Interview with Luis Villanueva, President & CEO, Venevision International: Synergy is the key

“As technology advances we consolidate ourselves”

Synergy is the key to reach the business lines and the evolution of Venevision International, which was founded more that 30 years ago, and it is property of Grupo Cisneros. Today, Venevision International controls lots of companies that cover the entire entertainment industry: production, distribution, pay TV, films, music, Internet and mobile phones. The expectations this year will be focused on the expansion and diversification both in its business lines and new territories.

How are the business divisions of Venevision international doing? 

Every division of Venevision International is in a growing and consolidation process, taking into consideration the different markets where it participates. Our programming distribution company has been a well established business for 30 years now and it is leader in the market. The Music division has two important labels in this market -VeneMusic and Siente Music-, and considering the many changes that company is going through, the results are very positive. In relation to other divisions, the films distributor has been consolidated as a pioneer of the presence of Spanish films in the US, and it continues to open windows that did not existed for the company, apart from continuing its strong presence in the traditional markets -Home Video and VOD-, and of supplying programming for pay TV –including our own channel VeneMovies, which is reaching the figure of 1 millions subscribers in less than a year -. On his side, Venevision International Productions produces over 1,500 international and high quality programming hours annually, and it is the ultimate independent US production company in Spanish language.  Lastly, Venemobile and LatCel, our businesses in the wireless and mobile entertainment arena, are in growing process.  

You have already mentioned that the company has been using the 360° exploitation concept for 20 years now. What implications does this have within the entertainment business?

The 360º concept is usually associated to the development of content for the different platforms in a synergic way. This means that the concepts and contents can be distributed and promoted in every platform, whether traditional o high-end. An example of that is our Telenovela ‘Somos Tú y Yo’, a concept that by being supported by TV programme, can be sold in discs, generates mobile content –images and ringtones – videos in Internet and even live concerts.

What would you highlight in reference to the expansion process of Venevision International? In which market has it being consolidated and which are the markets to be conquered?

The expansion process of Venevision International is supported by a growth in all the business units. We think of the entertainment as a multi platform and added value business through its synergies. That is why, as technologies advance we consolidate ourselves. We are a solid company in the traditional markets such as TV and music, and we are at the fore front of innovations as in the wireless and mobile entertainment.

V-me, the US digital TV recently announced the partnership with Venevision International for its original production ‘Estudio Billboard’. What does this agreement mean?

This agreement means that a high quality content as Billboard is being distributed by an experienced professional sales force, that has strong relationships with the clients and presence in every market of the industry. This is one of the advantages of a mutual profit that led us to a significant growth in all the markets.

What other opportunities are in the US Hispanic market?

We are paying lots of attention to the US Hispanic market, and of its evolution regarding new technologies and niches that are not covered by the traditional media.  We will be very soon announcing news regarding the projects in that area.

One of the traditional activities of Venevision International is the production of TV programming and the Telenovelas co-production, even realities and formats. How are these production lines doing?

These lines are very solid and have a very successful experience in non-traditional formats. We began with Telenovelas and then we continued with talkshows and musical shows. In that sense, our great ratings in the US and other territories indicate we are doing a great job. This product enters perfectly well in the international markets and the structures show an enormous flexibility, having the ability to produce in different countries including: Venezuela, Panama, Dominican Republic, US and Peru, considering the different competitive advantages. On the other hand, many formats such as ‘Se Necesita Una Amiga’, are being watched with lots of interest. We are having such success that we had to expand our production capacity in the US.

Venevision International has also placed a bet on the film distribution in the US. Which are the distribution and exhibition windows?

Venevision International opened the first exclusive distribution for Spanish films in the US, becoming an avant-garde company in markets as Home Video, VOD and Internet, apart from serving traditional sales of theatrical, Pay TV and Free TV.  Our presence currently includes the hospitality and in-flight sales, where we are also at the forefront. We are known in this market for the high quality of our catalog, with launchings of five to six films in the high sales month. Our success is such that we launched our 24-hour Pay TV Movie Channel, which is reaching the 1 million subscribers goal, with excellent response both in the cable operators and the audience.

“We have Internet and mobile distribution through our own music and films business units”.

How do you see the digitalization process the Latin American market is going through?

It is a going forward process that will change the media scenario in our region. However, it is influenced by the differences in our economy and the different opening scales. In that sense, we can already feel the difference among the most sophisticated economies as the one of Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Colombia, among others.

Which strategies are you developing considering that the emergent platforms are in their very peak?

We have Internet and mobile distribution through our own music and films business units. We had the vision to develop our own platform of added content and mobile distribution in the US (LatCel), leader in that market, that has connections with all the carriers of that country, and we also found Venemobile which distributes our contents globally. 

According to your experience: How do you think the digital era is going to change the entertainment experience?

We believe the companies should change to 360° vision, and go from massive viewers to the service of different platforms and segments, depending on the sophistication of each territory. It is necessary to think of synergy in order to maximize the profitability of the concepts and the investment in marketing, and we also have to watch carefully the evolution of the different technological developments.