VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 19, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cuba Ventures Corp. (TSX-V: CUV ) (OTCBB: MPSFF ) (Frankfurt: IJA2 ) (the "Company”) is pleased to announce that, through its wholly owned subsidiary Travelucion Media, it is has entered into a memorandum of understanding (the “MOU”) with US sports media giant SPORTTU for the distribution of Cuban Sports events, player profiles and bios, Cuban team facts and results, and Cuban sports-related media content in the United States and worldwide. Cuba Ventures will distribute this content through major mobile carriers including America Movil, which has over 260 million wireless subscribers, the United Nations and major international sports federations.
Cuba Ventures' CEO, Steve Marshall, commented, “ Travelucion Media owns the websites www.Cuba-Sports.com and www.Cuba-Sport.com , being the world’s first online Cuba Sports focused websites. The multibillion dollar sports media business is one that Cuba has been conspicuously absent from for over 50 years. Concurrently, we have seen through our alliances with Mercosur, Cuban Health and now SPORTTU that additional revenue streams from our media division will only increase going forward. Revenue derived from advertising, promotion and the increased overall traffic across our entire network is obtainable through these types of alliances, when subscribers are shown the exclusive Cuba content they seek. We firmly believe that Cuban Sports content will be a big hit, not only with North American wireless subscribers but worldwide. Some of the world’s most famous athletes have originated from Cuba, US Major League Baseball being just one example, with some of the highest paid Cuban born players. By joining forces with SPORTTU we will achieve a major milestone, using the latest technologies to update our legacy Cuba Sports websites, while simultaneously distributing this content on a worldwide stage, generating advertising revenue and fresh organic traffic for our network of 432 Cuba focused web properties. ”
During the development of the original Cuba Sports websites, Travelucion Media´s team worked intimately with Cuba’s Inder (National Institute of Sports ) and the Cuban sports minister. These decades’ old relationships place Cuba Ventures in the ideal position to provide Cuba Sports related web content to SPORTTU as supplier of Cuba Sports content, distributed to a worldwide audience.
The MOU signed between Steve Marshall, CEO of Cuba Ventures, and Juan Carlos Barerra, President of SPORTTU will allow Cuba Ventures, through its wholly owned Travelucion Media subsidiary, to work alongside SPORTTU in powering the online and mobile app for Cuba Sports with highly targeted Cuba centric sports content including legacy content of historic player facts, historic game results, historic league results, digitalization of key past games, and televised sports events. Cuba Ventures will also make available live streaming of numerous sports events and games directly from Cuba, allied to real-time league results and current player data and facts. Monetization and revenue from the Cuba sports section on the mobile app and webpage’s of SPORTTU and Cuba Ventures’ proprietary websites will be generated via up to three exclusive ad locations displayed to visitors across all markets and mobile carrier partners. SPORTTU and Cuba Ventures will jointly market and handle these ad placements. Cuba Ventures also expects an increase in web traffic across its legacy websites, as wireless subscribers seek more information about Cuba outside of the Sports world.
SPORTTU is headquartered in New York City with offices in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and India. SPORTTU delivers the ultimate fan experience through both its mobile app and online web content. SPORTTU’s personalized fan experience covers numerous sports in over 195 countries, leagues, teams, athletes, events and brands across the globe. The unique SPORTTU app allows millions of fans to create personalized sports profiles allowing them to follow leagues, teams, athletes and events in real-time, while being able to search and view historic facts on players and teams, including past games and playoffs.
Cuba Ventures in the News and Media:
September 1 st , 2016 marked the first commercial flight departing from the US and arriving in Cuba since 1961. Under the new agreement between the US and Cuba there will be 110 commercial flights per day between the two countries. With the first commercial flights from the US west coast set to commence in January 2017, Cuba Ventures CEO Steve Marshall was interviewed in California this month by the following networks:
- Univision America which has over 80 million Hispanic viewers and holds the top slot for Spanish speaking media within the US and Central America: https://youtu.be/RWi74exaiS0
- CBS CW6 San Diego: http://www.cw6sandiego.com/want-visit-cuba-not/
About Cuba Ventures Corp.:
Cuba Ventures Corp. is a publicly traded Canadian company capitalizing on the growth and unique opportunities in the USD $3.5 billion per year Cuban travel and tourism industry. Travelucion Media, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cuba Ventures, is a digital media and marketing company which owns a vast portfolio of Cuba related websites and online portals providing travel information, featuring individual web assets for Cuba's popular cities and towns, online booking solutions and online reservations through proprietary software, catering to international visitors to Cuba. Travelucion's online travel division is a duly licensed retail travel supplier handling millions of dollars in sales annually.
Travelucion's 432 Cuba focused multilingual websites generate over 30 million page-views per year, directing traffic to the company's online booking and e-commerce sites. Recently this traffic has become a cornerstone of the company’s assets, positioning it to direct highly targeted web traffic towards specific partnerships including the MOU with SPORTTU and Collaboration Agreement with Mercosur. Cuba Ventures will continue to monetize and develop its Cuba centric web traffic going forward. Travelucion’s websites cover all facets of Cuba including over 80 travel destinations, hotels & resorts, bed & breakfast, tours, car rentals, restaurants, as well as Cuban culture, history, music, celebrities, sports, medical treatments and more.
Travelucion's revenues have been rapidly growing in the wake of the notable shift in American policy towards Cuba. With diplomatic relations now normalized and restrictions on qualified American travel to Cuba relaxed, opening of the multi-billion dollar travel market to the Caribbean nation is becoming a reality. Further, with President Obama having now legalized the sale of Cuban cigars, rum and foods, we see yet another illustration of improved relations with Cuban goods now available across North America, opening up an all new advertising opportunity for Cuban producers desirous of promoting their brands and products on a worldwide stage. Travelucion's continued media dominance over the past two decades has provided Cuba Ventures with a competitive advantage in the burgeoning Cuba media space. With the relaxing of rules for American travelers to Cuba and the potential of further easing, along with recently announced sales of Cuban goods in the US, growth and investment opportunities are on the rise in Cuba.
For further information on Cuba Ventures Corp. (TSX-V: CUV ) or Travelucion Media visit the Company's website at www.cubaventures.com or www.travelucion.com . Cuba Ventures Corp. has approx. 62.6 million shares issued and outstanding.
CUBA VENTURES CORP.
STEVE MARSHALL ______________________________ Steve Marshall CEO
For further information contact myself or: Nick Findler Cuba Ventures Corp. Telephone: 604-687-3376 Toll Free: 800-567-8181 Facsimile: 604-687-3119 Email: info@cubaventures.com
NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.
