BREAKING: Robert Rodriguez's El Rey Network Selects Austin, TX as Production and Corporate Headquarters

El Rey Network executives announced today that Austin, Texas will be home to the production and corporate headquarters for the new English-language cable network founded by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. This signifies the first time a general entertainment network will have a formal production home in the state and signifies a major milestone in the history of Texas television and film production.

In addition to establishing its primary production and corporate headquarters in Austin, El Rey Network will film a wide range of scripted and unscripted content in the state, including the network's first scripted original, "From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series" which celebrated its premiere at Austin’s SXSW and debuted on the cable channel on March 11, 2014. The series was recently renewed for a second season and will begin shooting in Austin later this year.

Rodriguez joined forces with FactoryMade Ventures co-founders John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa and, with Univision Networks & Studios, Inc., launched El Rey Network which unites the most culturally diverse generation in the history of television. With a primary target of men 18-49, El Rey Network's mission is to fully represent and be inclusive of a growing and important American and Texan demographic: second and third generation Latinos who live in English-speaking households. Over the next 10 years, El Rey Network projects investing approximately $1.5 billion and is currently available to over 40 million homes in the U.S. In addition, the network's content will be seen globally in more than 100 territories. El Rey’s choice of Texas highlights and accentuates Texas’ identity as a beacon state for American Latino culture and entertainment.

"I want to be among the first to thank El Rey for joining a long list of businesses to call Texas home," Gov. Perry said. "El Rey is an important part of our burgeoning television production community, helping build our long-term industry infrastructure and making Texas even more competitive for jobs in movies and television."

“Austin is home to creative, talented people who do pioneering, game-changing work, and Robert Rodriguez exemplifies our creative base of talent. We’re pleased that the network has chosen Austin, which speaks volumes about our filmmaking environment,” said Mayor Lee Leffingwell. “The City of Austin works every day to support Austin’s creative economy sector, which has a $4.35 billion local economic impact, and having the El Rey Network headquartered in Austin will strengthen our creative sector for years to come.”

Robert Rodriguez, whose own Troublemaker Studios has been based in Austin since 1998, said: "As a filmmaker and founder of El Rey Network, I can't imagine a more iconic and inspiring location for our production headquarters or for the filming of our upcoming projects."

Governor Perry has long championed the Texas moving pictures industry, a vital homegrown industry that not only displays Texas to the rest of the world but also draws tourism and investment and creates jobs for Texans. A 2011 study conducted by the IC2 Institute and Bureau of Business Research at The University of Texas at Austin found that the $598.3 million in direct moving images production spending in Texas between 2007-2010 resulted in (i) $489.4 million in increased economic activity and (ii) $40 million in new state and local tax revenue.