Recognizing a need for more Spanish-language kids television content in The Americas, Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE has introduced a new version of its top-rated Clan kids channel to the region’s pay-TV market.

Clan Internacional bowed through pan-regional operator Movistar in Colombia in July 2017 as a 24/7, safe, commercial-free HD channel for kids ages four to 10. It then launched on seven additional platforms in late 2017—Evelyn SAC and Empresa Telecomunicaciones Multimedia Alfa (Peru), TV Cables de Chili (Chile), Nortelevisa (Argentina), Axtel (Mexico), Cable Color (Honduras) and Cablevision de Occidente (Costa Rica). Three more platforms followed—Univisa (Ecuador), Cable Onda (Panama) and Intercentro (Guatemala)—on January 1.

Despite close competition from established players like Discovery Kids, Nat Geo and VME, RTVE’s international sales director, María-Jesús Pérez, says Clan Internacional will stand apart from the pack. “The Latin American market is very competitive, but our product is different. It won’t be difficult for Clan to find its own space,” says Pérez, adding that the same Clan team in Spain is running the brand south of the equator, led by channel director Manuel Farelo, content director Yago Fandiño Lousa and head of programming Fernando Hernandez.

Looking at demos, two-thirds of Clan Internacional’s content is for preschoolers. Approximately 70% of the programming consists of in-house originals and co-productions, while 30% is comprised of third-party acquisitions. As for styles and titles, animation fills 85% of the slate (70% has been dubbed into neutral Spanish to date), while RTVE-owned live-action productions including Cocina Con Clan (Cooking with Clan) round it out.

The top-performing shows, according to Pérez, include Clan animated co-pros Pumpkin Reports (Motion Pictures), Bat Pat (Atlantyca, Imira), and Yoko and Friends (Wizart Animation and Somuga). “These are quite popular in Spain, but they don’t have big distribution outside of the country,” she says.

Looking at the channel’s digital strategy, Pérez says VOD and catch-up services are available, and RTVE is in the process of creating an iOS and Android app.

“For The Americas, we’re also going to reproduce the same strategy we have in Spain, where we create a special Clan product for kids every year. Just like we did with our branded kids tablet and watch,” says Pérez. “It’s one of the things that sets us apart from other kids channels, so we’re currently in discussions with some toy partners to make this happen.”

Up next, RTVE will present the channel at Kidscreen Summit in Miami following its NATPE debut. According to Pérez, priority markets for 2018 are the US, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Chile.