Spanish language media giant Univision will be available on Canada's cable and satellite platforms in a new channel called Univision Canada in a new push to reach Canada's growing population of Spanish speakers.

Corus Entertainment, the media group behind the Telelatino Network, announced on Tuesday a new licensing agreement with Univision Communications Inc. The licensing agreement includes rebranding Canada's current Spanish language network, Telelatino's TLN en Español (TLNE), as Univision Canada.

Telelatino's all Spanish language cable channel already featured a significant amount of Univision programming, including the Latin Grammy Awards, Univision-produced coverage of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association's (FIFA) World Cup soccer and other FIFA events, as well as widely-known Univision programing like Primer Impacto, Aqui y Ahora, Sábado Gigante, El Gordo y La Flaca, Premio Lo Nuestro, Feliz Año, and the Noticiero Univision network newscasts.

The Toronto, Ontario-based Telelatino Network has been a partner with Univision Communications Inc. for over a decade, and Univision has been one of its primary sources Spanish language foreign programming.

The new partnership and rebranding reflects the growing influence of both Latin Americans and Univision Communications, the company, in the North American media landscape. Telelatino Network President Aldo Di Felice observed, "The Spanish speaking community in Canada is an important and growing multicultural group," according to the company's release. 

"We are proud that our longstanding relationship with Univision has culminated in officially putting the Univision stamp on TLNE, a channel that Spanish speaking Canadians have been embracing since its launch in 2007. As Canada's multichannel operator of branded ethnic services, we take pride in adding the iconic Univision brand to the stable of international ethnic channels that we have introduced to Canada such as Mediaset Italia Canada, Sky TG24 Canada and Cinelatino."

Telelatino, owned by Corus Entertainment, also brings channels to Canadian viewers that syndicate Italian and English language programming, as well as programming from CNN en Español, a rival Spanish language news channel to Univision.

"We are pleased to be able to offer the Univision brand to Canada's growing Hispanic population," said John Cassaday, President and Chief Executive Officer of Corus Entertainment. "The prestige and familiarity of Univision, and the calibre of their content, is a great addition to our portfolio of branded networks that include HBO Canada, ABC Spark, Nickelodeon Canada and OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network Canada."

Univision's Expansion

Univision Communications Inc. is one of the top media companies in the U.S., and has grown significantly with the explosion of the Latino population in recent years. In 2013, Univision Network, the company's flagship, was ranked one of the top five networks in the U.S. regardless of language, as well as being the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television networks in the country.

In addition, in 2013 the Univision Network's Spanish-language programming beat leading English-language broadcasters ABC, FOX, and NBC for first place in primetime viewership during the summer and winter programming lulls.

Latin American Audience in Canada

Latin Americans and other Spanish speaking demographics may not be as large, and growing, as in the U.S., but Canada's immigration policy and openness to refugees has expanded Latin American influence significantly in the past few decades in the North American country. In the early 1970s, Canada had an "open door" immigration policy allowed people to arrive in Canada as tourists without a visa and later apply for landed immigrant status within the country.

In the following decades, according to Canada's state encyclopedia, Canada opened its doors to Chilean political refugees and Ecuadorians, as well as other Central American refugees looking for a better life. Between 1996 and 2001, the number of Latin Americans in Canada increased by 32 precent, with the overall Canadian population growing 4 percent at the same time. By 2006, more than half a million Latin Americans lived in Canada, a majority of which was born outside of Canada. The vast majority of Latin Americans in Canada speak Spanish as their first language, and also spoke at least one of Canada's official languages (English or French).

"With today's announcement, Univision's commitment to serving Hispanic audiences in the U.S. expands to Canada, as well," said Alberto Ciurana, President of Programming and Content for Univision Networks. "We are proud to bring our brand to the Corus Entertainment family of networks and offer even more of our quality programming and further our presence in another dynamic and growing Hispanic market."