The long discussed movement of AAA to the U.S. was officially announced by Scott Sassa, the Vice Chairman of El Rey Network. It will be a joint venture between Mark Burnett (the producer of “Survivor”) and Robert Rodriguez of the El Rey Network. Sassa, one of the major power brokers at TBS when wrestling was on that station, announced a one hour television show that would debut during the second half of this year.
Burnett’s One Three Media will partner with Lucha Libre AAA — Mexico’s leading league — and FactoryMade Ventures. Antonio Cue Sanchez-Navarro and Latino America’s largest production group, Alex Garcia’s AG Studios, are also on board for the new venture.
“Starting this business with a new television series on a cutting-edge network like El Rey is very exciting,” Burnett said in a release announcing the news. “And it doesn’t end there. Wrestling is a billion-dollar business in the U.S., and with partners like Robert Rodriguez, Lucha Libre AAA and the rest of our great team, our new lucha libre league will make that market even bigger.”
Added Rodriguez: “El Rey Network is all about the unexpected which is why this is the perfect partnership. Our association with Lucha Libre AAA, Factory Made and Mark Burnett’s One Three Media speaks to our commitment to create content that resonates for a culturally diverse generation — one that expects high impact and excitement from their entertainment programming.”
As part of the new pact, the group will develop monthly and quarterly specials, as well as pay-per-view lucha libre events. Merchandise, licensing and product integration opportunities for the league are also being explored.
The news comes nearly a year after Lucha Libre announced plans to explore scripted and unscripted TV with new partners FactoryMade and Starlight Runner Entertainment, who will help build the multi platform world of heroes and villains.
In addition to Burnett and One Three Media, El Rey Network’s weekly series also will be executive produced by Rodriguez and by FactoryMade and El Rey co-founders John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa. One Three Media’s COO Brian Edwards will join the venture’s board with current board members Dorian Roldan from Lucha Libre AAA, Cue Sanchez-Navarro, Fogelman and Patwa.
The El Rey Network, which launched in December, is a new 24-hour English-language network targeting the Latino 18-49 audience. Founded and curated by Rodriguez, the network has a national distribution agreement with Comcast. Scott Sassa serves as the network’s vice chairman.
