TORONTO – Telelatino Network announced this week that it’s newest specialty service, all-Spanish tlñ en español, the first Canadian-made all Hispanic television channel, is now operational.
Tlñ en español complements TLN Telelatino’s existing channel which can be seen by approximately 10 million Canadians and has delivered Latino-oriented television programming in Spanish, Italian and English since 1984.
"The launch of tlñ en español responds to the emerging needs of Canada’s fastest growing third-language community. By 2005, Spanish speakers were the third largest group of non-English speaking immigrants to Canada, more than Punjabi speakers, and by 2006, almost one million Spanish speakers lived in Canada," says the TLN press release.
“Tlñ en español represents a further investment by Telelatino Network in our fast growing Spanish speaking Canadian community,” said TLN president, Aldo Di Felice. “This channel is a valuable tool for making people feel at home in Canada. Canadian ethnic media have a responsibility to assist in the acclimatization, integration and celebration of newcomers in this country – tlñ en español plays a role which benefits Canadian society immensely.”
The tlñ en español lineup is shaped by three major initiatives:
News and Information from CNN en Español: An expansion of TLN’s longstanding programming alliance with CNN en Español has tlñ en español delivering more Spanish language news and information programming.
Major International Soccer Tournaments: Over the next seven years, 32 FIFA World Cup tournaments will be seen on tlñ en español. Hispanics in Canada call soccer their favourite sport (66%) – more than basketball, baseball and hockey combined, says the company. Starting in June, with exclusive Canadian coverage of all 26 matches of Copa América, the Latin American nation’s cup, followed in July by the FIFA Men’s Under 20 World Cup tournament to be held in Canada, the FIFA Men’s Under 17 World Cup from Korea in August, and the FIFA Women’s World Cup from China this September.
A Canadian Hispanic Focus: Tlñ en español delivers programs important to Hispanics in Canada, says the press release. TLN has conducted more research in the Latino community than perhaps any other Canadian organization. TLN was a charter subscriber to Solutions Research Group’s Diversity in Canada, a landmark independent study of Canadians of diverse backgrounds conducted in 2005. The study revealed such insights as the fact that immigration and employment (rather than healthcare and education, which are top concerns among the general population) are the most pressing issues that Hispanics feel the Canadian government should focus on to make life better for their families.
