Fuse Media, a Latino-owned media company dedicated to multicultural content, has announced a new partnership with OUTtv. The two companies are collaborating on OUTtv Proud, a new free ad-supported TV (FAST) channel that will specialize in LGBTQ+ content when it debuts in 2023.
The new channel will offer shows and movies from OUTtv, including original series, documentaries, films, and specials that are custom-made to entertain, advocate for, and galvanize global queer audiences. The channel will serve as a compliment to OUTtv’s subscription video-on-demand service OUTtv.com.
“OUTtv is dedicated to amplifying queer creators and storytelling by delivering programs by and for the LGBTQ+ community. While doing so we have increased our original commissions by more than double,” OUTtv CEO Brad Danks said. “Our robust catalog of originals is now large enough to launch a complementary FAST service, expanding our reach even further. The Fuse team has built a highly successful portfolio of FAST channels and we look forward to partnering with them on OUTtv Proud.”
The new FAST channel will launch with more than 400 hours of content, providing streaming viewers with the chance to watch popular series such as “Call Me Mother,” “Hot Haus” and “Iconic Justice.”
“Fuse has gained tremendous traction by delivering quality programming that reflects today’s young multicultural audience. Our FAST channels have allowed us to extend those successes by spotlighting specific, diverse communities, such as LGBTQ+ people, that still don’t get their fair share of representation in media,” Fuse Media chairman and CEO Miguel Roggero said. “We’re excited to once again partner with our friends at OUTtv - this time on a huge venture that will answer an important need for LGBTQ+ viewers and their allies in the FAST channel universe.”
OUTtv Proud will become the latest addition to a lineup of diversity, equity, and inclusion-focused FAST channels offered by Fuse Media, including Shades of Black, one of the most widely distributed Black content channels in the FAST space. Shades of Black used to be known as Fuse Beat, but the channel underwent a rebrand earlier this year.
Fuse is also gearing up for the rollout of the Latino Vibes channel, which is set to launch later this year, and will be one of the only FAST channels offering English-language Latine content. In all, Fuse Media’s FAST channels saw their total minutes watched increase more than fivefold year-over-year in the third quarter of 2022. Additionally, as of October, Fuse’s FAST channels had already surpassed 1 billion minutes watched in 2022.