MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chilean TV station changes hands between US owners

”Latin America is one of the fastest growing markets in the world,” said Viacom's CEO.

Pending governmental approval, US giant ViacomCBS is expanding its Latin American investment scheme by buying over the Santiago-based Chilevisión TV station, which was announced Monday.

According to a Viacom statement, the consortium reached an agreement on Monday with Chilevisión owners Warner Media, also a US firm owned by AT&T Inc, for the purchase of all of the Chilean broadcaster's assets.

Chilevisión encompasses sports, entertainment, news and a solid production capacity, these attributes in combination with a strategic management of content windows through free and paid services, will serve as valuable marketing vehicles for the platforms of Viacom streaming, the acquiring company said.

Although the transaction is considered a done deal, it must still be approved by the loocal regulatory bodies and by the National Economic Prosecutor's Office.

According to unofficial data and with no corroboration, the deal involved the payment of a sum somewhere between 14 and 20 million US dollars.

ViacomCBS already owns streaming services Paramount + and Pluto TV, as well as Argentine channel Television Federal SA (Telefe).

Streaming platforms, which boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, are increasingly investing in content to attract and retain their subscribers amid intense competition.
“Latin America is one of the fastest growing markets in the world and Chilevision will be a key driver of our accelerated streaming strategy in the region,” said Raffaele Annecchino, CEO of ViacomCBS Networks International.

In 2010, WarnerMedia, then known as Time Warner Inc, acquired Chilevision, which was in the hands of current Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, in a deal estimated at 150 million dollars.