Hispanic Digital Network (HDN), a spin-off of Miami based Hispanic PR Wire, was officially launched in December to handle web hosting and online advertising sales for, among other publications, New York based Tiempos del Mundo (weekly, circ. 30,000) and Noticias del Mundo (daily, circ. 25,000). HDN provides free, customized news websites and free web hosting to Hispanic publishers nationwide. Web sites include news/photo, classifieds, community calendar and advertising posting systems that are fully integrated and Internet-based. HDN member publications generate advertising revenues from their own locally designated ads, network ad buys and online classifieds. HDN keeps a portion of each site's advertising revenues. Most local advertising will be handled by each publication's advertising sales team. Half of the online ad inventory will be marketed by HDN to mostly national and regional advertisers. HDN will keep approximately 50% of those revenues…
…and sells a minority stake to Prensamerica.
PrensAmerica, Corp., publisher of La Raza newspaper of Chicago, acquired a minority interest in Hispanic Digital Network (HDN). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “PrensAmerica is excited about the opportunities that HDN can afford Latino publishers across the country to join the first network of US Hispanic publications on the Internet,” stated Robert J. Armband, CEO of PrensAmerica and publisher of La Raza Newspaper. “Our mission for HDN is to help facilitate its growth into becoming a robust network comprised of quality publications that generate millions of visitors each week. To this end, HDN will become a leading Internet business providing a win-win situation for both publishers and the Hispanic advertising industry,” Armband noted.
PrensAmerica Corp. was created last year when Hispania Capital Partners acquired Rossi Publications, Inc. (see “Already looking to expand”, page 4 Portadatm No. 6, November/December 2003). The company was established to expand the influence of the La Raza trademark in the Midwest and to target other leading U.S. Hispanic publi-shing properties for merger and/or acquisition. Currently, PrensAmerica, Corp. has three divisions: newspaper, business directory, and Internet publishing.
