With public broadcasting under threat of severe budget cuts, layoffs or program discontinuation thanks to the elimination of federal funding of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Hemisphere Media Group has reached an agreement that will bring Puerto Rico’s noncommercial education TV channel to viewers in the U.S. mainland via streaming video.
As of today, WAPA+ viewers across the U.S. can access WIPR, the broadcast television channel for the Puerto Rican Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
As part of this collaboration, audiences in the U.S. will have access to a selection of WIPR programming. The first project to mark the beginning of the partnership will be morning show “Un Buen Día,” hosted by Rafael José, Linnette Torres, and Anoushka Medina. The program will air weekdays at 10am Eastern (11am in Puerto Rico during standard time).
Jimmy Arteaga Grustein, the President of Programming, Promotions, and Production for WAPA Televisión, commented, “At WAPA Media, we have a solid commitment with Puerto Ricans in the continental U.S. who are always looking for ways to stay connected to their island. This partnership with WIPR allows us to expand our content offering to the diaspora and offer productions with a Puerto Rican identity to global audiences. Furthermore, it allows Hispanic viewers of other nationalities that live in the United States to also get access to productions that are made on the island.”
WIPR President Luis A. Rodríguez Díaz highlighted the importance of this partnership. “Our mission has always been to educate, inform, and entertain through premium content,” he said. “Thanks to this alliance with WAPA Media, we can reach thousands of Boricuas in the diaspora who want to keep their connection to Puerto Rico and its people.”
WAPA+ is available on streaming platforms like The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus, Fire TV Channels, fubo, ViX, Plex, and Now TV Latino.
