Canela Media Launched its New Free Mobile Microseries App at its 2026 Upfront Presentation

During its 2026 Upfront luncheon, held at the AVRA restaurant in Manhattan, Canela Media introduced Zully, a free mobile microseries app created for drama-loving audiences in both English and Spanish. The announcement was made by Isabel Rafferty-Zavala.

“Zully is a natural extension of everything we have built at Canela Media over the last seven years. We have spent years deeply understanding how audiences express culture, move across platforms, and connect with stories—insights rooted in our leadership within the U.S. Hispanic market, where young and diverse audiences are defining what drama looks like for everyone. Zully is born from that experience, combining our expertise in storytelling, audience intelligence, and advanced AI-powered workflows for large-scale content creation and distribution, introducing a new platform that will bring innovation to how microseries are developed and distributed for today’s drama fans,” said Rafferty-Zavala.

Scheduled to launch in fall 2026, Zully combines AI-driven original productions and live-action storytelling in short-form content designed for mobile devices, making it easy to discover, share, and binge-watch.

Andrés Rincón, Senior Vice President of Sales and Isabel Rafferty-Zavala

The platform will feature original intellectual property created by diverse storytellers and creators, with content that naturally flows between English, Spanish, and Spanglish, reflecting how young and culturally fluid audiences consume media today.

Rafferty noted that the series will consist of 30 episodes, with each episode running between two and five minutes. She added that the platform plans to launch around 100 shows and 50 original series centered on Latino stories. One of the titles already in development is Pride of the Rancho.

Among the presenters at Canela Media’s 2026 Upfront luncheon were also Philippe Guelton, Global President; Andrés Rincón, Senior Vice President of Sales; Samantha Huggins, VP of Enterprise Accounts; Paula Baldwin, VP of Brand Partnerships; and Melissa Green, VP of Sales & Data Solutions.

CANELA AUDIENCE SOLUTIONS EXPANDS ITS DATA OFFERING

Through Canela Audience Solutions (CAS), brands will now be able to leverage the company’s proprietary deterministic data across the entire advertising ecosystem.

Advertisers will be able to activate CAS audiences through direct and programmatic channels, with support across CTV, digital media, retail media networks, and social platforms, backed by broad SSP connectivity. For deeper data integrations, Canela’s Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) offering allows brands to directly incorporate Hispanic audience segments into their own planning tools and identity frameworks, with weekly updates supporting targeting, modeling, and measurement strategies.

Philippe Guelton, Global President, Canela Media

CAS is built on 35 million proprietary IDs to create scalable and customized audience segments, giving brands access to unique audiences that are difficult to reach elsewhere. Thirty-four percent of Canela Media’s audience does not consume other Spanish-language platforms, and more than one-third cannot be reached through other OTT services, regardless of language.

CULTURE COHORTS STUDY

Paula Baldwin presented new proprietary insights into today’s U.S. Hispanic audience through the company’s Culture Cohorts study, revealing a young, culturally influential, and bilingual audience whose identity is shaped by how culture is expressed, rather than solely by language or level of acculturation.

Paula Baldwin presented the study

The study identifies six distinct cultural cohorts within Canela’s ecosystem, highlighting that while cultural pride is nearly universal, engagement with content and advertising varies significantly depending on mindset and motivations.

PREMIUM CONTENT AND CULTURAL STORYTELLING

At the core of Canela Media’s offering is its premium content ecosystem, which includes more than 35,000 hours of programming across Canela.TV, FAST channels, and digital platforms.

The company continues to invest in Canela Originals, lifestyle programming, social-first content, and culturally relevant storytelling. Canela Studios, the company’s in-house production arm, provides end-to-end creative solutions ranging from branded content and influencer partnerships to AI-powered production, enabling brands to integrate organically into trusted content environments.

VERANO DE GLORIA 2026

Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Canela Media is focused on delivering the fan-centered coverage audiences are seeking through original content, creator-led social activations, Club Canela challenges, and multiplatform storytelling that brings fans closer to the action and key moments.

Initiatives such as Verano de Gloria and original productions like El Quinto Partido, hosted by Julián Gil, tap into the passion and excitement surrounding soccer while creating authentic opportunities for brands to connect with fans.

Additionally, Canela Media extended its exclusive partnership with FutbolSites, strengthening its ability to deliver scale, frequency, and culturally relevant sports content wherever Hispanic fans in the U.S. engage.