21st Century Fox Unloads Spanish-Language MundoFox

21st Century Fox’s Fox International Channels said it had sold its interest in US Spanish-language broadcast network MundoFox to its joint-venture partner RCN Television Group, ending an ambitious bid by the media company to gain broader entry to the Spanish-language television market, long dominated by Univision and NBCUniversal’s Telemundo.

MundoFox launched in the fall of 2012, burnishing what it touted as “teleseries,” or programming that emulates the action and drama of such well-known US shows as “24” or “Bones.” The idea at the time was to draw more interest from male viewers, who may not have been interested in the soapy telenovelas that are so much a part of the Univision and Telemundo schedules. Early series included “Kadabra,” an action-based serial that had proven popular in Spanish-language broadcasting, and “El Capo,” a drug-cartel drama known as one of Colombia’s most expensive. Many of the series were produced in Colombia, and the network also featured US TV shows with Spanish-language dubbing. The network has over 50 affiliates and serves the major US Hispanic metropolitan markets.