Television channel
El Rey Network
(Spanish for
The King
) is a media brand founded by
Robert Rodriguez
on December 15, 2013, that is currently owned in a joint venture with
FactoryMade Ventures
.
Until December 31, 2020, El Rey was a cable and satellite network, operated and distributed in-partnership with Univision Communications (now known as
TelevisaUnivision
), dedicated to
Grindhouse
-style programming targeting
Hispanic
audiences. By March 2015, approximately 40 million households received El Rey;
[1]
[2]
its carriage would fall to 13 million households by the time of the network's closure.
[3]
History
[
edit
]
As a television network (2013?2020)
[
edit
]
El Rey Network was one of two ethnic outlets created as part of an agreement between
Comcast
,
NBC Universal
, and the
FCC
as a condition for the
merger
between the former two broadcasters (the other network being
Revolt
).
[1]
The network's headquarters was in
Austin, Texas
, and launched as part of the digital basic service on some of Comcast's systems.
[4]
[5]
Comcast announced that the network was expected to debut by January 2014.
[6]
In August 2012, Antoinette Alfonso Zel was announced as CEO.
[7]
In May 2013, Univision Communications (now known as
TelevisaUnivision USA
) announced that it would be an investor for El Rey, handling the sales and distribution of the network.
[8]
[9]
In November 2013, it was announced that the production of
From Dusk till Dawn: The Series
had begun.
[10]
Upon launch in the week of December 15, 2013,
[11]
El Rey was also offered by cable companies
Time Warner Cable
,
[12]
[13]
with
Bright House Networks
offering soon later in January 2014,
[14]
and
Cox Communications
by February 2014.
[11]
Cablevision
added the network on April 7, 2014.
The first satellite service to host El Rey was
DirecTV
in January 2014.
[15]
That year,
lucha libre
program
Lucha Underground
, featuring wrestlers from
Lucha Libre AAA World Wide
(AAA) and produced by
Mark Burnett
, premiered on October 29, 2014.
[16]
[17]
The show would go on to become the network's flagship series and both it, and the corresponding promotion, received positive reception.
[18]
[19]
Dish Network
would begin carrying El Rey in January 2015.
[20]
The following month, El Rey was made available through cable company
Suddenlink Communications
in select markets.
[21]
El Rey was added to
AT&T U-verse
and
Verizon FiOS
that same year.
Between 2018 and 2020, various cable and satellite providers began dropping the network. On November 6, 2020, Univision announced it had sold its stake in El Rey, as part of a larger effort by the company to refocus on its core Spanish-language businesses.
[22]
[23]
Soon after, it would be reported that El Rey would cease operations on December 31, though it was speculated that the network would relaunch as a streaming brand.
[24]
The network went dark at 11:59 p.m.
Pacific
.
[25]
As a streaming network (2021?present)
[
edit
]
On August 6, 2021, El Rey Network announced a partnership with
Cinedigm
that would see the network relaunch as a streaming channel. As part of this agreement, Cinedigm will exclusively distribute Rodriguez's 2019 film,
Red 11
, and a companion docuseries titled
Rebel Without a Crew: The Robert Rodriguez Film School
.
[26]
[27]
[28]
El Rey would relaunch later that month via
The Roku Channel
on August 17.
[29]
Programming
[
edit
]
El Rey correspondent Chuey Martinez (in the hat) posing with the cast and crew of
Explosion Jones
at the 2017
New York Comic Con
El Rey Network's original programming included
action genre
series, sports, and lifestyle programming. Annual programming included a marathon of
Toho
-produced
Godzilla
films during the
Christmas
&
Independence Day
weekends and the
Thanksgiving
Way of the Turkey
marathon of
kung fu
films.
[30]
Original programming
[
edit
]
Acquired programming
[
edit
]
Film releases
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Rodman, Sarah (January 26, 2014).
"New cable networks hope to blaze a trail"
.
Boston Globe
. Vol. 285, no. 26. pp.
N1
,
N8
– via Newspapers.com.
- ^
Seidman, Robert (February 22, 2015).
"Distribution approximation as of March 2015"
.
TV by the Numbers
. Zap2it
. Retrieved
March 14,
2015
.
- ^
Avalos, Regina (December 30, 2020).
"El Rey Network: Robert Rodriguez Channel to End on Thursday"
.
TV Series Finale
. Retrieved
January 1,
2021
.
- ^
Dinges, Gary (June 11, 2014).
"El Rey network to be based in Austin"
.
Austin American-Statesman
. Vol. 143, no. 321. Austin, Texas: Cox Media Group. pp. B7, B8 – via Newspapers.com.
Note: the link provided is for page B7;
here is the link to page B8
.
- ^
"Comcast to start new minority-owned cable channels"
.
Sports Illustrated
. February 21, 2012
. Retrieved
February 24,
2012
.
- ^
Molloy, Tim (February 21, 2012).
"Comcast Announces New Networks With Magic Johnson, Sean Combs, Robert Rodriguez"
.
Reuters
. Retrieved
February 24,
2012
.
- ^
"El Rey Network Announces Antoinette Alfonso Zel As CEO"
.
PR Newswire
. August 6, 2012
. Retrieved
August 24,
2013
.
- ^
"Univision Communications and El Rey Network Announce Strategic Partnership, Unveil Upcoming Scripted Series"
.
Univision
. May 14, 2013. Archived from
the original
on September 27, 2013
. Retrieved
August 24,
2013
.
- ^
"Univision pairs with Rodriguez on El Rey network"
.
Associated Press
. May 14, 2013. Archived from
the original
on October 7, 2013
. Retrieved
August 24,
2013
.
- ^
T2's Robert Patrick & More Join 'From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series', by Craig Hunter
- ^
a
b
de la Fuente, Anna Marie (February 13, 2014).
"Univision's Fourth Quarter, Full Year Revenue Rises"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
February 4,
2015
.
- ^
"Univision, Time Warner Cable strike new distribution deal"
.
Los Angeles Times
. October 9, 2013
. Retrieved
October 9,
2013
.
- ^
Poggi, Jeanine (December 26, 2013).
"New TV Networks Scorecard: Eight Cable Channels to Watch in 2014"
.
Advertising Age
. Retrieved
February 4,
2015
.
- ^
"Bright House Networks Launches Univision Deportes Network and Univision tlNovelas"
.
Bright House Networks
. Retrieved
February 4,
2015
.
- ^
"DIRECTV Rumor Alert (El Rey Network launched 1/1)"
.
satelliteguys.us
. December 28, 2013.
- ^
Caldwell, James (July 10, 2014).
"AAA news: El Rey announces AAA Lucha Libre show for U.S. TV - timeslot, show title, more details"
.
Pro Wrestling Torch
. Retrieved
July 10,
2014
.
- ^
"Lucha Underground promotion TV debut moved back three weeks"
.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
. September 22, 2014
. Retrieved
September 23,
2014
.
- ^
"5/20 Moore's Lucha Underground Review: The Crew vs. Son of Havoc, Ivelisse, and Angelico in a Ladder Match for the Lucha Underground Trios Championship, Marty The Moth vs. Prince Puma, Daivari vs. Texano"
. Prowrestling.net
. Retrieved
November 4,
2015
.
- ^
"Lucha Underground: A new era in wrestling"
.
ESPN
. January 27, 2016. Archived from
the original
on September 15, 2016.
- ^
Reynolds, Mike (January 29, 2015).
"Dish Inks Distribution Deal with El Rey"
.
MultiChannel News
.
NewBay Media
. Retrieved
January 30,
2015
.
- ^
Farrell, Mike (February 3, 2015).
"Suddenlink Launches El Rey Network"
.
Multichannel News
. Retrieved
February 4,
2015
.
- ^
"Univision Exits Minority Position in El Rey, Enabling El Rey to Continue as an Independently Owned Entertainment Company"
(Press release).
Business Wire
. November 7, 2020
. Retrieved
November 11,
2020
.
- ^
Hayes, Dade (April 8, 2019).
"Univision Finalizes Sale Of Former Gawker Portfolio And The Onion To Private Equity Firm Great Hill Partners"
.
Deadline
. Retrieved
August 15,
2019
.
- ^
Maclean, Amy (December 8, 2020).
"El Rey Contemplates Next Steps As Network to Shut Down"
.
CableFax
. Retrieved
December 9,
2020
.
- ^
"Schedule for El Rey Network"
.
El Rey Network
.
Archived
from the original on December 31, 2020
. Retrieved
December 31,
2020
.
[1]
- ^
Faughnder, Ryan (August 6, 2021).
"Robert Rodriguez's El Rey Network to revive through streaming after going dark"
.
LA Times
. Retrieved
August 7,
2021
.
- ^
Spangler, Todd (August 6, 2021).
"Robert Rodriguez's El Rey Network Cable Channel to Be Rebooted for Streaming With Cinedigm"
.
Variety
. Retrieved
August 7,
2021
.
- ^
Hayes, Dade (August 6, 2021).
"Robert Rodriguez's El Rey Network Segues From Cable TV To Streaming In Deal With Cinedigm"
.
Deadline
. Retrieved
August 7,
2021
.
- ^
"The Roku Channel"
.
- ^
"Shows on El Rey Network"
.
- ^
"El Rey Network To Air Legendary "Baja Desert Championship: Baja 500" On August 6th At 5 PM ET"
.
Deadline Hollywood
(Press release)
. Retrieved
December 4,
2017
.
- ^
"Martial Arts Series 'Bushido Battleground' Gets Green Light At El Rey Network"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. July 27, 2017
. Retrieved
October 18,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
"El Rey Network Adds Pair of Evening Talk Shows"
.
Multichannel.com
. April 16, 2019
. Retrieved
May 13,
2017
.
- ^
Negley, Erin (April 6, 2015).
"Making the Cut"
.
LNP
. Vol. 220, no. 292. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Steinman Communications – via Newspapers.com.
- ^
Two El Rey Series Stream Over to VRV
- ^
Starace, Alex (Winter 2017).
"Animation Creation: Octopie Network Spreads its Tentacles"
.
International Opulence Magazine
. Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Horizon Publishing. p. 99
. Retrieved
January 24,
2020
.
Note: Scroll down the target page to the digital magazine for Winter 2017/2018 and access page 99.
- ^
"Man at Arms: Art of War: Season 1"
Archived
August 20, 2017, at the
Wayback Machine
. El Rey Network. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
- ^
El Rey Network Greenlights Second Season Of ‘Man At Arms: Art Of War’
- ^
"El Rey Network To Boost Original Content By 50%; 'From Dusk Till Dawn' Still In Limbo ? TCA"
.
Deadline Hollywood
. January 13, 2017
. Retrieved
December 4,
2017
.
- ^
"El Rey Network to show marathon of Muhammad Ali's 1977 animated series"
.
The Baltimore Sun
. Retrieved
November 20,
2018
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Rodriguez, Robert (March 14, 2014).
"Tailor-made cable"
.
The Morning Call
(Interview). No. 44357. Interviewed by Meredith Blake. Allentown, Pennsylvania – via Newspapers.com.
External links
[
edit
]
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Films
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Films written
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Produced only
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Television
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See also
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Family
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