Pantaya, Pantelion Strike First Look Deals with El Estudio, The Lift and Traziende Films (EXCLUSIVE)

In a move aimed at further building its roster of original content, LA-based Spanish-language streaming platform Pantaya and Latino Hollywood studio Pantelion have signed multi-year first look deals with Latin American companies El Estudio, The Lift and Traziende Films.

Under the terms of the pact, each company will produce direct-to-platform Spanish-language pics to stream exclusively on Pantaya in the U.S.

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Pantelion will serve as the studio on the projects, tapping its long-established relationships with some of the leading producers in Mexico and beyond.

Paul Presburger, CEO of Pantaya and Pantelion said: “In the 10-plus year history of Pantelion, we have had the pleasure to work multiple times with Diego Suarez, Pablo Cruz and their team at El Estudio (“Cesar Chavez”), Avelino Rodriguez and his team at The Lift (“Y como es el”, “Cuando Sea Joven”) and the folks at Traziende Films (“Pulling Strings,” “Las Pildoras de Mi Novio”).

“They are all some of the best in the business and we are delighted to officially partner with them to bring even compelling projects to Pantaya,” he continued, adding: “These companies are leaders and innovators in the world of Spanish-language content, and I look forward to sharing all of the exciting films that are to come with Pantaya’s loyal subscribers.”

Launched in February last year, El Estudio is a trans-Atlantic production powerhouse with offices in Madrid, México, Los Angeles and Buenos Aires. Among its credits are comedy “Pena Ajena” (Pantaya), unscripted hit “Las Crónicas del Taco” (Netflix), the docu-reality “Being Pampita” (Paramount+), and the multi awarded feature film “El Baile de los 41” (Cinepolis, Netflix).

Among the three El Estudio partners – Cruz (“Luis Miguel”), Enrique Lopez Lavigne (“The Impossible”) and Suarez (“Queen of the South”) – have produced a total of 45 films and 10 TV series in the last 10 years, amassing more than $620 million at the worldwide box office.

El Estudio has more than a hundred projects in development and/or in production and has developed strategic alliances with a slew of companies, including Pantaya, Sony Pictures, Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Paramount Plus, HBO Max, Starz, ViacomCBS International Studios (VIS), Warner, TVE, and Atresmedia.

Mexico-based The Lift was first founded in 2005 to focus on delivering world-class production services, collaborating with the likes of Prettybird, Somesuch, Reset, Epoch Films, Love Song, among others. In 2019, The Lift expanded to develop and produce long format content for Pantelion Films, 3Pas Studios, Amazon Prime, Televisa Networks, Anonymous content, Hulu and Viacom.

Traziende Films is co-founded by Mexico-based Leonardo Zimbron, co-producer of “Club de Cuervos,” Netflix‘s first original Spanish-language drama.

Pantaya is owned by Hemisphere Media Group, the only publicly traded pure-play Spanish-language media company in the U.S. serving the U.S. Hispanic and Latin American markets with a portfolio of top broadcast and cable television networks, digital platforms and content distribution.

In September, global streamer Starzplay and Pantaya re-teamed with U.K. production-distribution giant Fremantle and the Larraín brothers’ Fabula on sci-fi miniseries “The Shelter” (“El Refugio”).

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