• by Wayne Friedman , March 12, 2012

The world’s richest man -- and major Mexican-based media executive -- Carlos Slim is financing a new Internet TV network called Ora.tv, which launches this year.

His first hire is former CNN TV host Larry King, who will have an interview show.

Ora.tv, a unit of Slim’s America Movil, will feature on-demand TV content, but will also produce "a wide range of programs that transcend traditional formats,” according to a network release. The company says this includes short-form segments lasting as little as three minutes.

Ora, which means “now” in Italian, also hired former senior News Corp. digital executive Jon Housman to run the network as its CEO.

Housman says: “With the exponential burst in video consumption via Internet-connected devices, this is an incredible moment to be launching a digital network and studio.”

Slim is the main provider of pay-television in Latin America, where he offers cable and satellite services to around 13 million customers. His HH ZSValso also owns a stake in the New York Times Co.

Recently, Forbes named Slim the world’s richest man, topping the list at $69 billion. Slim's America Movil is one of the world's biggest telecommunications firms.

Ora.tv says it will create high-quality video programming for digital distribution via a variety of platforms: mobile, tablets, and connected TVs.