Oscar De La Hoya is taking a swing at television.
The boxing legend and promoter is launching De La Hoya TV, a Spanish-language sports and lifestyle channel aimed primarily at Hispanic men who follow boxing and other combat sports.
The network will be offered to distributors as a free video-on-demand service starting in the spring before transitioning to a traditional channel with a subscriber fee.
Mr. De La Hoya will become the latest celebrity to try his hand at television.
Oprah Winfrey teamed up with
Discovery Communications Inc. to launch OWN in 2011. Channels backed by other entertainers and athletes include Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s Aspire, P. Diddy ’s Revolt and Jennifer Lopez ’s NUVOtv.
“This is considered a sexy business to be in,” said Derek Baine, an analyst with media industry consulting firm SNL Kagan. “Many people look at the top- line numbers and see huge growth and 40% to 60% margins, not realizing this is mostly generated by big networks that have been on the air for 20 years.”
In an interview, Mr. De La Hoya said the channel’s content will focus on the lifestyle associated with boxing and mixed martial arts, both of which are very popular among young Spanish men.
“Boxing has so many characters and celebrities.…Why not give the fans the opportunity to experience through De La Hoya TV how their heroes live?” he said. Mr. De La Hoya also plans to have an on-air presence on the channel.
Mr. De La Hoya is investing his own money in the venture and will serve as chairman. Victor Hugo Montero, founder of the Venezuelan network Sun Channel, will run the day-to-day operations as executive vice president and general manager. Jose “Pepe” Gomez, who heads the promotion company Cancun Boxing and founded Mexican media company Group Quequi, will be executive chairman.
De La Hoya TV has just started pitching the network to major distributors and hopes to be available in 20 million homes by the end of 2015, Mr. Montero said.
Launching a new channel may be as tough as fighting Floyd Mayweather, especially for an independent programmer in an industry dominated by giants. If a channel isn't carried by big distributors like
Comcast Corp. ,
DirecTV or
Dish Network , its chances of succeeding are slim.
“It’s extremely difficult to make it if you’re not backed by one of the major media companies,” said SNL Kagan’s Mr. Baine.
De La Hoya TV is betting the channel will appeal to pay-TV distributors who are struggling to attract new customers and keep current ones from cutting the cord. “This is an opportunity to provide unique content that is in demand in the Hispanic community,” Mr. Montero said.
