RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL — Brazilian indie channel network Sofa DGTL is launching 16 free, ad-supported streaming TV-only FAST channels in Spanish and Portuguese on YouTube in Brazil, Spanish-speaking Latin American countries, the United States, and Portugal.
Sofa CEO Fabio Lima and YouTube Brazil strategic partner manager Douglas Rodriguez told Variety that the channel will be rolled out gradually starting the week of Rio2C 2026, Latin America’s largest creative gathering, which will be held from May 27th to 31st.
These channels, currently available on the FAST platform, feature 24/7 premium linear programming, primarily movies, but also series comedies and other television shows, all dubbed into Spanish or Portuguese.
Sofa plans to launch the Cinepolis channel on YouTube in the US, targeting the U.S. Hispanic market and a Spanish-language movie channel in partnership with Sofa and Mexican box office giant Cinepolis.
Sofa will roll out its Spanish-language channel Adrenalina Pura TV in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries (a partnership between Sofa and Brazilian distribution company California, which will broadcast action and adventure movies and series). Adrenalina Pura TV – Halloween (Horror, Thriller, Authentic Crime Movies and Series, California Affiliation). Cinepolis Channel; Filmelier TV (from family comedies to award-winning fest titles); Filmelier TV – Real Life (based on real facts and true stories). Filmelier TV – Esperanza (Inspirational stories about resilience, faith, fresh starts, overcoming challenges, and emotional healing). and Filmelier TV – Pasión (Love Story).
In Brazil, Sofa will launch Portuguese versions of these channels, with some variations determined by regional production licensing agreements.
Additionally, it will launch on both Brazil’s YouTube and Portuguese comedy channel Porta TV, a partnership between Sofa and Brazilian comedy production company Porta dos Fundos (literally “Back Door”). Founded in 2012, Porta dos Fundos is a pioneer in high-quality, internet-native comedy.
Rodríguez explained that YouTube Brazil currently has other linear channels, including SBT, one of the top three free-to-air networks in the country, and DiaTV, Dia Estúdio’s indie channel that aggregates entertainment programming hosted by Brazilian creators.
Douglas Rodriguez. Credit: Provided by YouTube
“The Couch linear channel is important to us because it aligns with the new behavior of YouTube users in Brazil and around the world: They are increasingly behaving like broadcast TV viewers and want long-form content,” Rodriguez said.
He added that more than 80 million people in Brazil (more than half of the platform’s users in the country) watch content via smart TVs, and the trend is similar in other parts of the world.
“More and more Brazilians are bringing the YouTube experience to their TV screens, seeking more collective and immersive viewing moments,” Rodriguez said. “The big difference with Couch Channel is that it offers premium content such as dubbed movies selected by expert curation. For example, users who want to watch action movies can tune into the channel and let the curation choose the movie for them.”
Fabio Lima. Credit: Courtesy Sofa
Lima noted that all 16 channels will have commercial breaks. We will be using Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI), the ad serving technology currently primarily used in Live Sports on YouTube. DAI allows you to insert targeted ads to each specific user at the moment of peak viewer attention.
“This equates to launching 16 new broadcast TV channels, but with all the infrastructure, technology and interactivity that only YouTube can provide. We’re reinforcing the habit of viewers to trust their favorite channel selection without getting tired of endless searches,” Lima said. “In the short term, we’re going to be competing with the big networks. We’re going to have a bite of some of the advertising revenue that’s currently going to be free-to-air.”
