Canela Media: Streaming Media Platform for U.S. Hispanics

Even with an already enormous user base, the company has continued positive momentum throughout the year with subscribers up 23% YoY in Q3. The success of these binge-watching platforms has continued to grow exponentially since the COVID-19 outbreak.

Canela Media, an Alumni Ventures Group portfolio company, is joining this high-growth market with a media platform and ad network focused specifically on the U.S. Hispanic audience. Canela offers hundreds of TV series and movies in both Spanish and English to stream across various platforms.

Honoring a Diverse Audience

In 2019, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the Hispanic and Latino community made up 18.5 percent (60.6 million) of the U.S. population, making it the third-largest ethnicity in the country. As one of the first streaming services offering culturally relevant programming in Spanish and English for U.S. Hispanics, Canela has created a platform to help reach this large demographic.

With Latino consumers’ buying power calculated at ~$1.7 trillion, the Hispanic audience is an increasingly attractive economic target. Advertisers will spend an estimated $9 billion trying to reach this demographic in 2020.

Canela successfully connects many brands with multicultural audiences through its streaming service and an advertising network spanning 180+ Spanish language content sites in the U.S. The company profits from these connections through direct-sold ads, programmatic video ads, and sponsorships.

What We Liked About the Deal

Experienced Team: Canela CEO Isabel Rafferty is a successful and experienced chief executive, with a significant track record in the marketing and advertising industry. Recently, the company also added  Andres Rincon, an industry veteran with a deep understanding of the Hispanic marketplace, as Senior Vice President of Sales.

Impressive User Traction and Revenue: Since launching in May 2020, Canela has seen considerable growth in new users, return users, and hours streamed. The team has also consistently grown monthly revenues.

Numerous Streaming Platforms: Canela offers its streaming service on almost every platform, including Google Play, the App Store, Roku, Amazonfire TV, and Apple TV. Additionally, the company recently launched on SamsungTV Plus, which streams to over 50 million connected devices.

How We’re Involved

AVG’s Bascom Ventures and sibling funds deployed capital in a $3 million seed round co-led by BBG Ventures and Reinventure Capital. They were joined by Mighty Capital, Angeles Investors, and Portfolia’s Rising America Fund.