Comcast has expanded its streaming Now TV Latino service to include live channels from Univision and access to the streaming service Vix.
The new channels added to Now TV Latino include the local feed of Univision in a subscriber’s market, plus access to the national feeds of Galavision, sports channel TUDN (Televisa-Univision Deportes Network) and Zona TUDN, in addition to Vix Premium with Ads.
With the addition of the new channels, Comcast plans to raise the price of Now TV Latino to $15 per month, a $5 price bump, which the company says better reflects the value of the package. The price increase will take effect in November.
Now TV Latino is accessible through the Xfinity Stream app on supported devices, including Comcast’s own Xumo Stream Box. In addition to four dozen premium broadcast and cable networks, Now TV Latino includes nearly dozens of free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels and more than 20 Music Choice channels.
Comcast planned to announce the new channels and price increase on Monday, according to a press release circulated to some reporters and news outlets early. Televisa-Univision CEO Daniel Alegre broke the news early through a social media post on Friday.
“Xfinity Now TV Latino now includes our Univision, UniMás and our incredible portfolio of channels,” Alegre wrote in his post. “Great to see our programming reaching even more Hispanics.”
“As we continue to deepen our commitment to Hispanic audiences, the expanded NOW TV Latino delivers even more of the content our customers love — from blockbuster movies and hit novelas to live fútbol and trusted news, all at an unbeatable price,” Javier Garcia, the Senior Vice President of Multicultural Strategy at Comcast, said in a prepared statement. “With seamless access via our 4K Streaming Box and Xfinity Stream app, it’s never been easier to enjoy the best in Spanish and English-language entertainment.”
The addition of Univision’s channels to Now TV Latino is a bit of good news for the Spanish-language broadcaster, which was dropped by sports-centric Fubo in January and pulled from Google-owned streamer YouTube TV last month.
In the latter dispute, executives at Televisa-Univision said Google wanted to relegate its channels to a more-expensive programming tier, which would have effectively amounted to a “Hispanic tax.” Google did not deny wanting to move the channels to a separate Spanish-language package, but said Televisa-Univision’s viewership on its platform didn’t justify continued carriage of the channels when the broadcaster was asking for more money through distribution fees.
Televisa-Univision still reaches millions of pay TV customers through its distribution agreements with Charter’s Spectrum TV, Dish Network, DIRECTV, Verizon Fios and the Walt Disney Company’s Hulu with Live TV, among other providers.
