The Special

What The Special does

The Special, legally El Especialito Inc. and operating online as El Especialito Digital, is a privately held Spanish-language weekly press and media company founded in 2002 and headquartered in Union City, New Jersey. It serves the U.S. Spanish-speaking diaspora — primarily concentrated in New York and New Jersey — with a multi-category weekly newspaper distributed digitally through elespecialitodigital.com. Content spans Noticias (news), Farándula (entertainment/celebrity), Deportes (sports), Salud (health), Recetas (recipes), Insólito (unusual stories), Videos, Horóscopo (horoscopes), and serialized fiction ('El Secreto de la Mansión'). The publication self-describes as the largest weekly publication in the United States and reports reaching more than 1 million readers per week, supported by an aggregated social media presence of approximately 75,000 followers across Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

The underlying product is a conventional web-based digital publishing platform — no mobile app, no public API, and no disclosed proprietary technology stack — delivering category-organized editorial content with embedded video and an email newsletter subscription flow gated by an 18+ age requirement. The company's business model is advertising-driven: revenue is generated through display ad placements sold to a small set of named regional sponsors (including Cannabis Smart NJ, Liccardi, and ConEd), with no publicly disclosed subscription pricing, programmatic ad-network reliance, or paid content tier. The firm operates with a lean team of 11–50 employees, and there are no disclosed funding rounds, parent-company relationships, leadership changes, acquisitions, or strategic partnerships in the available record.

Name

The Special

Legal name

El Especialito Inc.

Website

https://elespecial.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Special (El Especialito) is a privately held Spanish-language weekly newspaper serving the U.S. Hispanic diaspora, primarily in New York and New Jersey, via a web-based publishing platform. It reaches over 1 million weekly readers across news, entertainment, sports, health, and lifestyle verticals, monetized through regional display advertising.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Union City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Advertising: The publication generates revenue through advertising, with visible ad placements from sponsors including Cannabis Smart NJ, Liccardi, ConEd, and others displayed throughout the website.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

El Especialito is a Spanish-language weekly newspaper and digital publication distributed across New York and New Jersey, reaching more than 1 million weekly readers. It publishes original editorial content across multiple categories — Noticias, Farándula, Deportes, Salud, Recetas, Insólito, Videos, Horóscopo, and Chica Sexy — and generates revenue primarily through digital advertising placements on the website and social media channels.

Product overview

El Especialito is a single Spanish-language newspaper publication distributed in New York and New Jersey. The publication is a weekly newspaper organized into multiple content categories covering news, entertainment, sports, health, recipes, unusual stories, videos, horoscopes, and a serialized novel called 'El Secreto de la Mansión'. It is the self-described largest weekly publication in the United States, reaching over 1 million readers each week.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• El Especialito Digital (elespecialitodigital.com) Spanish-language weekly newspaper with digital distribution serving Spanish-speaking readers in New York and New Jersey. Publishes weekly editorial content across categories including News, Entertainment, Sports, Health, Recipes, Unusual Stories, Videos, Horoscopes, and Chica Sexy, reaching more than 1 million weekly readers.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Hoy: Chicago-based Spanish-language daily (now part of Tribune). Comparable as a regional Spanish-language newspaper serving a distinct US metro from El Especialito's NY/NJ base.
• La Prensa de San Antonio: Spanish-language newspaper serving the Texas Hispanic market. Comparable as a regional Spanish-language print/digital weekly in a different US geography than El Especialito.

Emerging players

• Remezcla: Digital-first English/Spanish Hispanic media brand focused on culture, music, and news. Comparable as an emerging digital competitor targeting the same US Hispanic audience with a modern content and social-first model.
• Mitú: Digital-first Latino media company producing social/video content for young Hispanic audiences. Comparable as a digitally native competitor pursuing the same demographic with a creator/video-led approach.
• Pulso News: Emerging Spanish-language digital news outlet covering US Hispanic communities. Comparable as a newer digital-native Spanish news publication pursuing overlapping audience and advertiser relationships.

Direct peers

• La Opinión: Major Spanish-language newspaper in Los Angeles with a digital edition. Closely comparable as a Hispanic print-heritage daily/weekly that has transitioned online with ad-supported editorial verticals.
• El Diario NY: Long-standing Spanish-language daily/print newspaper serving the New York Hispanic market. Direct peer given overlapping audience (NY Spanish-speaking readers), weekly/print heritage, and ad-supported model.

Broad incumbents

• Telemundo: NBCUniversal's Spanish-language broadcast and digital network. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering news, entertainment, and digital content to US Hispanic audiences at significant scale.
• Univision Noticias: Largest Spanish-language media company in the US, spanning TV, digital news, and content verticals. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing for the same Hispanic audience and advertiser budgets, with a much larger footprint.
• CNN en Español: Spanish-language edition of CNN providing news, politics, and lifestyle content. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing for Spanish-speaking news audiences in the US with much larger resources.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/especialitomia
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@elespecialito
• Facebookfacebook.com/ElEspecialito
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/elespecialito
• Instagraminstagram.com/elespecialitousa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Special