By published 6 May 22
Canela also detailed plans for its Innovation Labs in Silicon Valley, which is spearheaded by former Pluto TV chief product officer Shampa Banerjee
NEW YORK—Canela Media has announced plans to launch Canela Kids, a new Spanish-language AVOD destination for kids on August 16 and unveiled plans for their recently launched Innovation Labs division based in Silicon Valley.
During the NewFronts, Canela Media, which reaches more than 50 million unique Hispanics across its 180+ premium Spanish-language sites, also announced plans to more than double the amount of originals on its Canela.TV service. Since its rollout in May 2020, Canela.TV has garnered over 15 million unique users for the service, which is currently available in the U.S. and Latin America.
The new Canela Kids AVOD streaming service will offer about 1,500 hours of programing at launch.
Canela Media Innovation Labs, centered in Silicon Valley, also revealed plans to reinvent production, distribution and revenue models for the entertainment media.
Chief product and technology officer (CPTO) Dr. Shampa Banerjee, who had served as an executive vice president at ViacomCBS and the chief product officer for Pluto TV explained during the NewFront presentation that “our strategy, to integrate users’ growing needs with a Hispanic-facing community anchored in social listening, collaboration with creators and artists, and the ability to integrate their virtual currencies into the platform to purchase music videos and NFTs, is just the beginning.”
Based on their research into the tech savvy Latino community’s use of game dynamics, visual AI and cutting edge Web 3.0 community-focused tools, the company plans to make their experiences even more immersive with AR and VR.
For example, the Innovation Labs will have the power to make visual searches or replace stars’ faces with users’ own to create engaging snippets, and fans will have the ability to hangout and interact with their favorite artists and actors with social viewing and listening, the company reported.
In addition, audiences will be rewarded through a unique blockchain ecosystem, including virtual currencies, where they turn their time into real prizes, allowing brands to advertise with trust and creators to collaborate directly with their fans. Music fans will also have the opportunity to support rising artists with early access to music videos as NFTs.
Canela Media’s Innovation Labs is supported by the company’s recent oversubscribed $32 million Series A funding round, making Canela Media the single largest funded, Latino-owned company and a company with the 4th largest amount of funding for a female in the media industry.
George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.
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