MEXICO CITY -- Hispanic publishing powerhouse Impremedia has inked a deal with Televisa for digital distribution of the Mexican conglom's content in the U.S. despite Televisa's looming court date.
Accord comes on the heels of the Jan. 22 out-of-court settlement between Spanish-language media giants Univision and Televisa over a programming licensing agreement that expires in 2017 — a settlement for which the only remaining question is online distribution rights.
The matter will be settled in a federal district court in Los Angeles on March 3 if the parties do not resolve the issue earlier. Regardless, Televisa feels that it is within its rights to move forward with the Impremedia deal.
"This is permissible under the prior and new programming license agreement," said Televisa lawyer Marshall Grossman of Bingham McCutchen.
The deal, announced Tuesday, would allow Impremedia, in conjunction with California-based digital solutions provider Globefish Media, to market ringtones, wallpaper, music, games and other downloads tied to Televisa's popular television and music programming and celebrities, ranging in cost from 99¢ to $4.99.
"We will now be able to bring Latinos of all ages the best Hispanic entertainment, directly to their most personal device -- the mobile phone," said Impremedia prexy Arturo Duran.
The U.S. Hispanic media outlet noted an M:Metrics survey showing that 71% of English-speaking Hispanics consume mobile content in the U.S., making them among the most active and engaged mobile-content consumers
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