AceShowbiz -

ABC News and Univision are teaming up to launch a new 24-hour news network aimed at U.S. Hispanics, so they announced on Monday, May 7. The joint project will provide news, lifestyle and cultural programmings in English language.

"This exciting joint venture represents the latest example of our long-term strategy to broaden the reach of ABC," said Anne Sweeney, president of the Disney-ABC Television Group. "Our powerful premier news brand, combined with the world's leading Hispanic media company, will create the nation's first news and lifestyle channel targeted to this quickly expanding and important community."

Isaac Lee, president of Univision News, stated that the yet-to-be-titled network will "provide all audiences with a multiplatform current events perspective on the issues that matter most to Latinos," but "not only the Spanish speakers."

ABC News' president Ben Sherwood added, "Our mission is clear: To offer culturally relevant news, information and lifestyle programming to the large and thriving Latino audience in the United States. In these times of rapid change, we are very excited about this opportunity."

Stressing that they don't plan to compete with general service providers including CNN or MSNBC or Fox News, he said, "They're well established. And that's not why we're here. We're here to do something customized and culturally relevant for a burgeoning population that eventually, we believe, will attract beyond that population. We want to be the first movers in the space."

The new cable channel is expected to launch in the first half of 2013 with a website, mobile and social media content covering the U.S. presidential election being set to debut this summer.