Former Sony Exec René Santaella To Lead Digital Expansion At Spanish-Language Broadcaster Estrella Media

EXCLUSIVE: René Santaella, who was most recently SVP, head of ad sales and operations, at Sony Pictures Television Digital Networks, has joined Spanish-language broadcaster Estrella Media to ramp up its move into digital.

Santaella, who previously worked on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee digital platform Crackle, has joined as EVP, digital & streaming media.

In the new role, he will be responsible for Estrella’s digital growth, building operations and generating new revenue initiatives.

At Sony, he managed ad sales, operations and strategic initiatives and led the creation of a premium video network for advertisers targeting a large audience of connected gamers that included PlayStation Store, PlayStation Vue, Funimation, Pluto TV and Crackle.

Before Sony, Santaella was director of ad sales marketing for Disney Interactive, leading digital and cross-platform advertising and integrated marketing solutions across the company.

Estrella Media is one of a number of Spanish-language broadcasters targeting the U.S. Hispanic market. It produces over 2,500 hours of original programming per year and recently struck streaming TV distribution partnerships with TubiTV, FuboTV, Samsung TV Plus and Roku Latin America.

“René has an amazing track record in working with some of the world’s largest media brands and transforming their businesses into digital leaders,” said Peter Markham, CEO, Estrella Media. “We could not be more pleased to have him plot the course of our continued transformation into a Hispanic digital leader across all platforms.”

“I am thrilled to join Estrella Media and be a part of bringing culturally authentic news, music, sports and entertainment to an underserved Hispanic audience and making it available everywhere for free,” added Santaella. “The Spanish-language direct-to-consumer marketplace is taking off and I look forward to accelerating their leadership position and super serving this important community.”

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