Online Latino lifestyle network MiTu attracts investment

Online Latino lifestyle network MiTu has raised an estimated $3 million from a group of investors, led by former News Corp. executive Peter Chernin’s media holding company, the Chernin Group.

Other investors include Allen DeBevoise, chairman and chief executive of popular YouTube gamer channel Machinima, Juan Cristobal Ferrer of Ferrer Comunicacion, a Mexico City ad agency, and Advancit Capital, a venture capital firm founded by Shari Redstone.

Founded by television veterans Doug Greiff, Beatriz Acevedo and Roy Burstin, MiTu seeks to address a void in programing for young Latinos -- especially Spanish-speakers who have limited options in traditional media. MiTu seeks to provide culturally relevant shows across a range of lifestyle topics including food, health, beauty, the home, family and pop culture.

“We had an entire team scouring the Web, and there wasn’t [this type of programming]. We could not believe it,” Acevedo said. “We came to realize that ... this is an incredible opportunity.”

MiTu partnered with Latino content creators to launch a network of English- and Spanish-language channels on YouTube. Seven months later, it features more than 350 channels from North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia -- and has accumulated more than 800 million network views.

“The MiTu opportunity combines two powerful trends: one, the Latino audience is one of the fastest-growing and youngest demographics in the world,” Chernin said in a statement. “And two: YouTube is the largest and fastest-growing online video platform in the world.”

The potential online audience is sizable: about 35 million Latinos use the Internet in the U.S. alone, according to research firm EMarketer.

Greiff said MiTu plans to use proceeds from the investment to build out its infrastructure, hire staff and expand its social media expertise to help grow the network’s online audience.

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