A+E Ole Networks will establish a new office in Brazil this year alongside plans to roll out a new HD channel in the country.
The company, a joint venture between A+E Television Networks (AETN) and Ole Communications, operates AETN’s bouquet of channels across Latin America.
Executive VP and general manager Eduardo Ruiz told C21 the company would have a dedicated presence in Brazil by the second quarter of this year, which will fuel its ambitions of increasing ratings and revenue in the territory.
“We believe Brazil requires a whole set of staff that are different from Latin America and the only way we can do that is if we are in the country and doing programming by Brazilians for Brazilians,” he said.
“The business has grown so much now that taking whatever we can get in Spanish and translating it into Portuguese doesn’t work anymore.”
Meanwhile, A+E Ole will launch an HD feed of its Bio channel in Brazil in May, following the roll-out of its A&E and History HD feeds last year.
Ruiz added: “Brazil is the market in Latin America where HD has had more penetration percentage-wise than any other country. Everything has to be HD now in Brazil. If you don’t have a network in HD, it’s not going to be launched in Brazil.”
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