STOCKTON, Calif. and MODESTO, Calif., March 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast today announced that it will launch Si TV, the first English-language Latino cable network, throughout the Stockton, Modesto, Lodi and Tracy, California, areas, where more than one in three residents is Hispanic, according to the US Census. Si TV will be available on Digital Classic, a widely distributed digital package, in these areas for no additional charge beginning on March 13.
"Comcast's launch of Si TV in the Central California area provides great programming for our English-speaking Hispanic community members," said Congressman Dennis Cardoza, serving the 18th District of California. "This launch offers our Hispanic community members an opportunity to view new programming created for them by a Hispanic-owned network."
"This is tremendous news for Stockton and the Central Valley. Cultural target marketing fosters a sense of belonging and promotes community," said Edward Chavez, Mayor of Stockton, California. "We appreciate that Comcast has been able to respond to the needs of this growing market."
"We are pleased to be able to give Si TV the broad potential audience exposure that comes from placement on a widely distributed tier of service," said Farrell Moseley, Comcast's Area Vice President. "As local viewership builds over time, we expect that Si TV will enrich the lives of Latinos in the Central Valley and bring them closer to their culture, which is what Comcast strives to provide to all our multicultural customers through the rich variety of our ethnic programming."
In an ongoing effort to introduce Si TV to an ever-growing number of Hispanic households, Comcast has made it available to its Chicago; Fresno, California; Denver; Jacksonville; Montgomery County, MD and Detroit markets.
Si TV joins Comcast's growing Hispanic cable television lineup. Comcast's Central California Region offers a wide variety of programming on its Standard Cable television service for Hispanic customers including Univision, Telefutura, Azteca America, Telemundo and Galavision. Digital Customers can enjoy Si TV on the Digital Classic package or Comcast's CableLatino package, which offers 18 additional Spanish-language networks including:
-- Casa Club -- Latin American-oriented cooking, gardening and home
decorating;
-- Discovery en Espanol -- Original educational and informational
programming in Spanish;
-- Canal 52MX -- Spanish-language films, international news, children's
programs, comedies, telenovelas, variety shows, cultural programs and
documentaries;
-- Cine Latino -- Original Spanish language classic movies from the 1940's
to the 1990's;
-- GolTV -- Original programming in Spanish dedicated to soccer with more
than 800 games per year; and
-- Video Rola -- folklore and music programming.
Spanish-speaking customer care representatives are available at 1-800-COMCAST to provide additional details to customers about the Hispanic programming offered.
About Si TV
Si TV is an English-language, Latino network featuring hip and irreverent, culturally-relevant programming targeting the growing young Latino and multi- cultural TV audience. Voted by Multichannel News as one of the "Top 10 Next Networks," Si TV is available nationwide. Co-founded and chaired by Jeff Valdez, who was recently named a "Top 10 Player" in Hispanic media by Ad Age Magazine, Si TV was established in 1997 as a production company to develop, produce and distribute original English-language, Latino-themed entertainment. For more info visit us online at http://www.sitv.com/.
As suggested by its popular tagline "Speak English. Live Latin," Si TV has long recognized the importance of reaching "Generation Si," the English- speaking, 18-34 urban demographic that drives 59 percent of the of total Hispanic purchasing power in the U.S., which is estimated between $600-800 billion per year (HispanTelligence December 2004). Generation Si's interests and consumption patterns were outlined in a recent FGI Research study, which showed that Generation Si is one of the most tech-savvy consumers.
About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (http://www.comcast.com/) is the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. With 21.4 million cable customers, 8.5 million high-speed Internet customers, and 1.3 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.
The Company's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, OLN, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One and four regional Comcast SportsNets. The Company also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia. Comcast Class A common stock and Class A Special common stock trade on The NASDAQ Stock Market under the symbols CMCSA and CMCSK, respectively.
