March 5, 2007
Contact:Nancy Worlie
(619) 594-1746
For Immediate Release
KPBS Channel Updates
Our 10 year contract with V-me came to an end in December 2016. KPBS decided to use this opportunity to expand our service to a broader audience. In the place of V-me KPBS will offer a new program service called, KPBS 2. KPBS 2 is more for you, offering signature nonfiction documentary, science and new programming alongside exclusive dramas and encore presentations of the best that PBS has to offer.
KPBS is also offering the Create Channel and KPBS Kids.
KPBS PRESENTS V-ME
San Diego’s first Spanish language public broadcasting channel
San Diego – Beginning on March 5, KPBS will broadcast V-me, a new Spanish-language television network delivering quality and educational entertainment to local Latino viewers. The network is a 24-hour digital broadcast channel presented locally by KPBS and carried on Cox Cable channel 111 and Time Warner Cable channel 311, as well as on KPBS HD 15.2.
V-me (pronounced " veh-meh " ) will offer a fresh alternative in Spanish television that engages, entertains, empowers and inspires its viewers. V-me, a national network based out of New York, is programmed for bilingual and Spanish-language dominant Latinos. The channel is launching with station partnerships in major Hispanic markets across the nation, including San Diego, representing more than 60 percent of Hispanic homes.
“Local Latinos want more from the media and V-me will give them the unique ability to connect with and enjoy similar educational and entertaining content that public broadcasting is so well known for,” said Myrian Solis Coronel, KPBS’ Manager of V-me & Latino Outreach.
To celebrate the launch of the new channel, KPBS and V-me are hosting a screening at the San Diego Latino Film Festival on Saturday, March 10 at the UltraStar Mission Valley Cinemas. The film is Elsa y Fred, one of the many Spanish language films that will showcase each night at 11 p.m. on V-me as part of the V-me en Pantalla series. Guillermo Sierra, V-me’s chief content officer and senior vice president, will be at the screening to talk about what’s in store for V-me. For more details or to purchase tickets to the screening, go to www.sdlatinofilm.com.
The name V-me comes from the Spanish veme, which means see me. “This name speaks volumes,” says Mario Baeza, Founder and Executive Chairman of V-me. "Latinos contribute so much to our country, culturally and economically. Yet quality programming in Spanish that reflects that experience, showcases those contributions, and entertains and educates our families, is sorely missing from the landscape.”
V-me is the first venture announced by newly formed media production and distribution company, V-me Media Inc. V-me’s programming features a mix of original productions, exclusive premieres and acquisitions, and the best of public television adapted for American Latinos. Content is broadly organized into four main categories:
Kids – High-quality Spanish-language preschool programs, educational online resources for children and parents, and local activities;
Lifestyle – Latino-focused food, travel, design, home and self improvement, parenting, health and well-being;
Factual and current affairs – Intelligent entertainment and opinions: history, technology, nature, current affairs, news and biography;
Movies and special events – Contemporary Spanish-language films every night, plus international concerts and special events.
V-me has already established content and co-production relationships with production powerhouses including WGBH and Thirteen/WNET in addition to BBC Worldwide, Sesame Workshop, HiT Entertainment, Alliance Atlantis, and many others. The network will feature original programming in pre-school, lifestyle, factual and current affairs and launches with a nightly original interview and public affairs program, Viva Voz.
V-me Media, Inc. is a media company formed to create and distribute the best quality content for Hispanics in the U.S. and internationally. The company is a partnership of PBS flagship station, Thirteen/WNET New York, and private investors, led by The Baeza Group and including Syncom Funds, both of which specialize in investing in media companies to reach underserved markets. Company revenues will come from the development and launch of strategic partnerships, the international syndication of its originally produced and co-produced programs, and sales of post-broadcast products such as DVDs and other program related products.
KPBS is a public service of San Diego State University, serving the region with TV, radio and Internet content that is educational as well as entertaining – and free of commercial interruption.
About Educational Broadcasting Company (EBC): Headquartered in New York City, EBC is the parent company of public broadcasters Thirteen/WNET and WLIW New York, America’s most-watched public television stations. Both stations are major producers of programming for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) seen on public television stations across the country. In addition to its well-known analog channels, EBC is the provider of six digital public television services. EBC also provides a wide range of educational outreach and online programs at the local, national and international levels.
About The Baeza Group: The Baeza Group is one of the premier Hispanic-owned merchant banking firms focusing on investments in the U.S. Hispanic market, as well as in Latin America. The Baeza Group has broad holdings in media, real estate, and the music industry in the United States and private equity investments in food, retail and financial services in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico.
About Syncom Funds: Established in 1977, SYNCOM provides early-stage growth capital primarily to entrepreneurs targeting under-served markets. Currently, SYNCOM manages a group of telecommunications venture capital funds that have capital in excess of $400 million and were original investors in BET, TV One, SiTV and Radio One.
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