Those who like to start their day with news podcasts look for intriguing and accurate stories served up by established journalists. So two years ago, Spotify started partnering with some of the most respected news outlets in Latin America to create country-specific news podcasts. Since then, our Morning Coffee podcasts have grown into a franchise that serves four different podcasts in four different countries-with listeners throughout the region streaming daily, perhaps with a hot cup of coffee in hand.
We started Caf da Manh in conjunction with Folha de S.Paulo in Brazil in January 2019. We followed with El Primer Caf , first with La Nacion in Argentina (March 2019) and then with El Tiempo in Colombia (July 2019). In October 2020, we added El Caf de la Ma ana with REFORMA in Mexico to the franchise. As of January 11, these Spotify Original daily news podcasts combined have racked up millions of listeners and 32 million streams across Latin America. They're streamed in over 20 countries globally-not only the four where they originated.
In celebration of our recent launch of El Caf de la Ma ana in Mexico and the two-year anniversary of the first Caf , we sat down with Spotify's Head of Studios, Latam & US LatinX Javier Pi ol to hear how the idea for the franchise came to be and what it has become.
What's the main idea behind the Caf franchise? We noticed a blank space in the Latin American market when it came to daily (Monday through Friday) news shows. So we seized on the opportunity of creating a daily news podcast hosted by the most respected voices. We believed we could do this in a unique way by partnering with the most respected news outlets in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia and by showcasing the voices of young journalists who could help us connect with younger audiences.
What is consistent among each of the four shows? What's unique? For starters, each of the shows has been among the top ten most-streamed podcasts in each of their respective markets at some point. There are two hosts, a young man and woman, at the same level, from the news outlet with enjoyable banter and an eye-and ear-for interviewing and telling stories. They each showcase the news you need to know to start your day. Individually, each show caters to its listeners. For example, El Primer Caf in Colombia skews longer, with episodes lasting 40 to 60 minutes, while El Caf de la Ma ana episodes are often less than 20 minutes long. Some focus on one theme or topic, while others are more of a news roundup. Each podcast is recorded at the media outlet's newsroom, which allows for unparalleled access to expert voices on each news subject.
How has the franchise made its mark in Latin America? These shows-and therefore Spotify-have become a reference in the podcast sphere when it comes to news and ways of talking about the most important stories of the day. In creating these successful shows, we've also brought huge developments to the podcast industry in the region and incentivized podcast production from large media companies in a formerly nascent industry. Ultimately, the series has introduced new, young listeners to podcasting and invited them to create a podcast listening habit.
What are the benefits of having a news podcast franchise? Thanks to feedback from the news outlets we're partnering with, we've gotten great feedback regarding the show and have been able to build up a network of correspondents who can be tapped for further podcast ideas. With these individual market podcasts off the ground, we also now have the possibility of exploring investigative reporting stories that span the region, not only one country.
Why is it important to have news shows like these? Why do you think the franchise has become so popular? The Caf series became popular because there weren't similar news shows with the credibility and rigor that the news outlets bring. But the format is what kept people coming back day after day. The format is designed for people's current lifestyles. Users can listen as they start their day and know they'll be prepared to really talk about what's going on in the world that day. They want rigour; they want to start out learning and then want to continue to have access to news wherever, whenever, on demand.
What's next for this franchise, or for podcasts in Latin America across the board? We've started to share feedback and processes between the shows in order to bring our innovation between territories. For example, we are now implementing things that have worked well in the Brazilian and Mexican shows in the Colombian and Argentine ones. We also foresee that we will have more spin-off shows that could be specialized on specific themes, such as the ones we have already seen in Brazil, like Plant o Coronavirus during the pandemic and Elei o na Chapa for the last Brazilian presidential election in 2018. We're excited to be able to bring so many new types of shows to so many listeners.
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
29/10/2025
The Walt Disney Company today announced they have closed their transaction to combine Fubo's business with Disney's Hulu + Live TV business....
29/10/2025
WUPPERTAL, Germany Riedel Communications has hired Ulrich Voigt as director, live production solutions, taking over the leadership of its SimplyLive business fr...
29/10/2025
LOS ANGELES Major League Soccer (MLS) will introduce a broadcast audio enhancement tonight during the LAFC vs. Austin FC playoff match here....
29/10/2025
ESPN said it will produce animated telecasts for NFL, NHL, NBA and WNBA games across The Walt Disney Co. and ESPN platforms during the 2025-26 season under an a...
29/10/2025
WASHINGTON Despite the government shutdown, the Federal Communications Commission has passed, with some revisions, a previously announced Notice of Proposed Rul...
29/10/2025
29 10 2025 - Media release SBS, NITV and Screen Australia announce 2025 Digital Originals Shortlist
The 2025 Digital Originals shortlisted teams. Photo credit...
29/10/2025
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
28/10/2025
ESPN Announces Monsters Funday Football', Its Latest Real-Time Animated Bro...
28/10/2025
SVG All-Stars: Catherine Chalfant, Manager, Remote Operations, ESPNThe Ole Miss alum is an operational force behind ESPN's extensive college-football catalo...
28/10/2025
Elevating the experience: AI and data take Ryder Cup to the next level By Joe OHalloran
Tuesday, October 28, 2025 - 10:25
Print This Story
NBC produced th...
28/10/2025
Conquering the Air (waves): Taking a close up look at the IBC Accelerator Priva...
28/10/2025
World Series 2025: Spectrum SportsNet LA Brings Dodgers Fans Closer to the Actio...
28/10/2025
Dylan Southern and Benedict Cumberbatch at the premiere of The Thing with Feathers (photo by George Pimentel / Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...
28/10/2025
For three weeks in Lagos, Spotify's Greasy Tunes Caf pop-up brought the cit...
28/10/2025
Once a niche subculture, German rap has evolved into an influential cultural movement. Now, Spotify is giving the genre a new home with OFFCULT, a playlist dedi...
28/10/2025
Shane Delia's Malta serves up the Mediterranean this summer
28 October, 2025
Media releases
Feast on 9,000 years of culinary history Mondays from 24 No...
28/10/2025
SBS's global sporting festival continues with the FIVB Beach Volleyball Worl...
28/10/2025
Bilbao, October 28, 2025 - AgileTV, a leading technology solutions company for t...
28/10/2025
Disney, NBCUniversal, FOX, Paramount Each Achieve Double-Digit Monthly Growth
...
28/10/2025
CINCINNATI The E.W. Scripps Company has announced an agreement to sell WRTV, its local ABC-affiliated station in Indianapolis, to Circle City Broadcasting for $...
28/10/2025
Berklee College of Music and Berklee Valencia Named to Billboards 2025 Top Music...
28/10/2025
NEW YORK As AI usage continues to spike, a new study from IAB delves into an important aspect of how AI is transforming the advertising business with new data s...
28/10/2025
Charlie Jablonski, a broadcast tech pioneer who helped shape the modern era of Olympics television coverage, died Oct. 25 at his home in Lake George N.Y., the N...
28/10/2025
VIENNA, Austria Bitmovin has launched Bitmovin Observability, a new stand-alone video data solution that delivers real-time insights into video playback. The so...
28/10/2025
LOS ANGELES LucidLink, the file streaming platform, has announced a Frame.io integration and expanded mobile capabilities at Adobe Max....
28/10/2025
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced that it has joined the Ama...
28/10/2025
Lightware, an industry leader in connectivity and signal management solutions, has announced a major update to its Taurus
platform, which now delivers flawless...
28/10/2025
Following a successful mid-September International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam, Hiltron Communications will promote its full range of satellite communi...
28/10/2025
Open Broadcast Systems has chosen MC&S (Media Consulting & Services) as a reseller to help strengthen its presence in France.
With over twenty years of experi...
28/10/2025
Bitmovin, leading provider of video streaming solutions, has launched Bitmovin Observability, a new stand-alone video data solution that delivers real-time insi...
28/10/2025
Ease Live, the leader in interactive TV technology, today announced the successful launch of interactive graphical overlays for UEFA Champions League matches fo...
28/10/2025
LucidLink, the file streaming platform, today at Adobe MAX announced a Frame.io integration and expanded mobile capabilities, streamlining collaboration and hel...
28/10/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has promoted Nick Hasenecz to general manager of WNDU, its NBC affiliate in the South Bend-Elkhart, Ind., market....
28/10/2025
Applications Open for Berklee Fenway Neighborhood Improvement Grant Boston nonprofits can apply by December 12 for funding to support community projects that ...
28/10/2025
Governments everywhere are racing to harness the power of AI - but legacy infras...
28/10/2025
AI is moving from the digital world into the physical one. Across factory floors...
28/10/2025
NVIDIA is delivering the telecom industry a major boost in open-source software for building AI-native 5G and 6G networks.
NVIDIA Aerial software will soon be ...
28/10/2025
The race to bottle a star now runs on AI.
NVIDIA, General Atomics and a team of international partners have built a high-fidelity, AI-enabled digital twin for ...
28/10/2025
Along the Pacific Ocean in Monterey, California, the Naval Postgraduate School (...
28/10/2025
To democratize access to AI technology nationwide, AI education and deployment c...
28/10/2025
Leading technology companies in aerospace and automotive are accelerating their ...
28/10/2025
28 Oct 2025
VEON's JazzCash Wins Silver Award for Innovation in Lending at ...
28/10/2025
Guests include Wayne Rooney, Maya Jama, Dame Laura Kenny, Chloe Kelly, Chris McC...
28/10/2025
The two-hour special, recorded live from the iconic Dolby Theatre in LA, will ai...
28/10/2025
Eutelsat upgrades teleports with Rohde & Schwarz satellite uplink amplifiers High efficiency and resilient Ku-band amplifiers for excellent RF performance
...
28/10/2025
These appointments come at a pivotal time for ABC, as the organisation continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of a digital-first media ecosystem. The ne...
28/10/2025
Scripps Research awarded $4 million to advance platform for neurodevelopmental disorders The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) grant support...
27/10/2025
You can touch this: Haptics becoming central to the virtual live experience By Adrian Pennington
Friday, October 24, 2025 - 09:12
Print This Story
The vid...
Those who like to start their day with news podcasts look for intriguing and accurate stories served up by established journalists. So two years ago, Spotify started partnering with some of the most respected news outlets in Latin America to create country-specific news podcasts. Since then, our Morning Coffee podcasts have grown into a franchise that serves four different podcasts in four different countries-with listeners throughout the region streaming daily, perhaps with a hot cup of coffee in hand. 
