Gustavo Aparicio of Spanglish Movies: We empower FAST publishers with innovative CTV apps

During the FAST: de promesa a realidad (FAST: From Promise to Reality) panel, Gustavo Aparicio, CEO of Spanglish Movies, announced the launch of the Flou.TV platform, featuring FAST channels. “It was a challenging process,” he admitted, “but we’re now up and running. We launched around Christmas with a strong marketing push.” Flou.TV caters to the Puerto Rican, Dominican, and diaspora markets in the US. Its goal is to integrate FAST channels from other publishers targeting audiences underserved by traditional platforms. The platform leverages Spanglish Movies’ powerful programmatic advertising unit, which saw impressive growth of over 1,500% in 2024, offering publishers a compelling monetization opportunity.

The panel was part of CTV Days US Hispanic & Latin America, organized by Dataxis. In addition to Aparicio, the discussion featured Bruno Gomes, Head of Sales and Brand Alliances for Latin America at Tastemade; Pablo Corona, advisor at Castalia Comunicaciones; and Luis Guillermo Villanueva, COO of SOMOS Group. The debate was moderated by Dionne Bermúdez, a media innovation expert.”

When asked about monetization in the FAST landscape, Aparicio stated, “We’ve observed a shift towards AVOD, FAST, revenue sharing, and for-profit windows since the pandemic. We have a proprietary tool that empowers our FAST partners by providing not only our channels but also those of our partners. We collaborate with numerous FAST publishers who share their channels and content with us, which we then distribute. Additionally, we utilize an AI tool to aggregate all channel points across OTT platforms. Simultaneously, we’ve established partnerships with data companies to enable advertisers to efficiently target their desired audiences. Currently, we deliver 1.5 billion impressions monthly. Our primary goal is to monetize the content of our FAST publisher partners. We leverage AI to collaborate with advertisers and brands, working with leading agencies and top consumer brands in the U.S. We partner with various brands through different DSPs and SSPs, allowing us to compare and benchmark costs and benefits to optimize campaign efficiency,” he explained.

Villanueva of SOMOS Group mentioned that they have developed FAST channels to showcase their content and technology. “We’re using this as a tool to gain insights into markets, audiences, and viewing habits, which we can then integrate into our main FlixLatino platform,” he explained.

Gustavo Aparicio of Spanglish Movies announced the launch of the Vision by Spanglish app

In addition to Flou.TV, Aparicio announced the launch of another app, Vision by Spanglish. Targeted at the Afro-Latino demographic, a growing segment in the Caribbean and diaspora, Vision by Spanglish offers content catering to diverse interests, including Mexican productions, LGBTQ+ programming, and wrestling. Designed with corporate America in mind, the app provides a personalized way to reach these under-served audiences.

When asked about the future of FAST content, Aparicio emphasized the potential of interactive brand content. “Content creators need to recognize that we’re in 2024, a time of advanced technology,” he said.

For Corona, who advises Castalia on the creation of FAST channels, one of Jaripeo’s existing channels and an upcoming one in partnership with Germany’s ZDF Studios, dubbed by Caaliope in Mexico, one key lesson learned from Europa+ (a former SVOD platform) is the importance of constant communication with operators, especially during the initial launch phase. “It’s crucial,” he emphasized.