable anywhere else. Pantaya’s success to date affirms the tremendous appetite of our audience for our unique content offering. Hemisphere plans to increase investment in content, expanding the output of series and movies, with the goal of accelerating subscriber growth and becoming a ‘must have’ entertainment option for the large and growing U.S. Hispanic audience.”
Pantaya Chief Executive Officer Paul Presburger, added: “As a result of our focus on exclusive premium content, our knowledge of the Hispanic consumer, and the breadth of our offering, Pantaya is now the industry’s leading streaming service for Spanish-speaking and bilingual consumers. Pantaya’s accessible price point, user-friendly interface and wide selection of the best Spanish-language content has led to significant growth. In the past year alone, Pantaya has increased its subscription base by 40 percent, and we believe we have significant runway for additional expansion ahead.”
Pantaya, Lionsgate, STARZPLAY (the international premium subscription service of STARZ) will create a strategic content relationship that encompasses Spanish-language motion picture and television co-productions along with Pantaya’s continued licensing of Spanish-language content from Lionsgate’s 17,000-title film and television library.
“We’re very proud to have helped build Pantaya into the leading premium Spanish-language platform in the U.S., and Hemisphere is the right owner to continue their growth and success,” said Lionsgate COO Brian Goldsmith. “This agreement enables us to maintain a robust strategic content relationship among Lionsgate, STARZPLAY and Pantaya that benefits Pantaya’s continued ascendancy.”
The continued long-term growth of the U.S. Hispanic population creates a significant opportunity to reach a large addressable audience. Notably, in the past decade, 52% of all U.S. population growth has been from Hispanics. The U.S. Hispanic population is expected to grow from 60.5 million today to 75 million by 2030.
In addition, of the 39 million unacculturated/bicultural adults 18+ in the U.S., 34 million are already accessing at least one streaming service, 27 million seek out shows and movies about Hispanic characters and stories, and 17 million are willing to pay for access to movies and series.
83% of Hispanics already watch video content, movies or television online, providing Hemisphere a unique advantage to reach a large, growing and untapped addressable market.
Pantaya’s content library includes critically acclaimed original titles from Pantaya’s production arm, Pantelion, as well as titles from major producers and distributors, including Hemisphere, Lionsgate and Televisa.
