Kushner-Locke Hopes to Take Spanish Channel to L.A.

You probably haven't heard of the Spanish-language movies "How to Be Unhappy and Enjoy It" or "The Little Fox in the Bikini."

But a local entertainment company is betting the films will attract a big Latino audience in L.A.

Those and other Spanish-language films now air on a 24-hour movie satellite channel called Gran Canal Latino (Great Latin Channel), launched in a joint venture by Kushner-Locke Co. and Spanish movie producer Enrique Cerezo. The company is now negotiating with several L.A.-area cable providers to bring the movie channel to a broader local market.

"These are classic movies that the whole Spanish-language culture have been brought up on," said Donald Kushner, co-chief executive and co-chairman of Los Angeles-based Kushner-Locke, which develops, produces and distributes TV programs and films.

Gran Canal Latino, which relies on Cerezo' s extensive 1,400-title library of movies made in Spain in the 1960s and 1970s, was first launched a year ago with test marketing in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Mexico, where local cable companies have since offered the channel.

Part of DISH network 

Last August, Gran Canal Latino was introduced in the United States as part of EchoStar Communication Corp.'s satellite DISH network, which offers a Spanish-language package across the country with 20 channels for $19.99 a month. (Satellite dishes and installation are extra.)

Kushner-Locke wants to bring the channel to a more widespread audience. "Latino programming is a big growth area," Kushner said.

Marielise Nacimento, a media buyer for Enlace Communications in Los Angeles, believes the channel has a good chance of making it here.

"The average age for Latinos in the L.A. market is 24 years old, vs. the general market which is 36 years old,", she said. "Many of them haven't seen these movies."

But Raquel Tomasino, vice president and director of media services at Ad Americas in Los Angeles, wonders if Mexicans and Central Americans, who make up the majority of Latinos in Los Angeles; will identify with movies from Spain.

"I believe there is definitely a demand for Spanish-language programming," she said. "But they are going to have a tough time creating an audience. The nuances, colloquialisms; jokes and accent are different in Spain than in Latin America. Telemundo a couple of years ago brought in a three-hour game show from Spain that didn't perform up to their expectations. So it's going to be a challenge."

Kushner said the channel already has 1.3 million viewers in Mexico, primarily gained through a barter arrangement with PCTV. In exchange for allowing Gran Canal Latino to use its satellite uplink, the Mexican cable company can broadcast the channel for free. The deal saves Kushner-Locke about $75,000 a month in satellite fees.

U.S. subscriber numbers for the satellite version of the channel weren't released by EchoStar Communications, based in Littleton, Cob. Company officials would only say it has 3.1 million customers for the firm's various channels.

Has many sbowbiz ventures

Kushner-Locke's venture into Spanish-language film broadcasting is another facet of its many entertainment endeavors that include big-budget filmmaking, animation projects, and shows and films made and/or distributed to cable and network TV. The company began by producing TV programs like "Divorce Court" for the syndication market and selling movies, specials and series to network and cable television.

Then in 1993, Kushner-Locke began producing feature films. Some of its more recent productions include "Picking Up the Pieces," directed by Mexican moviemaker Alfonso Arau, who also made "Like Water for Chocolate." The company is also producing "Mambo Cafe," with Danny Aiello and Latin star Thalia.

In the quarter ended June 30, the company reported net income of $19.9 million ($1.41 per diluted share), compared with a net loss of $2.2 million (24 cents per diluted share) for the like period a year ago. However, stock prices have remained volatile this year. After hitting a 52-week high of $18 on April 12, the price has plummeted, with shares selling for about $4 last week.

The company has yet to file its annual report for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30. But according to Zacks Investment Research Inc., analysts' consensus estimate is for a net loss of $1.87 per share for the most recent fiscal year. That compares to a loss of 69 cents per share for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 1998.

Analyst Lisa Dohner of Seidler Cos. said investors have been frustrated by the lackiuster performance of the company's recent feature films, which included "Beowulf' with Christopher Lambert.

"I think there is a real kind of unhappiness by investors," Dohner said. "But I think the (Spanish-language) channel is a good idea."