Speaking about the impetus behind JumpTV’s recent decision to concentrate its efforts on solely sports and Latino content, President Nada Usina told Portada, “JumpTV’s original focus was ethnic programming around the world, and we owned the rights for over 300 channels. We were a mile wide and an inch deep,” said Usina, adding, “We were spread way too thin.”
Usina says that when the company took an objective look at their assets and expertise, the way forward was clear. “It was really a matter of leveraging our resources in the most productive manner. It made good sense to focus on Latin programming and sports content.”
A major offshoot of that decision was JumpTV’s securing the rights to the World Cup qualifying matches, for which JumpTV has exclusive digital and mobile distribution rights, as well as a stake in the profits generated by all other means of dissemination, including broadcast. This was achieved through a partnership with Sports Capital Partners (SCP) in New York. “Our interest is to be able to capture digital content one time and spit it out in a variety of mediums, in a format that is optimized for each,” says Usina. The company’s World Cup qualifiers mobile package will consist of scores, alerts, a video package of highlights and possibly some live game coverage.
“We see this as a huge step for the company, as we effectively own the rights to one of the premier sports properties available,” says Usina. She says that while they are not yet ready to announce any advertising partnerships for the event, they are currently considering there options as laid-out in an ongoing bidding process.
The company is also evaluating and optimizing its business model. “We have a very strong platform for an advertising-driven model,” says Usina, “but we also have an active subscriber base that figures into the equation.” Usina notes that while subscription-based services make sense in some markets, they do not in others where there is no precedent for such a model.
The site currently has the rights to 90 Latin American TV channels and is developing a pan-Caribbean subscription offering with some premium programming thrown in as well.
JumpTV measures 10 million unique visitors and currently ha a 100,000 person subscriber base.
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