The ViX is in

Mazón emphasises the opportunities ViX+ has to cater to the hundreds of millions of people around the world who speak Spanish and, accordingly, the streamer is aiming to offer as broad a range of programming as possible, including “edgier stuff” for adults, with the bulk of the slate coming out of Mexico.

“Certainly, across Mexico and Lat Am, we’re appealing to the entire population, so we need to make content, and are making content, that runs the gamut of it all. Whether it’s unscripted, scripted, documentaries, film or series, across all the genres, we know that to get someone to want to pay for something, you need to have something for everyone,” says Mazón.

One area Mazón says isn’t a focus for ViX+ is shiny-floor shows that are more suitable for linear TV, but otherwise it’s anything that might get tweens, teens, the whole family and adults interested in the service.

ViX+ has agreed deals with companies such as Spain’s The Mediapro Studio in order to build its vast content pipeline, although TelevisaUnivision CEO Wade Davis said in late 2022 that the service is not likely to launch in Spain until 2024.

Meanwhile, the roll-out in most of Latin America is being done through partnerships with multichannel video programming distributors, broadband companies and other online retailers. “We are already investing in content in addition to Mexico, including content out of Colombia and Spain,” says Mazón, adding that originals from Peru and Argentina are also on the horizon.

“Unlike some of the global streamers, which for the most part have looked to retain global rights, we’re very into the coproduction model, so we’re looking to partner with pretty much anybody interested in the type of content we make. Spain is a natural fit for obvious reasons but we’re working with other parts of Europe and through Lat Am, including Brazil,” says Mazón.

Towards the end of 2022, ViX+ announced an exclusive partnership with producer Mark Johnson (Rain Man), of Gran Via Productions, and with Exile Content for an original limited series to be produced under the banner of Televisa Alternative Originals.

Development has started on Amén (working title), which tells the story of Father Marcial Maciel, the Mexican priest who was formally accused in 1998 of corruption, graft and sexual abuse of minors by several members of his congregation and students of the Catholic religious order he founded, Legionaries of Christ.

“At ViX, we value storytelling, but as an authentically Hispanic company, we specifically seek out stories that are Latin at their core – stories that we know will resonate with our communities but also the rest of the world. We believe it is our responsibility to give a voice to projects that matter to Latin American audiences.

“In the case of Amén, we are telling a story that originates in Mexico, that grew to global importance, ultimately threatening one of the most powerful institutions, the Catholic church, as well as some of the highest echelons of society,” says Mazón.

Among the originals already renewed by ViX+ for second seasons is La Noche Del Diablito, the 3Pas Studiosproduced series in which Mexican actor and comedian Mauricio Barrientos, better known as El Diablito, and cohost Paloma Cedeño travel around Mexico City to talk with celebrity guests about life, relationships, sex and human connection. The show is part of TelevisaUnivision’s firstlook deal with 3Pas Studios, the entertainment company co-founded by Eugenio Derbez and his producing partner Ben Odell.

Vix+ recently launched Travesuras De La Niña Mala (Bad Girl), its adaptation of the 2006 novel of the same name by Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010, written by seasoned scriptwriter María López Castaño and produced by W Studios.

Filmed in Paris, London and Mexico City, the romantic drama stars Macarena Achaga (Father of the Bride) as a non-conformist and adventurous young woman and Juan Pablo Di Pace (The Mattachine Family) as a man trapped in a predictable routine.

Mazón expects the AVoD side of the global TV business to continue growing, particularly as “the economy gets a little more challenged in the next year or so.” The AVoD tier acts as a barker for the subscription service and also provides TelevisaUnivision with invaluable data about which parts of its library content could be ripe for a reboot.

“TelevisaUnivision has one of the largest, if not the largest, content libraries in the world, primarily telenovelas. Putting them on an AVoD service is a great way for people to discover them, including children, and a way to find the jewels in the vault and reboot them with higher production values and more suitable for streaming,” says Mazón.

While SVoD is a key aspect of the business, Mazón is fully aware that the style of viewing it encourages is not always what everyone wants all of the time.

“The challenge with subscription streaming services like the ones that have become global players is that it’s a very lean-forward experience. What we have found is people just want to lean back and put on a channel like they used to on traditional television and find something great to watch and be programmed to, rather than spending time navigating a big library trying to see what you might want to watch on a Friday night,” observes Mazón.

“FAST [free, ad-supported streaming TV] channels are a great way for that to happen. We have over 100 of them and will continue to personalise them and find better ways for people to tune in.

“We use a mix of programming experts and data. We look at what people are watching, what they’re interested in, what else they are watching on demand and then work on programming channels accordingly.”

Meanwhile, as the streaming revolution enters a new era of competition and, potentially, consolidation, Mazón expects the options available to consumers to continue to grow. “There’s no doubt the competition has got more intense. So that requires all of us to be even more strategic, even more dedicated and invested in what we’re doing.

“Despite the fact there’s this economic slowdown coming, I do think the pandemic slowed down productions so much that there’s a lot of content that has been produced and is being produced post-pandemic, and all of that content is going to primarily hit in 2023 and 2024.

“So there’ll be a flood of incredible content and therefore incredible choice added to that competition. Our focus is Spanish-language and Latin Hispanic culture and our advantage among all these players is our ability to resonate culturally with those 600 million Spanish speakers around the world.”