The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame will recognize two of the broadcasting industry’s most accomplished leaders at its 32nd annual gala event, Thursday, September 26 at New York’s Ziegfeld Ballroom (141 W. 54th St).

The Hall of Fame has announced the establishment of a new award category – the Service to the Community Award. ABC/Capital Cities’ Phil Beuth will be honored as the inaugural recipient at this year’s ceremony. Former Good Morning America weatherman Spencer Christian will be on hand at the ceremony to accept the honor on behalf of Mr. Beuth.

Longtime Hall of Fame chairman Bill McGorry will also be honored with induction into the Hall of Fame. McGorry has led the Hall of Fame for nearly two decades and has helped shape the gala into the premiere industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streaming television. 

Beuth was the first person hired by CapCities founder Tom Murphy in 1955 and spent his entire 42-year career with CapCities. During the seventies and eighties, Beuth demonstrated strong audience leadership and personal community involvement, while managing stations affiliated with all three networks, including service on each network's Board of Governors. When Capital Cities purchased ABC in 1985, Beuth was named president of morning and late-night entertainment, and headed Good Morning America. Throughout his career, Beuth remained guided by the principle of "doing well by doing good" and was known throughout the industry for giving generously and working tirelessly for charitable causes. Among his many achievements, Beuth is recognized as an early leader to raise awareness and funding to fight AIDS, both through charitable outreach and through the development of multiple specials that aired on the ABC network. Beuth retired as President of ABC TV Morning/Late Entertainment.

With more than 30 years of experience in publishing, McGorry was instrumental in the growth of some of the media industries’ most iconic business publications, including Broadcasting+Cable and Multichannel News. McGorry has served on the board of the International Radio & Television Society Foundation Inc. and the board of the Broadcasters Foundation of America. He is the recipient of several prestigious industry awards, including an Honorary Beacon Award from the Cable Television Public Affairs Association; the Joel A. Berger Award from Cable Positive; the Vanguard Award for Associates & Affiliates, which he received from the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from Women in Cable Telecommunications. McGorry was also inducted as a member of the Cable Pioneers organization. As chairman of the Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, McGorry oversees the nominating process and the annual awards event.

Other honorees at this year’s event include Arthur Wagner, Executive Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder, Active International, who will receive the Hall of Fame’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. Mario J. Gabelli, Chief Investment Officer, Gabelli Funds, will be honored with the Chairman’s Award.

The complete list of 2024 Hall of Fame inductees includes:

•  Janice Arouh, President, Network Distribution, Allen Media Group
• Bob Bakish, Former President and Chief Executive Officer, Paramount Global
• Phil Beuth, Former President of Morning and Late Night Entertainment, CapCities/ABC
• Karen Dougherty Buchholz, Executive Vice President, Administration, Comcast Corporation
• Mario J. Gabelli, Chief Investment Officer, Gabelli Funds
• Marianne Gambelli, President of Advertising Sales, Marketing and Brand Partnerships, Fox Corporation
• Scott Herman, Chairman, Broadcasters Foundation of America
• Douglas V. Holloway, President, Homewood Media
• Steve Lanzano, President and CEO, TVB
• Bill McGorry, Chairman, Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame
• Debra OConnell, President, Networks & TV Business Operations, Disney Entertainment Television
• Valari Dobson Staab, Chairman, NBCUniversal Local
• George Stephanopoulos, Co-Anchor of Good Morning America; Anchor of This Week With George Stephanopoulos, ABC News
•  Arthur Wagner, Executive Chairman of the Board and Co-Founder, Active International

To view the new class of inductees, visit bchalloffame.com.

A portion of the net proceeds from the B+C Hall of Fame gala is donated to The Broadcasters Foundation of America, a charitable organization that provides anonymous financial grants to those of our industry colleagues and their families who are in acute need due to critical illness or accident, advanced age, death of a spouse or other serious misfortune.

The Paley Center for Media, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is also a beneficiary. The Paley Center leads the discussion about the cultural, creative and social significance of television, radio and emerging platforms for the professional community and media-interested public.

For sponsorship, tables and ticket information, please contact Jessica Wolin at jessica.wolin@futurenet.com or 212-685-4233.

The 21st Annual Hispanic Television Summit, programmed by Schramm Marketing Group during NYC TV Week, features a morning keynote interview with Beau Ferrari, chairman of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, parent of the Telemundo network. He will focus on the Hispanic market’s unparalleled potential as an economic growth catalyst and the force of this consumer group in today’s multicultural landscape. 

The summit is the premier event for those in the business of television for Hispanic audiences worldwide. It takes place Wednesday, September 13, at 360 Madison Ave. in New York. The summit explores ways that global and local distribution of culturally accurate TV programming is engaging Hispanic viewers and advertisers across platforms — from streaming to broadcast to traditional pay TV (satellite and cable).

The morning sessions focus on revenue from advertising and subscription, opening with a “state of the Hispanic media market” by the new chair of the Hispanic Marketing Council (HMC), Isabella Sanchez of Zubi Advertising Services.

The morning continues with a panel discussion among leading media buyers from some of the Hispanic market’s highest-spending agencies, including Horizon Media, d’exposito & Partners and Omnicom Media’s Elevate. Up next is a fireside chat with an executive from T-Mobile, a leading consumer brand, about the cultural narrative in its ad creative, and another fireside chat with Comcast Cable’s multicultural marketing leader, Jose Velez Silva, and JP Rodriguez of Gallegos, the brand’s agency. The morning closes with the chairman’s keynote interview with NBCU Telemundo Enterprises’s Ferrari, on tapping into the economic power of Hispanics.

The midday program celebrates the accomplishments of the business’s pioneers and leaders with the presentation of the Annual Hispanic Television Awards (see sidebar).  The ceremony is followed by a celebratory lunch of traditional Caribbean and Mexican cuisines.

The afternoon opens with the Local Broadcaster’s keynote interview conversation with Jesus Lara, President of TelevisaUnivision Local Media. He will demonstrate the value of reaching Hispanics locally. The balance of the afternoon focuses on the business of programming for Hispanic TV audiences. One session spotlights different programming genres and another highlights program origination, featuring a popular series star, a producer and a streaming executive from Prime Video.  A session on viewer demand with Oswald Mendez from Canela Media and Javier Saralegui of Danger TV promises to spark energetic reactions.  

The final session is about distribution on linear and streaming platforms and is followed by a closing reception. 

Future’s B+C, Multichannel News and Next TV, producers of the upcoming L.A. TV Week events June 20-21 at the Sofitel Los Angeles, have named the 2023 “40 Under 40” class to be celebrated the evening of Wednesday, June 21.

Representing a range of companies and responsibilities, these men and women below a certain age are helping to lead media in new directions, wherever the viewers are. 

For more than a decade, Multichannel News has been helping to shine a light on rising executives under age 40, and along with B+C and Next TV, expanded the search last year to the West Coast and L.A. TV Week. 

Also: Meet the 2023 Wonder Women of Los Angeles 

For more information about the 2023 honorees and the event on June 21, please visit https://www.latvweekevents.com/. Honorees were chosen after a nomination and internal judging process.

Meet the 2023 “40 Under 40” in Los Angeles. 

Fanny Baudry, Managing Director, Wheelhouse DNA (a Wheelhouse Company).

Adam Bergman, Group Vice President, Advertising & Data Sales, Vizio.

Evan Bregman, General Manager, Streaming, Tastemade.

Michelle Byars, Senior Vice President, Development, ITV Entertainment.

Kimberly Caraig, Account Executive, Fox Corporation.

Colin Davis, Head of Scripted Originals, The Roku Channel, Roku.

Alessandra Donadelli, Vice President, Business Development, Warner Bros. Discovery.

Rebecca Evans, Executive Vice President, Nonfiction Content, Campfire Studios.

Daniel Farkas, Vice President, Distribution Strategy and Content Planning, Sony Pictures Television.

Falon Fatemi, CEO and Co-Founder, Fireside.

Mike Fazzino, Principal, Content Acquisition - WW Major Studio Licensing Strategy, Amazon.

Laura Foster, Vice President, Product Marketing, Innovid.

Katherine Gallagher, Programming Manager, Sinclair Broadcast Group.

Nick Garvin, Chief Operating Officer & Managing Partner, Mobile TV Group.

Samuel Harowitz, Vice President, Content Acquisitions & Partnerships, Tubi.

Stephen Hodge, CEO, OTTera.

Kate Hoenigsberg, Senior Vice President, Drama Development, Universal Television.

Fernando Hurtado, Manager, Digital Video, NBCUniversal Local.

RJ Larese, Vice President of Talent and Development + Brand Partnerships, Paramount.

Christian Linke, Co-Creator, Showrunner and Executive Producer, Arcane, Riot Games.

Betsy Lippitt, Vice President, U.S. TV Distribution, Sony Pictures Television.

Teresa Lopez, Vice President Content Partnerships, rlaxx TV GmbH.

Helen Lum, Executive Vice President, App Science, A Sabio Holdings Company.

Ronny Lutzi, CEO, Foxxum.

Andrew Matero, Vice President, Platform, Ampersand.

Kelly Miller, Senior Vice President, Global Partnerships, BBC Studios.

Paul O'Malley, Executive Producer, Independent, Formerly of 3 Ball Media.

Trixie Pacis, Director of Acquisitions & Original Programming Development, ChimeTV.

Joy Phillips, Senior Vice President, Publicity, AMC Networks.

Michael Rycyzyn, Director, Digital Licensing, A+E Networks.

Shaheen Sayani, Head of Content Partnerships, Samsung TV Plus, Samsung Electronics America.

Ahmadou Seck, Vice President, Scripted TV, MACRO.

Matt Shanfield, Executive Vice President, Development, The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC), a part of Sony Pictures Television.

Kyle Simon, Partner, Perkins Coie LLP.

Evan Statton, Senior Principal Architect, Media and Entertainment, Amazon Web Services.

Adam Sussman, Vice President of Development, Furry Prawn Productions (NBCU).

Brian Tannenbaum, Head of Alternative Originals, The Roku Channel, Roku.

Brendon Thomas, Senior Vice President, Distribution and Business Development, Paramount Streaming.

Kim Wendt, Senior Solutions Architect, Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Alex Yee, Co-Creator, Writer and Executive Producer, Arcane, Riot Games. ■

Jim Nantz, Rachael Ray, Soledad O’Brien and The Walking Dead will share the spotlight with on-air stars and impactful executives at the Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame gala at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City on May 3. 

“We are thrilled to once again honor our industry’s most accomplished pioneers, creators and innovators and leaders,” Bill McGorry, chairman of the Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, said. “These individuals all share a common bond — their collective vision, remarkable achievements and unbreakable will to succeed have changed our business forever and brought it to another level. We look forward to recognizing these worthy individuals on May 3 as we welcome them as the newest inductees into the B+C Hall of Fame — our industry’s highest honor.”

The full class is: George G. Beasley (1932-2021), founder, Beasley Media Group, and Caroline Beasley, CEO, Beasley Media Group; Matthew Bond, chairman, content distribution, NBCUniversal; Ray Cole, president and chief operating officer, Citadel Communications; Frank Comerford, chief revenue officer & president of sales, NBCUniversal Local; Ray Hopkins, president, U.S. networks distribution, Paramount Global; Wonya Lucas, president and CEO, Hallmark Media; Soledad O’Brien, CEO, Soledad O’Brien Productions; Rachael Ray, host, Rachael Ray; Deborah Roberts, ABC News senior national affairs correspondent and contributing anchor for 20/20; Al Roker, weather and feature anchor, Today, co-host of Today third hour; and James Thompson (1947-2022), past president, Broadcasters Foundation of America. 

Jim Nantz of CBS Sports gets the Lifetime Achievement Award and AMC’s The Walking Dead wins the Iconic Show Award. 

It is the 31st Hall of Fame event. More than 400 honorees have been inducted. 

A portion of the night’s proceeds is donated to The Broadcasters Foundation of America, which provides grants to industry colleagues and their families who are in acute need. The Paley Center for Media is also a beneficiary. 

Honorees will be profiled in the April issue of B+C Multichannel News. For sponsorship, tables and ticket information, contact Jessica Wolin at jessica.wolin@futurenet.com, 212-685-4233 or www.bchalloffame.com. ■

NYC TV Week wrapped up a successful return to live-event status by honoring the 2022 “40 Under 40” New York with an awards party at 230 Fifth in Manhattan on September 15. Forty under 40 recognizes a select group of emerging executives who are pushing the boundaries of innovation in the video industry. NYC TV Week also included the Advanced Advertising Summit, Next TV Summit and Hispanic TV Summit. For more coverage from the weeklong event, click here. 

Producers of the 20th annual Hispanic Television Summit have named five winners of the Hispanic Television Awards, to be given on Wednesday, September 14, at the in-person conference. The awards ceremony, midway through the daylong event at ETC Venues, 360 Madison Avenue in New York, is hosted by Ana Jurka, Telemundo commentator for November’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar. 

Sunny Hostin, co-host of ABC’s The View, will receive the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television. Past honorees include on-air personalities Don Francisco, Cristina Saralegui, Lili Estefan, Raúl De Molina, Jorge Ramos, María Elena Salinas, José Diaz-Balart and María Celeste Arrarás. Boxer Oscar De La Hoya and soccer announcer Andrés Cantor also are past honorees.

The 2022 Hispanic Television Award for Executive Leadership in Marketing will be presented to José Velez Silva, VP of multicultural IMC brand marketing at Comcast, while the Hispanic Television Award for Executive Leadership in Content Programming will be presented to Juanjo Duran, head of entertainment & multicultural at Google.

Cornerstone Companies Are Honored

Two more awards are given to companies that are pioneers who have long played a role in the business of television for Hispanics, and continue to make a significant contribution. The Rafael Eli Award for Pioneer in Hispanic Television in the agency category will be presented to Orci, which has long been a multicultural agency creating culturally-relevant advertising campaigns, including television, for leading brands. The award will be accepted by Marina Filippelli, the Orci CEO. Produ, a publication that for more than 30 years has reported on the latest programming deals in the Latin American and U.S. Hispanic TV industry, will receive the other award, accepted by publication owner and president Richard Izarra.

The annual award recipients are selected by a committee inclusive of industry leaders, members of the edit­orial team at Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News as well as the producers of the event. 

“This year’s recipients are a true reflection of our theme of Embracing Our Culture,” Joe Schramm, the summit’s producer and president of Schramm Marketing Group, said. “I know that each recipient is proud of their heritage. They are an excellent voice for Hispanic television audiences. Yet, I am most inspired by how personally proud each is to be receiving the award. They truly deserve this acknowledgement.”

The summit features a state of Hispanic media address by Gonzalo Del Fa, president of GroupM Multicultural, and an opening keynote with Gio Benitez, transportation correspondent for ABC News. For more information about the program or to review the agenda, please see NYCTVWeek.com. The Advanced Advertising Summit and Next TV Summit are also happening at NYC TV Week 2022, as is the award ceremony for the latest “40 Under 40” class. ▪️

ABC News correspondent Gio Benitez’s fascination with television news began during Hurricane Andrew.

“I remember I was 7 years old and I saw Hurricane Andrew moving through the community and I was hiding under the table because I was so scared,” Benitez, who grew up in Miami, said. “But I was realizing right away that everyone was so reliant on television news for information.”

Thirty years later, Benitez now works for ABC News as transportation correspondent, contributing stories to all ABC News platforms and programs, which include Good Morning America, ABC World News Tonight, Nightline, 20/20, ABC News Radio and streaming network ABC News Live. He joined ABC in 2013, working as a general assignment correspondent before taking on transportation in 2020.

Benitez will deliver the opening keynote at September 14’s 20th anniversary Hispanic Television Summit, a one-day conference exploring how the industry is embracing Hispanic culture. It’s part of NYC Television Week, sponsored by B+C Multichannel News parent Future. The keynote, “How Network News Embraces Hispanic Culture,” will be moderated by Joe Schramm.

Benitez got his start at CBS station WFOR Miami. He was an Emma L. Bowen Foundation scholar with the work-study fellowship running from his senior year of high school to his graduation from Florida International University. WFOR hired him as an investigative producer out of college.

He fell into reporting at WFOR because he lost his iPhone while on vacation. While picking up the iPhone 3GS, Benitez’s boss Adrienne Roark (now president of CBS Stations) suggested he shoot a story on it.

“I go back to the station, I produce the story, I edit the story, and it gets on in our 5:30 news desk and it just goes absolutely crazy all over the internet,” Benitez said. “They were writing about us in China, South America, because we inadvertently had produced the very first piece for television, shot entirely with a phone.”

Benitez has been on-air ever since, winning three national and two regional Emmy Awards so far. He also recently had the chance to guest co-host GMA.

“It truly feels like a dream and an honor to be able to sit in that chair and have this conversation with America in the morning,” said Benitez, who has long been a fan of morning news, calling it “appointment viewing” for him growing up.

Benitez, whose parents came to the United States from Cuba when they were young, realized how important growing up in Miami was while covering the story of Arizona mom Yanira Maldonado for ABC News. Maldonado was being held in a Mexican jail accused of trafficking drugs and Benitez was able to go to Mexico and look at the evidence, which ultimately did not support the accusation against Maldonado.

“I reported that on TV, and I then was able to go on with one of our partners, Univision, and I was able to, in Spanish, report that same news and what I had seen on Noticiero Univision,” he said. “And that’s when I really saw the impact of growing up in a community like Miami. And that’s obviously something I didn’t realize while I was there. But afterwards I just thought, ‘Oh, my gosh, what an incredible lesson and opportunity that was to grow up there.’”

‘Oh, My Gosh’ Moments

Benitez has had other “oh, my gosh” moments throughout his career. Early on at ABC, he appeared on-screen with Diane Sawyer when she was still anchoring World News. “It was just mind-blowing for me as a young correspondent,” he said.

Broadcast legends Sawyer, David Muir and Robin Roberts were some of the reasons he was “obsessed with ABC News” in college. “I thought that they just did such incredible work telling these stories with heart and compassion,” he said.

Benitez attributes his success to that same compassion he saw in Sawyer, Muir and Roberts. “I do not treat interviews like interviews,” he said. “I try to treat them, interview subjects, as human beings, always, first and foremost. And I’ve done that since I was in local news all the way through now.”

Benitez, who now splits his time between New York and Washington, D.C., said he hopes Hispanic TV Summit attendees will see his story as part of their story.

“I hope that people realize that there is so much that we have done,” he said. “There’s so much that we can continue to do. But I hope that they are also inspired to keep going on whatever their journey is.” ▪️

More than 400 people attended the 30th anniversary B+C Hall of Fame gala Thursday, April 14. Take a look at photos of the honorees and hosts in the gallery below.

Broadcasting+Cable, Multichannel News and Next TV have named the 2022 L.A. TV Week 40 Under 40. The honorees will be feted June 7 at the Sofitel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills. Part of Future's L.A. TV Week, the 40 Under 40 program recognizes industry pioneers who are pushing the boundaries of innovation. Recipients will be recognized in the May issue of B+C Multichannel News.

The complete list of 40 Under 40 is below in alphabetical order:

Nicole Baio, Partnerships, VIZIO

Eli Baldrige, Senior VP of Development, A. Smith & Co. Productions

Michael Bucklin, Senior VP, Digital Content, FOX Sports

Jennifer Cavrikas, Director, Partner Marketing, FOX Corporation

Tal Chalozin, CTO and Co-Founder, INNOVID

Stephanie Cobian, VP of Media Services and Talent Relations, TVGuestpert

Jonny Cogut, VP, Development, Jeff Jenkins Productions

Kelle Coleman, Senior VP, Global Content and Experiences, Nielsen

Derek Crocker, VP, Collegiate Sports, FOX Sports

Angela Dallas, Scripted Television Agent, CAA

Aileen Del Cid, Head of Marketing, Samsung TV Plus, Samsung

Ross Dinerstein, CEO, Campfire Studios

Lindsey Emerson, VP of Product Management, HBO Max

Maura Feerick, VP, Drama Original Series, HBO Max at WarnerMedia

Joey Femia, VP, Current Programming, Universal Television Alternative Studio

Laura Forti, Senior VP, Business Operations HBO, HBO Max, TNT, tbs and truTV, WarnerMedia

Carrie Gillogly, Senior VP, Scripted Programming & Co-Head of AMC Scripted Series, AMC Networks

Lindsey Green, Senior VP, Content Sales, Disney Platform Distribution

Will Gurman, VP, Global Partnerships & Content Strategy, Pluto TV

Rachel Koehler, VP, Original Content, Tubi

Prachi Kohli, Legal Affairs, National Diversity Coalition (NDC)

Megan Macmillan, VP, Comedy Development, Universal Television

Patrick McCarthy, VP, Series Publicity & Talent Relations, Universal Studio Group

Maryam Mehrtash, VP, Integrated Marketing, CBS Entertainment & Paramount+, Paramount

Emma Miller, Senior VP, Scripted Development, AMC Networks

Jordan Neyer, Senior VP, Corporate Strategy, Crown Media Family Networks

Sarah Pilla, Multimedia Journalist, Spectrum News 1

Anastasia Puglisi, Senior VP, Wolf Entertainment

Si Rajadhyax, Multi-Platform Producer, Cox Media Group

Jenny Ramirez, Senior VP, Unscripted Programming, Warnermedia (TBS, TNT, truTV)

Lynzie Riebling, VP, Insights, REVOLT TV

Christina Rieger, Director of Sales, National, Ampersand

Kimberly Rosenblum, Senior VP, ITV Studios America

Andrew Schotz, Head of Development, Anvil 1893 Entertainment

Samantha Serigano, National Advanced TV Account Director, Ampersand

Ariana Tejero, Senior Producer, Spectrum News 1

Simon Thomas, President of ITV Entertainment and Head of International Programming, ITV

Kenny Tsai, Senior VP, Current Programming, Universal Content Productions

Thomas Wadsworth, CPO, Struum, Inc.

Mary-Hollis Williams, Senior Director, Talent Relations, FOX Sports

Elliot Wolf, Executive VP of Digital, Wolf Entertainment

Stefanie Zuroff, Director, Business & Development & Content Partnerships - Samsung TV Plus, Samsung. ■

A group of gold-medal worth keynote speakers have been lined up for the Advanced Advertising Summit, which will take place virtually on Tuesday, Nov. 16, during Virtual Fall TV 2021 with no cost to attend.

The opening keynote speaker, Brad Stockton, senior VP, national video innovation at dentsu will provide a buyer’s perspective on new advertising technologies.

Dan Lovinger, executive VP, advertising sales, NBC Sports Group, will look ahead to the Olympics and discuss how advertisers are getting a bigger bang for their buck than ever, thanks to NBC’s portfolio of linear, digital and streaming platforms and enhanced consumer insights.

The closing keynote speakers, Kim Kelleher, president of commercial revenue & partnerships at AMC Networks and Evan Adlman, senior VP, advanced advertising & digital, at AMC Networks, will talk about how advanced advertising and new targeted media opportunities are transforming the traditional upfront market.

Panels will examine the latest trends in addressable advertising, the hot CTV market, and monetizing OTT in local markets. Panelists representing Comscore, Premion, Vevo, Xandr, NBCU, Hearst Television, Madhive, Beachfront, Univision and Dish Media will share their experience and expertise.

“Advanced advertising continues to make strides, so it's important to keep up with developments in the industry,” said B+C Business Editor Jon Lafayette. “The speakers at the Advanced Advertising Summit are at the tops of their game and attendees are sure to get valuable insights.” 

Winners of the inaugural Advanced Advertising Innovation Awards will claim their prizes during the summit for the outstanding campaigns they submitted. Getting awards are Gamut, Vevo, Fox and Pepsi, and Spectrum Reach.

Virtual Fall TV 2021 also includes TV Tech Summit, Next TV Summit and Hispanic Television Summit. Registration is free.

In the mid-90s Ana de la Reguera’s acting career began in Spanish-language telenovelas. Over two decades later the Mexican actress has made a name for herself in Hollywood, most recently starring in Zach Snyder’s Army of the Dead for Netflix. Her credits also include leading roles in the final installment of the Purge franchise, The Forever Purge, for Universal; Jon Favreau’s Cowboys & Aliens; Netflix series Narcos and HBO’s Eastbound & Down. She also plays Los Angeles politician Marisol Silva alongside Billy Bob Thornton in the Amazon Prime drama series Goliath.

In 2019, de la Reguera created, produced and starred in Ana, a semi-autobiographical half-hour comedy. This fall she began production on the second and third season of the series, which is available on the streaming platform Pantaya in the United States and internationally via Amazon Prime Video. 

In addition to her acting credits, de la Reguera has served as a brand ambassador for CoverGirl, Coca-Cola and Pepsi in Mexico. She recently became the brand ambassador for Colgate in the U.S. Latinx community, and she partnered with DoorDash on a campaign in support of restaurant workers during the pandemic.

NextTV contributor Addie Morfoot caught up with de la Reguera ahead of her receiving the Legacy Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television at the 19th Hispanic Television Summit, taking place virtually on Thursday, Nov. 18 as part of Virtual Fall TV 2021.

Next TV: Your acting credits cover all genres. When choosing to take on a role is there criteria that each character you play must meet?

Ana de la Reguera: In the beginning of my career, I was literally taking every single opportunity I could. So, I've got to play many different types of characters throughout my career, which has been fun. But at this point in my career, I like to take parts that I haven't played before, so I would say that’s a criteria. But sometimes I (take a role) because I want to work with a certain actor or a certain director. Or I take a part because it's just a great story. 

NTV: You created, wrote, produced and star in the semi-autobiographical series Ana about a Latina actress living in Hollywood. What made you want to make a series based on your life experiences? 

AR: It was not so much about putting my life out there, but instead putting my biggest fears, my thoughts and curiosities out there. I just wanted to talk about those subjects via me, so the easiest way for me to do that was putting it (in the context) of my life. So, while not everything on the show has happened to me, the series is a way for me to explore issues, talk and share with the audience.

NTV: Ana marks your debut as a writer and producer. You are also the series’ showrunner. What has it been like to take on all these different creative roles?  

AR: Doing Ana has been incredible for me because I've grown up a lot as an artist. Developing, showrunning, writing and producing the show made me become a better actress because now I understand everyone else’s job on set. So, I think, I make people's life easier now because now I understand those other jobs and I’m thinking of the entire process of the project, not just my role as an actress.

NTV: Is the plan to continue to write and produce after season two and three of Ana?

AR: I'll do the second and third season and then I’m going to jump into other stories that I'm interested in telling. I know it is going to be an easier [experience] for me because with Ana I have to micromanage every single thing. Since it’s semiautobiographical I’ll be like – ‘No! My mom wouldn’t wear that.’ Or ‘My sister would never say that.’  

NTV: What do you consider the key to longevity in Hollywood?

AR: You have got to just keep working and reinventing yourself, and you also have to have a lot of passion. The industry is changing constantly so you have to adapt, be open and be aware of what's going on around you.

While the NAB Show 2021 may have been cancelled, submissions are still open for the Best in Market Awards, celebrating the best new products and solutions.

The Best in Market Awards offer a platform for the many products and solutions in the marketplace that could not be seen at major trade shows this year. The program will serve in place of the Best of Show Awards that would have run at the in-person event.

The awards are open to all manufacturers of professional TV, radio, and AV products and solutions, regardless of exhibitor status at major events.

The Best in Market awards will be judged and presented by Future brands TVBEurope, TV Tech, Radio World, Next, Mix, Broadcasting & Cable and Sound & Video Contractor.

The CW has pulled off a tricky act across the last several years — airing programming that appeals to a wide audience, as befits a broadcast network, while also serving the LBGTQ+ community with a range of relevant, colorful characters. Fully 80% of the network’s scripted shows in 2021-2022 feature characters representing the LGBTQ+ community. 

It’s a mission The CW takes very seriously. “As a network, The CW is in the business of inclusive storytelling, which begins with acknowledging that our audience and society-at-large is diverse and filled with a wide range of lifestyles and cultural values,” The CW chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz said. 

The mission goes back at least a decade for The CW. The network had the first transgender superhero, in Nia Nal/Dreamer from Supergirl, portrayed by Nicole Maines; the first Black lesbian superhero in Anissa Pierce/Thunder from Black Lightning, played by Nafessa Williams; and the first lesbian superhero to headline a series, as was the case with Kate Kane of Batwoman, who was played by Ruby Rose. 

After Rose departed the series, Javicia Leslie was cast as Ryan Wilder, a skilled-but-undisciplined fighter who becomes the new Batwoman after finding the Batsuit in an airplane crash. Wilder gave The CW its first Black lesbian superhero to headline her own show. 

In April, The CW launched the My CW Story campaign, which celebrates viewers who have been empowered by CW characters to live their true lives. As part of Pride Month, The CW rolled out the stories of James, a transgender man inspired by Supergirl’s Nia Nal, and Julia, a bisexual woman inspired by Riverdale’s Cheryl Blossom (played by Madelaine Petsch). 

Gaye Hirsch heads development for The CW, Michael Roberts oversees programming, and Dana Theodoratos heads up casting. Network executives have said that showcasing characters who represent a diverse America helps combat ignorance and injustice, and inspires positive change in the nation and beyond. Diverse characters also make for more authentic storytelling.

“On every level at The CW and in partnership with our incredibly passionate creative talent on both sides of the camera, we continue to work to ensure the LGBTQ community is seen and heard,” Pedowitz said, “as we continue to focus on telling genuine and credible stories that not only reflect the world we live in, but also the world we all want it to be.”

The CW’s efforts to better represent LGBTQ+ viewers were recognized at June 23’s Pride Leadership Awards, as B+C, Multichannel News and Next TV honored the network for for outstanding leadership or extraordinary courage displayed in the efforts to present LGBTQ+-themed tele­vision content. To view the ceremony, visit pridetvsummit.com.

The Pride TV Awards for Leadership and Courage were presented by B+C and Multichannel News June 23 at the first-ever Pride TV Summit. 

The conference, hosted by Luis Sandoval, correspondent for Univision’s Despierta América, focused on the business of television programming featuring LGBTQ+ topics, storylines, characters or performers. 

Eight honorees were recognized during the awards ceremony, hosted by DailyMailTV’s Thomas Roberts, which was the final session of the conference. Each session will be available for viewing through late July at pridetvsummit.com.    

Among the recipients were four organizations: Comcast, The CW, RAPP Worldwide Agency and SKYY Vodka. Four individual awards were presented to Gio Benitez, transportation correspondent for ABC News; Jonathan Capehart, host of The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart on MSNBC; Ilene Chaiken, showrunner and executive producer of NBC’s Law & Order: Organized Crime; and Sarah Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD. 

COMCAST, THE CW CITED: The award in the category for Membership or Employee Association was presented to Comcast in recognition of its fostering of an LGBTQ+ friendly culture both within the company and in the communities it serves. The award was accepted by Jan Hofmeyr, executive VP and chief network officer, Comcast NBCUniversal.

The CW was honored in the Television Network category for its ongoing commitment to scripted programming featuring LGBTQ+ characters (see page 16). Fans are likely familiar with the network’s numerous superhero programs featuring characters identified as LGBTQ+. The CW chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz accepted on behalf of the network. 

HITTING THE SKYY: SKYY Vodka was honored in the Brand Advertiser category. SKYY has long been positioned in advertising targeted to LGBTQ+ consumers through crossplatform media promotions and the sponsorship of LGBTQ+ community events. Over time, the brand’s blue bottle has  an iconic and highly recognized image in LGBTQ+ media. The award was accepted by Bernadette Knight, senior category marketing director at the Campari Group.

RAPP ON MEDIA BUYER: In the Media Buying Agency category, the award was presented to RAPP Worldwide, which was recognized for its commitment to aid leading brands in reaching out to LGBTQ+ consumers through multiplatform media, including TV and video tactics. Accepting was Devin O’Loughlin, global chief diversity, equity and inclusion and communications officer, global chairperson/Omnicom OPEN Pride, RAPP Worldwide. The agency also was acknowledged for a creative approach to openness and authenticity about those who identify as LGBTQ+.

SALUTE TO GIO: One award in particular acknowledged an on-screen talent in the category of professionalism and authenticity, both on and off camera, and at work and in his personal life. It was presented to ABC News transportation correspondent Gio Benitez, a familiar face to Good Morning America viewers, for his on-screen professionalism and his authenticity as an out and proud member of the LGBTQ+ community. 

CAPE-ING UP: Jonathan Capehart, host of MSNBC’s The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart, was recognized for Political News Journalism. Capehart is an accomplished and outspoken journalist covering many political topics, including those that reflect equality for members of the LGBTQ+ community.  In addition to his role on MSNBC, he also appears as part of “Brooks and Capehart” on the PBS NewsHour; and is an opinion writer for The Washington Post, serving on the newspaper’s prestigious editorial board and hosting its Cape Up podcast.

ILENE CHAIKEN, CREATOR: The award in the category of Television Program Creator was presented to Ilene Chaiken in recognition of her authentic depiction of LGBTQ+ characters in television dramas. Known for her work with the iconic series L Word and Empire, Chaiken is currently the showrunner and executive producer of NBC’s Law & Order: Organized Crime. The program is the newest addition to the popular and long-running, crime-drama franchise created by Dick Wolf. As with her past works, Chaiken has introduced a strong, leading LGBTQ+ character. This time, the character is a lesbian of color, Sgt. Ayanna Bell, played by Danielle Moné Truitt.

GLAAD ADVOCACY: The final Pride TV Award was presented in the category of Advocacy to Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of GLAAD. Ellis has worked through entertainment, news, and digital media to shift public attitudes and accelerate the acceptance of LGBTQ+ people. Under her direction, GLAAD has made many recent advances, like driving rapid response to news incidents involving LGBTQ+ people, as well as expanded coverage of stories reflecting LGBTQ+ communities in Spanish-language and Latinx media.  

The awards were just one session within the daylong program that included 47 individuals as speakers, panelists, moderators, hosts and honorees. The conference was programmed by Schramm Marketing Group on behalf of B+C and Multichannel News.  

Once upon a time, LGBTQ+ representation on television came only sporadically, by way of series like comedies Ellen, Friends and Will & Grace, and dramas like L.A. Law and Queer as Folk. More recently, TV has made huge strides in representing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, both in scripted and nonscripted fare, courtesy of a wider array of entries, including dramas Orange is the New Black, Pose, Star Trek: Discovery, Supergirl and Batwoman, and nonscripted RuPaul’s Drag Race and Big Brother. 

But the casting of LGBTQ roles in today’s market is still a sensitive and potentially controversial issue, which was the focus of the Pride TV Summit’s Casting Conversation, moderated by casting director Michael Donovan. 

When is someone’s sexual orientation relevant to playing a gay role? What about gay actors who play straight roles and vice versa? Is there a mandate within the broadcasters and/or via the public for more LGBTQ storylines? More importantly, is the culture changing?

More Openness, Inclusion

“One hundred percent, things are changing in the industry,” said Caroline Dries, showrunner for The CW drama Batwoman. “There is a search for inclusion, and way more openness. And there is an excitement for these roles and a need for representation due to the raised awareness in social media. 

“For me, as the creator and the storyteller, the No. 1 most important thing is that the character is authentic and a good representation of the community,” Dries added.

Debuting in October 2019, gay actress Ruby Rose as Kate Kane (aka Batwoman) made television history as the first openly lesbian superhero on television. After an unexpected exit in season one, bisexual actress Javicia Leslie was cast as Ryan Wilder, the new Batwoman.

“When we were casting Batwoman originally, we ultimately went with an out actor,” noted Dries. “In hindsight, thank God we did cast someone from the LGBTQ community, because of the amount of questions and conversations you are talking about on this subject. If we had cast a straight girl, it would have been a bit clumsy and awkward and probably would have felt inauthentic.

“I was also criticized because the character of Kate Kane was Jewish in the comic books and I did not cast a Jewish actress,” Dries added. “Basically, you just have to choose your battles.”

“Naturally, we cannot ask anyone about their sexuality when we cast a role,” Karen Barroeta, executive VP at NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, observed. “Only if the actor or actress is open about it, then you know it. For us, it is very important not to discriminate based on sexuality or in any way.”

Citing straight actors Eric McCormack in Will & Grace, Darren Criss in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, Tom Hanks in Philadelphia and Sean Penn in Milk as “performances we would have missed had we not had straight actors in the roles,” Donovan also offered a quick clarification. “That’s not to say a gay actor would not have been as good in those roles also,” he said.

Casting Without Limits

For transgender actress Nicole Maines, who portrays Nia Nal (Dreamer), a transgender superhero, on Supergirl, only auditioning for trans character roles would mean far fewer opportunities. “Trans women are women and we can play women of all types, reinforcing a positive message,” Maines said. “There is an idea of what trans looks like, and when we are able to portray ourselves and tell our own stories you can actually see it. But we should not just be limited to trans roles.”

“The most important thing is getting the stories out and telling the stories well because I think that, above all, changes hearts and minds,” casting director Margery Simkin said during the panel session. “And I hope the goal, in the end, is that anybody can play anything. That’s what acting is. It’s not about being who you are. It’s about who you are able to be through your craft and your ability.”

“Inclusivity is going to continue to grow,” Barroeta predicted. “And there will be a moment when it is all going to become normal and we are never going to have to say inclusive again." 

As the LGBTQ+ community continues the fight to get Congress to pass key legislation, it also looks to continue to build influence and support for its social rights movement, according to Black News Channel (BNC) host Aisha Mills. 

Mills, who will host a not-yet-named daily primetime political news show for the African-American-targeted news channel that launched in February 2020, said the community is closely watching developments surrounding the The Equality Act, which will make sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes in America. The legislation, which would amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, education, federally funded programs, credit and jury service, has passed the Democratic-controlled House but continues to languish in the Republican-held Senate.

“We have to guilt them all,” Mills said in a Pride TV Summit interview with Multichannel News senior content producer, programming R. Thomas Umstead. “It’s so much politics. … but what we can do on the outside is continue to put pressure and just guilt the handful of Republican politicians who don’t want it to move forward. The vast majority of people in America support LGBTQ equality fundamentally as it relates to basic dignity and rights.” 

Outside of Congress, Mills — who served as the first African-American woman president of the Victory Fund LGBTQ+ political action group — said she is encouraged by the inroads the LGBTQ+ rights movement continues to make throughout society. In particular, she said people of color have played and continue to play a major role in leading the fight for LGBTQ+ equity and representation. 

“It was actually Black, Latinx, trans-identified, nonbinary people who were the ones on the front lines, literally putting our bodies in harm’s way that sparked the movement,” she said. “Today, when we look at how far we’ve come, it is Black and Latinx people in storylines all throughout Hollywood, be it Moonlight or Pose or Laverne Cox in Orange Is the New Black that are the trendsetters, the culture makers and conversation creators.” 

She also dismissed criticism of the expanding acronyms such as LGBTQIA+ used to describe or define the community. 

“We don’t need to  try to distill down and create some singular uniformity in order to be a community and to reflect people,” she said. “Let’s name it all and claim it all because at the end of the day we identify ourselves for ourselves by ourselves and be respected in how we want to be acknowledged and addressed.” 

BNC Strikes Verizon Deal

Mills’s appearance at the Pride TV Summit came as Black News Channel reached a carriage agreement with Verizon Communications’s Fios TV. The deal puts BNC, which launched in February 2020, in some 3.7 million more homes, extending its reach to nearly 60 million linear cable subscribers.

Verizon joins Comcast, DirecTV, Charter Communications and Dish Network as a distributor, according to the channel. 

“Linear and digital platforms are seeing increasing value in BNC’s unprecedented coverage of the experiences unfolding in Black and Brown communities as well as perspectives, viewpoints and stories that are not presented anywhere else,” BNC president and CEO Princell Hair said. 

Randy Rainbow, yes, that’s his real name, is a two-time Emmy-award nominee, comedian, lyricist, and star of YouTube's popular Randy Rainbow channel. The program features witty political satire lampooning leaders in the news with musical parodies of popular show tunes or pop hits. Examples include Desperate Cheeto to the tune of Desperado; Rudy and The Beast based on Beauty and The Beast and Mr. Biden (Bring My Vaccine) using the tune of the 50’s pop classic, Mr. Sandman, Bring Me A Dream.   

Rainbow’s talents seem limitless. He composes the lyrics, plays multiple male and female roles in the cast, films and edits each episode in his apartment and then distributes the content on YouTube. The results are unforgettable moments of humor and quality entertainment. 

In a fun-filled and lively fireside chat (with producer Joe Schramm) during the June 23 Pride TV Summit, Rainbow discusses the history behind the development of the series and his motivation for creating the show.  He shares his childhood dreams of acting on Broadway and how those dreams have almost come true by co-starring with Broadway star Patti Lupone in one of last year’s episodes, If Donald Got Fired (1.7 million views) to the music of If Momma Was Married from the Broadway hit, Gypsy.  

Much to his personal amazement, Rainbow has attracted numerous famous celebrity fans, some of whom have agreed to work with him on upcoming projects. As an example, he mentions in the interview that he is working on an album with the Academy Award-winning composer and songwriter, Alan Menken. He also mentions that tickets are on sale now for his Randy Rainbow Live tour which starts at the Beacon Theater in New York on October 30. The website www.RandyRainbow.com offers a full list of the tour dates and ticket information. Randy Rainbow’s current and past parodies can be viewed on YouTube. Register for free to see Randy Rainbow and an insight-filled program at the Pride TV Summit. Below is a preview of his chat with event producer Joe Schramm.

The CW has pulled off a tricky act across the last several years — airing programming that appeals to a wide audience, as befits a broadcast network, while also serving the LBGTQ+ community with a range of relevant, colorful characters. Fully 80% of the network’s scripted shows in 2021-2022 feature characters representing the LGBTQ+ community. 

It’s a mission The CW takes very seriously. “As a network, The CW is in the business of inclusive storytelling which begins with acknowledging that our audience and society-at-large is diverse and filled with a wide range of lifestyles and cultural values,” said Mark Pedowitz, chairman and CEO, The CW. 

The mission goes back at least a decade for The CW. The network had the first transgender superhero, in Nia Nal/Dreamer from Supergirl, portrayed by Nicole Maines; the first Black lesbian superhero in Anissa Pierce/Thunder from Black Lightning, played by Nafessa Williams; and the first lesbian superhero to headline a series, as was the case with Kate Kane of Batwoman, who was played by Ruby Rose. 

After Rose departed the series, Javicia Leslie was cast as Ryan Wilder, a skilled-but-undisciplined fighter who becomes the new Batwoman after finding the Batsuit in an airplane crash. Wilder gave The CW its first Black lesbian superhero to headline her own show. 

In April, The CW launched the My CW Story campaign, which celebrates viewers who have been empowered by CW characters to live their true lives. As part of Pride Month, The CW rolled out the stories of James, a transgender man inspired by Supergirl’s Nia Nal, and Julia, a bisexual woman inspired by Riverdale’s Cheryl Blossom (played by Madelaine Petsch). 

Gaye Hirsch heads development for The CW, Michael Roberts oversees programming, and Dana Theodoratos heads up casting. Network executives have said that showcasing characters who represent a diverse America helps combat ignorance and injustice, and inspires positive change in the nation and beyond. Diverse characters also make for more authentic storytelling.

“On every level at The CW and in partnership with our incredibly passionate creative talent on both sides of the camera, we continue to work to ensure the LGBTQ community is seen and heard,” Pedowitz said, “as we continue to focus on telling genuine and credible stories that not only reflect the world we live in, but also the world we all want it to be.”

The CW’s efforts to represent the LGBTQ+ community will be recognized on Wednesday, July 23, at The Pride Leadership Awards, a virtual event from B+C, Multichannel News and Next TV for outstanding leadership or extraordinary courage displayed in the efforts to present LGBTQ+-themed television content. To watch the Pride TV Leadership Awards, register for the Pride TV Summit at pridetvsummit.com. 

Media veteran Sarah Kate Ellis has been leading the advocacy organization GLAAD for more than seven years, focusing its efforts on building and fostering greater media acceptance of the growing LGBTQ+ community. Ellis, who will be honored at the June 23 B+C and Multichannel News Pride TV Summit, talked about the relevance and importance of this year’s Pride Month celebration, as well as the state of LGBTQ+ representation on television in an interview, an edited version of which appears below.

More on the Pride TV Summit: Pride TV Summit Hones in on the Business of Inclusion

B+C: Does this year’s Pride Month celebration take on greater significance given the cultural climate change the country has experienced over the past year? 

Sarah Kate Ellis: Absolutely. Two things are at play here. One is that for the LGBTQ community as a whole, community is a really important part of our identities, especially because for so long, we lived in the shadows. Our coming together in person was sorely missed last year, especially because so many of our youth live in unaccepting households. From a policy and political perspective, there have been over 250 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced this year in state legislatures across the United States — most of those are targeting trans and non-binary people. This year, we've seen 27 murders of transgender, non-binary people who are mostly Black and Latina, and we’re pacing to be the deadliest year yet for the community. With the Equality Act, which is the largest piece of legislation for our community ever, passed in the House but stalled in the Senate, I think it’s really important for us to use this month to build awareness and education about the Act and what it does to help protect our community. 

B+C: What role can the entertainment industry play in educating the public about the issues you’ve mentioned? 

SKE: TV and streaming content are empathy and education machines for our community. For instance, only 16% of Americans report knowing somebody who is transgender, so the rest of the country is learning about transgender people through media. Our annual report, Where We Are on TV, came out in January 2021, and we found that there was greater diversity of LGBTQ characters, but less characters overall. I'm really hopeful that [the decline] is likely due to COVID because a lot of productions were stopped, but a great example of how important content is for the community is FX’s Pose. This was a revolutionary show that focused on trans people of color for the most part and told their stories, but it also focused on HIV and AIDS in the ’80s. When this show shuts down this month, we will lose a significant number of trans characters on television, and we will then have zero characters living with HIV on scripted TV. 

That’s a lot of weight for one show to carry in terms of creating culture, education and empathy for our community. We need to see that spread out among other shows.

B+C How does the industry go about developing more shows like Pose that depict authentic LGTBQ+ characters and storylines on screen? 

SKE: Hollywood likes success — look at all the awards that Pose has received. Hulu’s Happiest Season is an LGTBQ holiday movie that broke all of their records for new subscribers during its first weekend viewing. So if you put the content out there, the audience will come and they will flock to it as long as it’s fair and accurate. I think that’s a big motivator to create programming that’s going to attract audiences and bring in new fan bases. I think the industry is moving in the right direction because it is showing more diverse characters. For so long, shows and films were scared to include LGBTQ characters mainly out of fear of backlash, and we’re way past that. If you look at the latest Gallup poll, 16% of 18 to 24 year olds in America identify as LGBT. So they want to see themselves and their lives reflected back to them. As content creators look to attract younger audiences, they're going to have to include LGBTQ people.

B+C: What is GLAAD doing to increase LGBTQ+ representation on screen? 

SKE: We approach it really from three different places. One is that we do our annual reports on the TV and streaming content providers and their content. We do the studio responsibility index on films and theaters. So we measure those. We have the GLAAD Media Institute where we work with these creators. We just launched a new project with Procter & Gamble called The Visibility Project. We know how important media representation is and, just like in television and film, advertising is pervasive. We know that if we can be in more ads that will grow acceptance for our community.

What we look to do is provide some measurements so that they have a benchmark that they could move forward from, as well as to hold them accountable, but also offer all our support and services to make sure that they are successful.

With Pride Month celebrations in full swing, Broadcasting+Cable and Multichannel News are gearing up for the first-ever Pride TV Summit virtual conference June 23, focused on the business of television featuring LGBTQ+ characters and storylines. 

Unlike other Pride events that focus on entertainment value and performances, the Pride TV Summit is a business conference that puts the spotlight on relevant LGBTQ+ issues and challenges within the TV and streaming industry. It also honors individuals and companies who are committed to creating strong and more meaningful representation across distribution platforms.

“We have gathered leading creatives, brands, and executives to participate in our program at the Pride TV Summit,” said event producer Joe Schramm. “This event proves that targeting TV and video programming to LGBTQ+ audiences, and about the LGBTQ+ community is simple, good business. Whether you identify as LGBTQ+ or not, this event is worth your time.”

More on the Pride TV Summit: Register | GLAAD's Sarah Kate Ellis Primes TV's 'Empathy Machine'

A Sense of Where Things Are

With the number of LGBTQ+ characters on scripted broadcast, cable and streaming shows declining during the pandemic-challenged 2020-21 television season according to GLAAD’s annual Where We Are on TV report released earlier this year, the conference will examine the importance and impact of representation, how LGBTQ+ characters and storylines have evolved and the overall acceptance of LGBTQ+ characters and storylines.

“We continue to see that the industry and audiences are extremely engaged and interested in the growing landscape of LGBTQ+ content across media today,” GLAAD CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said. “As we aim to grow authentic LGBTQ+ representation and inclusion, the Pride TV Summit and events like it help give best practices and guidance to ensure impactful content that will also be well-received."

Among the highlights of the event is a panel discussion featuring programming executives discussing the sensitive and controversial nuances of casting LGBTQ roles in today’s market. The panel will feature actor Nicole Maines, who plays the first first transgender superhero on television in CW’s Supergirl, as well Star Trek: Discovery casting director Margery Simkin, NBC Telemundo Enterprises executive producer Karen Barroetta and Batwoman writer/producer/showrunner Caroline Dries. 

The Summit will also feature key interviews with content creators such as three-time Emmy nominee Randy Rainbow as well as a session featuring TV critics who review top programs to watch for the Pride season.

Opening the conference will be a focus on the state of the current marketplace and the impact of LGBTQ+ programming from Hollywood to the TV screen. Luis Sandoval from Univision’s Despierta America will host the opening festivities. 

The event will also feature a series of presentations, case studies and candid conversations from advertisers and sponsors targeting LGBTQ+ audiences, including representatives from such companies as P&G and Getty Images.

Honoring the Leaders

A main highlight of the Pride TV Summit is The Pride TV Leadership and Courage Awards Ceremony which will showcase industry leaders advocating for the LGBTQ+ community on television. The Membership or Employee Association award will be presented to Comcast, while The CW will receive the Television Network award. The Media Agency award will go to the RAPP marketing agency. 

GLAAD’s Ellis will receive the Advocacy award, while on-screen talent awards will go to ABC News transportation correspondent Gio Benitez and MSNBC’s The Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart host Jonathan Capehart. 

Producer Ilene Chaiken will receive the Pride TV Awards’ Leadership and Courage award for her groundbreaking work as executive producer of such shows as Showtime’s The L Word, Fox’s Empire and more recently, NBC’s Law & Order: Organized Crime.

Participants of the TV + Sports Summit June 10 will hear insights from industry thought leaders across TV, video and sports.

The virtual event will feature a keynote from Rita Ferro, president of advertising sales for Disney Media & Entertainment. Ferro will address the value of live sports on TV in a chat with Broadcasting + Cable business editor Jon Lafayette from ESPN studios in New York City.

Also on tap are panels that will explore all aspects of sports on TV, including production, distribution, monetization, audience measurement, and user experience. Attendees will see participants from industry leaders, such as Fox Sports, Turner Sports, Bally Sports, fuboTV, FloSports, comScore, and TVision, among others. 

On June 9, TV + Sports Summit will incorporate a live event version of the B+C and Multichannel News annual editorial feature Women in the Game. The 2021 roster of sports TV world executives and talent comes from the ranks of CAA Sports, CBS Sports, World Tennis Association, Golf Channel, Whistle Studios and Fubo Sports Network. Read all about them in the upcoming B+C/Multichannel News June issue.

The summit, presented by Broadcasting+Cable, Multichannel News, TV Tech and NextTV, is part of Future’s Summer TV 2021, which includes the TV Data & Measurement Summit.

Counting audiences and gauging the effectiveness of advertising will be on the agenda at Future’s TV Data & Measurement Summit on Wednesday, June 9.

Keynote speakers for the summit include the Media Rating Council’s George Ivie and Comscore’s Bill Livek.

Ivie, who is CEO of the Media Rating Council, will participate in the opening keynote, where he will address the challenges the industry is facing and how the MRC is addressing them. MRC has been in the news lately for its role in umpiring the controversy over claims by programmers that Nielsen under-reported viewing during the pandemic. 

Comscore CEO Livek will close out the event, speaking about Comscore's audience-based measurement approach and the company’s plans to jump to the forefront of video measurement. Comscore, after a major refinancing, is looking to be more assertive in using big data to measure video advertising across platforms.

Also featured during the event is a one-on-one with Kelly Abcarian, who recently joined NBCUniveral as executive VP, measurement and impact, advertising and partnerships. She will talk about NBCU’s role in setting standards for measurement, generating data-driven insights and using technology to deliver more effective advertising.

The summit will additionally feature panels on the best ways to use first-party data and the need for panels in a sea of big data.

Panelists come from companies including The Walt Disney Co., Havas Media, TVision Insights and WarnerMedia.

The TV Data & Measurement Summit is part of Future’s Summer TV 2021, which takes place June 9-10 and includes the TV + Sports Summit.

The entertainment industry is examining its diversity and inclusion efforts as it continues to make inroads in recognizing the business rationale for greater representation on-air, behind the camera and in the C-suites. Future’s CultureX Conversations on Tuesday, March 16, will build on the dialogue through a series of keynotes, fireside chats, panels and awards that celebrate the industry’s inclusion efforts while searching for ways to improve both the mindset and the impact of decision makers to foster a more inclusive industry.

Allen Media Group/Entertainment Studios founder, chairman and CEO Byron Allen will serve as opening keynote speaker of the virtual conference, leading a roster of top industry executives, chief diversity officers, on-air talent and showrunners set to discuss the need for more diversity within all aspects of the industry, while revealing the strategies behind building a successful, diverse workforce. The conference is produced in partnership with The Walter Kaitz Foundation.

Stage 13/Warner Bros. Digital Networks senior VP and general manager Diana Mogollón will headline a panel on the impact of diverse casts on programming acquisition and distribution, while WarnerMedia senior VPs of enterprise inclusion Karen Horne and Samata Narra will share some internal research and insights on implementing the inclusion process within a “merging” corporate culture.

Walter Kaitz Foundation executive director Michelle Ray will host a panel featuring diversity officers such as AMC Networks chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer Aisha Thomas-Petit and Ann Carlsen, founder and CEO of executive search firm Carlsen Resources, discussing their experiences and tips for ensuring equitable results in recruitment practices and hiring procedures.

Regarding on-screen diversity, GLAAD chief communications officer Rich Ferraro will release the organization’s latest report on LGBT characters and storylines on TV (see Viewpoint, page 30), while AARP VP of multicultural leadership Yvette Pena will discuss the impact of content targeting the maturing multicultural audience. 

A highlight of the conference is the CultureX Awards, given to individuals, organizations and programs for their outstanding commitment to inspiring cultural inclusion within the television industry. The ceremony is hosted by 2020’s CultureX award recipient, Julio Vaqueiro, the anchor of Noticias Telemundo Edicion Especial. 

This year’s award recipients are: Juanjo Duran, head of entertainment & multicultural, Google; Juan Williams, Fox News political analyst and co-host of Fox News Channel’s The Five; Access Hollywood, the entertainment news program known for its diverse cast and coverage of inclusion issues in the industry, with Scott Evans accepting; and Starz, for diverse casts and storylines in series such as Power, P-Valley and Outlander, plus upcoming series Run The World, Blindspotting, Black Mafia Family, Shining Vale, Serpent Queen and Power Book II: Ghost. Starz’s award will be accepted by president and CEO Jeffrey Hirsch.

For more information or to register, go to culturexevents.com. 

Spring TV runs from April 26-30 and features three summits, Advanced Advertising Summit, Next TV Summit, and the FAST Summit. This virtual series will bring together innovators and thought-leaders to share insights on the trends and developments taking place in the fast-paced television industry.

For more, click HERE.

CultureX Conversations offers a unique breakthrough conference for television industry and media leaders who are engaged in diversifying their workplace and ensuring that the service and content they provide to customers is inclusive of those who identify by their ethnicity, nationality, language, special needs, or sexual orientation.

For more, click HERE

The Tech Leadership Series is a virtual experience that brings together the foremost industry experts with executives and technologists to share insights on how our industry is transforming, the techniques applied by organizations who are leading from the front and a look at what's on the horizon.

For more, click HERE.

The ATSC 3.0 Summit, part of the Tech Leadership Series, is a virtual event that takes place from March 25-26 and features ATSC 3.0 leaders behind the development of the NextGen TV standard and those deploying it in the field.

For more, click HERE.

Tuesday’s keynote interview guest at the 18th annual Hispanic Television Summit was Marla Skiko, the U.S. and global head of media for the Ford Motor Company.  She was interviewed by Court Stroud, a media specialist who is a co-host of a podcast and a contributing writer on the topic. Hispanic television media and advertising was the focus of Tuesday’s virtual sessions, at this summit presented by Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News. 

In her interview, Skiko shared that in-house and outsourced consumer data was a key to Ford’s quick ability to pivot its messaging during the initial stages of the pandemic shutdown. She continued by stressing that the reliance on data was especially helpful in multicultural markets, including Hispanics. 

The shutdown stopped Ford’s auto manufacturing worldwide, for the first time since World War II, and switched the company’s focus to the manufacture of PPP materials like ventilators, protective gear and more. She explained that the messaging to consumers and its employees needed “to pivot from one of making and selling automotive products to one where Ford was being helpful and useful” to our communities across the country and around the world. Skiko said that in some areas of the world, where COVID is now subsiding, Ford is “pivoting again from a recovery message to one that responds to the consumers’ urge to get out and about again.”

Ford uses data for designing the message, customizing the creative to specific tactics, and targeting its consumer messaging. “We use data as the base for us to tell the story. Data allows us to create relevant video content that will attract our target. It is especially useful for our messaging to Hispanics. They are often frontline workers, providing necessary services that keep our hospitals, communities, and retail stores functioning. We needed to reflect that we were there to lend a hand to those who needed a hand” she said. Skiko went on to explain that her prior career background in Hispanic media offered her the opportunity to bring Ford the insights they wanted for reaching this growing segment. She stressed that in crafting the story for advertising, one size does not fit all, and recommended that advertisers it is worthwhile to keep that in mind when determining where the video spot will be placed, and who they are targeting. She added, for example, “optimize and design for mobile and its users, just don’t adapt a spot to make it fit.”         

In closing, she offered this advice to Hispanic marketers, “Data is a commodity that can offer a competitive advantage as long as you don’t get overwhelmed by the amount of data, you know which information matters most, and you learn which information is simply not worth measuring.” 

The interview is available on demand to those who register for free to the Hispanic Television Summit at www.Falltvevents.com.

The annual Hispanic Television Summit kicked off Monday with the Hispanic TV and Video Awards. The legacy award is for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television, presented by Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News. This year’s recipient was Diego Luna, an actor, director and producer for theater, film, and television. Since 2018, he has starred as drug cartel leader Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo in the wildly popular Netflix hit TV series, Narcos: Mexico. The Mexican born Luna is also known to audiences for his major film roles including that of Cassian Andor in 2016’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.  

Each year, this award acknowledges one individual or series for their contribution to the growth of the Hispanic television industry, including driving the employment of Latino talent in front and behind the camera. Luna was recognized for his remarkable career as a television actor, director and producer.  

Luna started his career as a child actor in telenovelas with the encouragement of his father. He first came to the attention of U.S. and international audiences in 2001 with his role in the hit Spanish-language sex farce dramedy film Y tu mamá también.  He has appeared in over thirty films since including Vampires: Los Muertos which also starred rocker, Jon Bon Jovi, and the Oscar-winning Frida, as well as The Terminal, Havana Nights: Dirty Dancing 2, and the critically acclaimed Milk to name a few.

Most recently, Luna and his production company introduced a new series, currently available on Amazon Prime Video entitled Pan and Circo. The series offers insightful group conversations over a meal, including scientists, innovators, activists, and artists. The conversations are led by Luna himself, that focus on current or controversial topics and social problems from violence, to immigration to abortion to racism to COVID. 

“I am thrilled to receive this honor, especially in times like these,” said Luna. He added, “I am eager to continue to introduce many new important projects which will create positive change in society.” Luna joins a list of distinguished prior recipients of this award including the “golden boy” champion boxer Oscar De La Hoya, soccer sportscaster Andres Cantor, news anchors Jose Diaz Balart, Maria Celeste Arraras, Jorge Ramos, and Maria Elena Salinas, show hosts Don Francisco, Cristina Saralegui, Lili Estefan, and Raul De Molina, telenovela stars Lucero and Rafael Amaya and the cast of TUDN’s Republica Deportiva, among others.

The award was presented to him Monday, on behalf of Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News, by his close creative associate, Isaac Lee, the Chairman of Exile Content during the Annual Hispanic Television and Video Awards Ceremony. The awards ceremony was virtual and can now be seen online for free. The awards ceremony is just one of four daily virtual segments of the 18th Annual Hispanic Television Summit. The daily programs are between 60 and 90 minutes daily. The remaining days are Tuesday, Sept. 22 through Thursday, Sept. 24. 

For more information and to register for free, please go www.falltvevents.com/2020/HispanicTV. 

The 18th Annual Hispanic Television Summit kicked off Monday with a virtual ceremony celebrating the leadership within the Hispanic television industry.

The Hispanic TV and Video Awards ceremony was hosted by Univision’s Pamela Silva, host of Primer Impacto and Luis Sandoval, the West Coast correspondent for Despierta America.

The CultureX Leadership Award was the first award presented and it went to Mexican-born Julio Vaqueiro, the anchor of Noticias Telemundo Edición Especial. The experienced Emmy-winning journalist recently shared that he credits his youthful appearance for his first job in television. 

“The station was looking for someone young, and thought I was much younger than I was,” said Vaqueiro. “Lucky for me I still don’t look my real age.”  

Vaquiero was recognized with the award for his leadership in covering major breaking stories of importance to Latino audiences, like the on-going strife at the U.S.-Mexico border, and for his many exclusive one-on-one interviews with many U.S. candidates, and world leaders. When asked who was on his wish list, he added, “I would still like to interview the Pope.”

Two businesses were recognized with the corporate leadership award. Charter was recognized for their ongoing commitment to serving Hispanic customers, and Castalia was honored for over 20 years of distributing a variety of Spanish language programming services to Latino audiences and especially for the creation of Mexicanal, the channel they created for serving the special interests of Mexican viewers in the U.S.

Tom Montemagno, the executive VP of programming acquisition for Charter, accepted the award on behalf of his colleagues. Charter provides its services in 20 of the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets making its programming and internet available to 10 million Hispanic households. The award recognized the company for their efforts to continue to provide information and entertainment to their Latino customers, as noted by the recent addition to their line-up of five new channels targeting Latinos.

In his comments, Montemagno mentioned that the company takes serving diverse customers seriously as reflected by 47% of their workforce. He closed by acknowledging Charter’s Multicultural Marketing division for “helping the entire company to better understand our Hispanic communities.”

Catalia’s award was accepted by their founder and president, Luis-Torres Bohl. The company, which negotiates the distribution of networks targeting Hispanics and Native Americans, was recognized for their many years of service to cable and satellite, and now connected TV providers. One of the networks, Mexicanal, was started 15 years ago by Torres-Bohl, specifically to fill the gap of providing traditional Mexican television content to the many Mexican residents in the U.S.  

Bohl mentioned, “I founded the business to make a difference in the lives of the many Latinos in the U.S. who crave something familiar.” He stressed the importance of television to Latinos and to each other is key to better understanding of diversity in our country.

Two additional awards recognized executive leadership. Karina Dobarro of Horizon Media was honored for her outstanding career and commitment to media investments within Hispanic television. She mentioned that she assures her clients that they are well-served to consider investing in programming specifically targeted to Latino audiences.

A second executive recognized for his many years of leadership in Hispanic television was Juan Carlos Rodriguez, president of Univision Sports. He was lauded for leading the dynamic team of sports reporting at Univision and for positioning the sports brand, TUDN, as the home of soccer in the U.S. through the acquisition of exclusive Spanish-language media rights to many of the most popular teams and properties. Under his leadership, TUDN has become the country’s most-watched Spanish-language sports network. 

The Rafael Eli Pioneer in Hispanic Television Award was introduced by a tribute video narrated by talk show legend, Cristina Saralegui which honored the life of the late Rafael Eli, a co-producer of the Hispanic Television Summit. The first class of this award was presented in three categories: media, creative and talent, and were presented to Gene Bryan of Hispanic Media Sales, the creative team at agency d’exposito and Partners, and Andres Cantor, Telemundo’s voice of soccer.    

The Award for Outstanding Achievement closed the ceremony and was presented by Isaac Lee, founder of Exile Content to his business associate Diego Luna. Luna is the popular actor, director, producer who most recently starred in Netflix’s popular series, Narcos: Mexico. 

The Hispanic Television Summit continues through Thursday.

The Broadcasters Foundation of America said it has canceled an upcoming celebrity golf tournament fundraiser due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and has launched a plea for donations. 

The tournament had been slated for Sept. 21. The charity for broadcasters in need earlier canceled the Philip J. Lombardo Golf Tournament, usually held in conjunction with the NAB Show in Las Vegas. The two fundraisers, along with smaller events, generate over $450,000 a year. To counter the losses, the Broadcasters Foundation has launched a plea for donations.

“Our colleagues who find themselves in acute need due to a debilitating illness or accident need our help,” stated Broadcasters Foundation Chair Scott Herman. “This year, we are helping more broadcasters than ever before, and it’s imperative that we continue to do so. We cannot turn our backs on our colleagues.”

“We have three major fundraisers a year, and the golf tournaments are two of them,” Jim Thompson, the foundation president, added. “Our grant recipients worked in radio or television stations in markets across America. I ask everyone whose career is built on broadcasting to consider donating to help offset the losses of our cancelled fundraising events.”

Broadcasters interested in making a donation or in learning more about the Broadcasters Foundation of America can visit www.broadcastersfoundation.org, or contact the Broadcasters Foundation directly at 212-373-8250 or info@thebfoa.org.

NEW YORK—This year’s News Tech Summit from Future US will feature case studies to help news organizations navigate the “new normal” of live news coverage.

In addition to a slate of keynotes with senior news executives, the organizers of this year’s News Tech Summit have announced that the virtual event will feature a number of case studies that will provide attendees with practical advice on how they can improve their news operations and attract new audiences. 

“The news business is undergoing a period of unprecedented change,” noted George Winslow, the executive producer of the News Technology Summit. “Changing consumer habits and the pandemic are forcing news organizations to radically rethink their operations and the technologies they use to produce the news. This year’s News Technology Summit will take a deep dive into the new technologies that can help news organizations navigate this period of unprecedented change and strengthen their operations.”

The News Tech Summit will take place virtually, Sept. 8-11, and feature a wide array of keynotes and panels with senior technologists and news executives. 

One highlight of the program will be a series of case studies that are designed to provide practical advice and insight into news operations, with a close look at building new facilities for local news, the next generation broadcast standard ATSC 3.0 and practical examples of successful digital and social media strategies. 

The opening day of the conference on Sept. 8 will take a look at the new facility NBCUniversal has built for their owned stations and operations in Boston, providing an inside look how new technologies and innovative engineering can improve news operations and the quality of information they deliver to audiences. 

The second day of the conference will feature Axios CEO Jim VandeHei, Axios Political Reporter Alexi McCammond and "Axios on HBO" directors and producers Matthew O'Neil and Perri Peltz talking about how Axios has successfully moved from digital into TV, offering insights into successful digital strategies that can boost audiences across platforms. 

Two additional case studies will focus on how newsrooms can use TikTok to engage young audiences and some of the opportunities that the next-generation broadcast standard ATSC 3.0 is creating for TV news. 

The News Tech Summit, which is the longest running and most successful conference devoted to news technologies, is hosted by Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Technology. 

The agenda and registration for the News Technology Summit can be found here. 

Standing out among the thousands of available weather apps requires more than just looking different. You must provide unique and irresistible value to your users.

Join us as Jim Politis and Scott Eliot discuss how Weather InSight delivers a personalized mobile experience that is:

• Hyper-smart: AI technology examines weather conditions and changes card order depending on the day and user interactions
• Hyper-local: every session is a customized mobile experience
• Hyper focused: draws the user’s attention to the most impactful weather

Learn how Weather InSight can help your mobile app rise above the competition.

Fill out the form to watch our free on-demand webinar today!

The trusted and leading voice of the television industry for more than 80 years, Broadcasting+Cable is expanding our annual station awards in 2020 to include the best news, programs and people in local television.

The expanded B+C Awards will recognize the local TV industry’s most powerful, innovative or engaging content, programming and special projects in news, public affairs and community relations -- and the people and teams who produced it.

Judged by Broadcasting+Cable’s experienced editors, we'll award and showcase the very best, saluting all of the hard work and dedication your teams have put in over the past challenging year. 

The entry guide for the 2020 B+C Awards has been categorized into the following and you must select your DMA size. There will be one winner per category in each DMA:

DMA sizes: 1 to 25, 26 to 50, 51 And Above.

Categories:

Entry can all be done online at broadcastingcableawards.com by completing the entry form, selecting a category and telling us why you or your team should win the award. We’ve also included a section to upload creative material to support your entry to ensure you give the judges as much information as possible to help them understand why you should win. 

Entries are $495 each. For complete details please visit broadcastingcableawards.com.

TiVo’s chief revenue officer, Matt Milne, said the company’s new consumer-grade streaming device, the TiVo Stream 4K, should hit the market in “the next few weeks.”

Speaking during a keynote session Tuesday during the Virtual Next TV Summit, part of Future Media’s Virtual NYC TV Week Spring, Milne said TiVo product developers have been working at home amid the pandemic to get the Android TV-based OTT device ready to market.

Visit Next TV to read more stories like this one.

At CES in January, where TiVo introduced the $70 dongle and successfully created buzz for it, the company touted an April release date for the TiVo Stream 4K.

“It’s a testament to our whole team that we’ve been able to conduct the necessary product test and will have high quality product we can launch to market,” Milne said.

Related: TiVo Stream 4K: When Will the Big CES Buzz Product Finally Arrive?

The TiVo 4K Stream will have access to all the apps available in the Google Play Store via Android TV. What will make it different from other OTT devices, Milne said, is its ability to tap TiVo’s sizable search and discover resources.

“We’re investing well over $100 million a year at a foundational level to help people with discovery,” he said. “This is a product built for the streaming wars. It’s built to bring all that content together.”

Users of streaming services, Milne said, spend an average of 11 minutes searching among—also on average—seven SVOD, AVOD and other OTT programming sources for a movie, TV show, or news or sports event.

The TiVo 4K Stream will allow users to navigate their apps through the traditional “Gemstar grid,” Milne said. But it will also offer a separate UI based on TiVo’s proprietary search and discovery interface.

TiVo, he said, will become a “neutral third party,” with SVOD and AVOD platforms available to, in turn, anonymously monitor app usage through TiVo.

TiVo isn’t totally neutral—it recently launched its own AVOD platform, TiVo Plus. Milne didn’t say whether or not TiVo Plus has any kind of priority status in terms of what search and discovery results users might get on TiVo Stream 4K.

“We see this as a merchandiser opportunity,” Milne said. “How do we connect the consumer to the content?”

Also at the Virtual Next TV Summit, a panel of programming executives talked about their services' place in the streaming world and ways they are adapting. Craig Engler, general manager of AMC Networks-owned Shudder, the horror-themed subscription VOD service, said the disruption in the movie theater world prompted a "surprise drop” on Shudder of new original movie Blood Quantum that was originally supposed to debut in Alamo Drafthouse theaters. “That’s fun, because it creates excitement for people” who subscribe to the service, Engler said.

Rachel Brill, senior VP and general manager of Studio, at WarnerMedia-owned Bleacher Report, said BR is moving more toward integrating social and original programming within the app, notably with three days of coverage of the NFL draft. The aim is to find shareable moments, "how do you truly create an all encompassing immersive experience for sports fans.”

William Sager, chairman and CEO of The Preview Channel, said the year-old, OTT-delivered service plans to add new channels devoted to previews and trailers about video games and classic movies. “We are off and running” and serving passionate fans of games and movies, he said.

Brendon Thomas, VP of distribution at Viacom-owned Pluto TV, said at the ad-supported (free) VOD service “we do see ourselves a bit more as programmers than aggregators,” focused on optimizing the content it has used to create more than 250 "live linear-like channels" plus on-demand programming.

The Virtual Next TV Summit continues the rest of this week.

Kent Gibbons contributed to this story.

Locast founder and chairman David Goodfriend said he’s now “very optimistic” that his broadcast signal streaming platform won’t go down in court the same way Aereo did eight years ago.

“We’re very likely to prevail in our court case,” the former FCC legal adviser and Dish Network attorney said Wednesday during his Virtual Next TV Summit keynote, an event produced by Next TV’s parent company, Future, as part of Virtual NYC TV Week Spring.

Goodfriend specifically noted the announcement in late March by international digital rights nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) that it would join legal forces with Locast to fight a copyright suit filed against the streaming service by Disney, Fox, Comcast and ViacomCBS, the media companies behind the Big Four broadcast networks.

Related: Locast: Everything You Need to Know About the Streaming Platform Some Are Calling ‘Aereo 2’

Locast is now serving the top 10 U.S. designated marketing areas (DMAs) and reaching 40% of U.S. TV homes, offering “free” streaming of local broadcast stations with what Goodfriend calls an “NPR model”—the service requests at regular 15-minute viewing intervals that users make voluntary $5 monthly donations.

Goodfriend didn’t specify how much in the way of voluntary donations Locast has received to date. But he said the contributions have been ample enough to sustain the service.

Goodfriend used his keynote to once again hammer home Locast’s mission—to provide a service that is now more essential than ever during the pandemic, delivering vital broadcast information to citizens who either can’t receive over-the-air broadcast signals, or can’t afford to receive them due to rising costs of pay TV services.

With the pandemic, he said, “Suddenly, Locast has taken on a need that’s even more profound than when we started.”

Streaming services that take local over-the-air signals and stream them over the open internet have been struck down in court before. Most notably, entrepreneur Chet Kanojia’s Aereo was obliterated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2012.

During his keynote, Goodfriend took time to explain what he feels is Locast’s key differentiating legal high ground—it’s a nonprofit, with solid footing on a carveout created by Congress in the 1976 Copyright Act.

“We have put the profit motive above all else,” Goodfriend said. “We put the profit motive above in healthcare, and we’ve put the profit motive above in entertainment and media. And it’s gotten out of hand.”

Goodfriend cited a letter he said he recently received from a user, who described Locast as an essential lifeline to vital broadcast TV services the writer could not otherwise afford. The letter was attached to a $5 contribution.

“When the court hears our story, and it hears it directly from the American people, I’m confident we’re going to win,” he said. 

A reminder to participating companies that the deadline to nominate in the Special Edition "Best of Show" Awards is this Friday, May 1.

As announced earlier, the new deadline was set to match up with the date of the new virtual version of the NAB Show.

The Special Edition Best of Show Awards program is an initiative of Multichannel News parent company Future to showcase new, innovative products introduced this spring for specialized technology users.

Companies can nominate products for awards presented by the following publications and sites: TV Technology, TVBEurope, Digital Video, Government Video, Video Edge, Radio World, Pro Sound News, Sound & Video Contractor, B+C and Next TV.

Companies seeking guidance about which brand to enter for can find guidance here.

For more information about the Special Edition Best of Show Awards, visit the official website.

ESPN’s The Last Dance documentary series, which drew more than 6 million viewers on average to the first two episodes, and a clever Kenny Mayne ad for State Farm Insurance that aired in it gave Walt Disney Co. executives and former NBA star Jalen Rose plenty to talk about during day three of the Advanced Advertising Virtual Summit.

The ad, a mix of past and present Mayne, for State Farm, which was an advertiser on ESPN in the 1990s, seemed to presage that years hence there would be a docuseries about the '90s Chicago Bulls. Lisa Valentino, executive VP of client and brand solutions for Disney Advertising Sales, explained that the ad came together in a hurry, given that The Last Dance was scheduled to air in June but was moved up in the absence of live sports programming on ESPN during the COVID-19 crisis.

“I think we’re all learning in this moment how agile we can be as creators,” Valentino said. What would normally be an eight-week process to create a special ad has become “a 48-hour window,” she told summit producer Jon Lafayette, business editor at Broadcasting+Cable.

Rose, co-host of the Jalen and Jacoby Aftershow following Last Dance episodes, said sports inspires conversations that advertisers can benefit from. Last Dance, for example, has brought on debates about whether LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan. (“That’s blasphemy,” the engaging Rose said.) “It continues to further it, and the sponsors can continue to not only follow that momentum but also really take advantage of the power that sports still will have, even though live sports are not happening right now,” Rose said.

Valentino and Rose were joined by Terry Hurlbutt, VP and executive editor of ABC News Digital, who said “interest in good news stories is astronomical right now” and that people are looking to help local businesses.

A second panel during the Advanced Advertising Virtual Summit focused on automation. Evan Adlman, senior VP of advanced advertising and digital partnerships at AMC Networks, said when he moved from digital to TV he was surprised at how little of TV advertising was done in automated fashion. He sees that changing, though. “I think it’s going to pick up and move faster to adapt those technologies and those new efficiencies and ways of working than it did in digital.”

More Summit Coverage: COVID Crisis Challenges, Opportunities; Experts See Growth of Targeting, AVOD; Strategies For Smart Spending After Crisis

Programmatic vendors joining him on the panel -- Preetham Mallikarjuna, chief product officer at Simulmedia, and Jeremy Steinberg, global head of ecosystem at MediaMath -- talked up their firms’ approaches and the benefits of advanced advertising. “We obviously see massive opportunity with addressable advertising television, given the value and benefit of the content on these large screens,” Steinberg said.

The Advanced Advertising Virtual Summit concludes tomorrow (Thursday).

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has driven television and streaming content viewership to new highs, and at the same time is presenting ad buyers and sellers with data that could accelerate the shift from age and demographic-centered measurement to more individualized metrics, according to panelists at the Future-produced Advanced Advertising Virtual Summit Tuesday.

In a keynote discussion with event moderator and B+C senior content producer Jon Lafayette, Hearts & Science CEO Erin Matts said that audiences are shifting not only because they are at home, but also because of the availability of certain content.

Hearts & Science is a unit of Omnicom Media Group, which places about $1 of every $4 spent on sports programming for its clients, Matts said. As live sports has been virtually non-existent during the pandemic, agencies like Hearts & Minds need to seek out where those typical sports audiences are watching now.

And viewership is growing. According to Canoe VP of Global Sales Chris Pizzurro, on demand viewing is up 20%, primarily in the kids, drama and movie segments and that TV viewing as a whole is up during the pandemic.

“Consumers are definitely finding comfort in television as a whole,” Pizzurro said, adding that they also seem to be watching commercials as ad impressions seem to be even with last year. “We haven’t seen the dramatic declines other platforms have.”

The same holds true for streaming services, Matts added. While Hearts & Minds, like most agencies were geared up for the so-called streaming wars as new entrants in direct-to-consumer content distribution came on the scene, no one anticipated the huge spike in viewership as more and more Americans were confined to their homes.

More Summit Coverage: 'Last Dance' Shows Disney's Agility; Experts See Growth of Targeting, AVOD; Strategies For Smart Spending After Crisis

Matts said that one of the priorities was to find where consumers were going if they weren’t watching sports. And she said while many are watching new programming on the streaming services, many have gravitated toward “comfort” programming, like old episodes of Friends and Seinfeld and even podcasts and other audio programming.

There is tremendous opportunity, she added in “understanding those audiences, understanding where time goes for them and how they are spending that time and being able to elegantly insert brands in a meaningful way that delivers the right kind of message that is appropriate for this moment in time.”

While some clients are buying ads in the scatter markets to find those wayward viewers, Matts said the pandemic and changing viewing habits could force the industry to take a harder look at how they traditionally sell ads.

“I think this is such an interesting opportunity to almost reframe how we think about the upfronts,” Matt said. “This has been a time honored tradition that we’ve had in this industry for a very long time, it's been extremely successful. But we’ve got clients who are on different timelines, we’ve got clients who have different needs and I think it gives us an opportunity to take a step back. Any sort of refresh to how we think about the industry is a welcome change, and one that honestly all of my clients have been welcoming themselves.”

It also appears to be changing how advertisers are looking at their audiences, she said.

“Clients are much more willing to take some risks at this point,” Matts said. “It also brings this idea of audience and people-based approaches much more into focus and allows advertisers to really explore some things they haven’t been able to do before.”

Matts added that when the world and business emerge from the pandemic sometime in the future, the opportunity to focus on people rather than demographics will be more important than ever.

“Operating around audiences instead of the broad approach of demographics helps us to understand people at an individual level, helps us with empathy, helps us understand and better optimize messages and media,” Matts said. “It was important before all of this, but it is even more important right this very moment because we really need to understand what is motivating people and what is motivating them to buy or not buy at this moment, but will help us weather the storm beyond this.”

Addressable advertising is gaining scale, said Spectrum Reach Group VP of Advanced Advertising Sales Kim Norris in a separate panel discussion.

“In 2018 we executed dozens of addressable campaigns. In 2019 it was hundreds. I think that scale is growing,” Norris said, adding that standards and common platforms and approaches are needed to take advantage of that scale.

She added that buyers and sellers are working together to reach that goal.

“There is more collaboration now than I have ever seen,” Norris said. “All of that collaboration between programmers, MVPDs, ad tech companies, data companies have really pushed forward the advances. I think the scale is there for this to now be a viable business -- I think we see it in the activity. And now we need these organizations to coalesce so that we can actually create the standards so that there are use cases and approaches for the advertisers and agency holding companies to really follow. ”

FuboTV VP ad sales Chris Flatley said that while stay-at-home orders have helped drive content viewership “through the roof,” he doesn’t believe the disruption caused by the pandemic will change how advertisers are buying.

“When you look at advertisers, they’re either buying addressable or they’re not buying addressable,” Flatley said. “I don’t think COVID-19 is really going to impact that. What’s really happening is, ‘Are they buying at all right now?’ If they are, they’re buying the way they’ve always been, whether that’s addressable or run of network.”

As an example, he pointed to an addressable client that sells products that sanitizes surfaces, which would appear to be even more widely popular during the pandemic.

“They keep buying addressable,” Flatley said of the client. “I think when you look at how the advertiser thinks, they still know who their buyer is and who the decision maker is. I think the current environment doesn’t change whether someone is buying addressable or not. Whether they’re buying or not is what we’re waiting on as we climb back up the hill.”

But as more and more networks become addressable nationally, there is a need to figure out how addressable fits into their other advertising tactics.

Clypd chief strategy officer Jason Burke said that addressable is really just another tactic for advertisers, and most don’t want to put all their marketing eggs in one basket. One tactic is to use addressable alongside linear ads, using it to tell a story, a second chapter in the message, via addressable ads.

“The media owners are looking to use addressability to do a handful of things,” Burke said. “One is to drive yield across their whole portfolio, potentially using addressability to deliver against audiences that are underperforming in other environments and really deliver to the consumer a great experience, and then its relevant advertising, or advertising that is targeted to them as an individual person, versus the broad demographic in which they reside.”

Measurement giant Nielsen unveiled plans to beta test its linear TV addressable platform in January, and Nielsen Advanced Video Advertising Group general manager Kelly Abcarian said that while some changes had to be made because of COVID-19, the project is going forward.

“Much like everyone else, we’ve had to spend some time to adapt our beta program to the changing times that we see ourselves in,” Abcarian said. “...Though our beta program may not look like what we originally envisioned, we are moving forward with the beta.”

She added that originally, the first phase of the test involved getting into its partners’ facilities on premises and installing two TV sets.

“Obviously given the safety concerns and societal restrictions, we are no longer able to work on the premises,” Abcarian said. “We had to get creative, and what we’ve done is introduce a new virtual experience. That’s going to enable mimicking what they would have done on premises, but doing it via a virtual environment.

“...They’ll get access to be able to look at the true ad replacements that are happening, so that they can feel confident before this capability goes out in front of real viewers,” Abcarian continued. “And they can also use our UI so they can create inventory rules much like they do in linear television today whether that’s brand separation or other types of rules and see those rules in action. And make sure that they have the confidence that they know how they are going to unlock this linear inventory as we move ahead toward commercialization.”

Despite the recent announcement that the NAB Show will not take place, we are fully committed to honor and help promote outstanding new and recently introduced products. Announcing a Special Edition Best of Show Awards program showcasing new products to our 95,000+ readers across Future’s market-leading media brands.

From now until April 17, companies can nominate their new products for awards presented by Future publications TV Technology, TVBEurope, Digital Video, Government Video, Video Edge, Radio World, Pro Sound News, Sound & Video Contractor, B+C and Next TV.

The winners will be selected by panels of professional users and magazine and site editors, based on descriptions provided by companies via the official nomination form with additional promotional opportunities available online.

Upon submitting a nomination, entrants will receive a nominee logo to display for any digital marketing. Each nominated product will also be featured in digital Program Guide. Read the 2019 Program Guide for an example.

For more information about the Special Edition of the Best of Show Awards visit the official Best of Show website.

The Wonder Women and NYC TV Week Spring events, produced by Multichannel News, Broadcasting+Cable and Next TV, will not be held as scheduled on March 24-26 but will instead be rescheduled until June, amid coronavirus safety concerns associated with large gatherings of people.

The 22nd annual Wonder Women luncheon is moving to Monday, June 8, at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York. The event had been scheduled for March 26 at that venue. The Wonder Women luncheon also supports the mission of the New York chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications.

NYC TV Week Spring events -- Advanced Advertising, CultureX Conversations and Next TV Summit -- will be rescheduled until the week of June 22.

For the latest information about Wonder Women Spring, please visit mcnwonderwomen.com. For the latest information about NYC TV Week Spring, please visit nyctvweek.com. 

The Wonder Women and NYC TV Week Spring events, produced by Multichannel News, Broadcasting+Cable and Next TV, will not be held as scheduled on March 24-26 but will instead be rescheduled until June, amid coronavirus safety concerns associated with large gatherings of people.

The 22nd annual Wonder Women luncheon is moving to Monday, June 8, at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York. The event had been scheduled for March 26 at that venue. The Wonder Women luncheon also supports the mission of the New York chapter of Women in Cable Telecommunications.

NYC TV Week Spring events -- Advanced Advertising, CultureX Conversations and Next TV Summit -- will be rescheduled until the week of June 22.

For the latest information about Wonder Women Spring, please visit mcnwonderwomen.com. For the latest information about NYC TV Week Spring, please visit nyctvweek.com. 

Nominations are now open for the Next TV Tech Leadership Awards. The winners will be profiled in the July edition of B+C and will be honored at the Tech Leadership Summit on June 11 and will participate in panels at the summit.

The awards, which look to honor those who are paving the way and deploying new streaming services and new technologies, are open to anybody who works for streaming services, broadcasters, studios, news organizations, digital companies, etc.

There is no cost to nominate someone. Nominations close Friday, March 27.

The link to nominate someone can be found here. 

For years, it was taken on faith that television advertising worked. It drove viewers to auto showrooms, opened movies and made products fly off the shelf.

Now in the digital era, faith has been replaced by data and TV networks are generating proof of the effectiveness of commercials and using newly available information about their viewers to more precisely target their clients’ messages

At Future’s Advanced Advertising Summit in New York on March 24, part of NYC TV Week Spring, a panel of top industry executives will look at how return on investment is being calculated and the growing trend of media outlets guaranteeing that the ads they sell will create results in the marketplace.

The panel will be led by former Fox executive VP Bruce Lefkowitz, now head of the consulting firm Six Pack Media.

“Technology is a great democratizer. As a result, we continue to get closer to performance-based allocation of media. Companies that are willing to put their money where their mouths are and stray from the antiquated age/sex demo currency will surely be rewarded,” Lefkowitz said. “To be sure, this is not an overnight process, but those who believe in their relationship with their audiences and the power of their consumers will have the ability to grow exponentially if they can prove and guarantee it.”

Lefkowitz’s panel will include senior execs from Spark Foundry, FreeWheel, iSpot.TV and Samba TV.

Some of the questions they’re likely to address include assessing the risk of guaranteeing outcomes and degree of proof of concept needed --on a category by category basis before a media company is willing to make a guarantee. The panel will also assess which outcomes are worth guaranteeing, such as web visits or sales volume.

“People who attend this panel will get an exceptional return on the time they invest,” said Jon Lafayette, business editor of Broadcasting+Cable, a Future plc publication. “I guarantee it.”

Former MTV Networks executive Rich Ferraro is the chief communications officer of GLAAD (formerly Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), the organization devoted to countering discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) individuals in the media and promoting understanding, acceptance, and equality. On Wednesday, March 25, he is scheduled to present new market data for reaching LGBT audiences at CultureX Conversations, part of NYC TV Week Spring. MCN had some questions on GLAAD-related topics for Ferraro ahead of the event.

MCN: The LGBTQ community is a force, they have established their niche within the TV community as leaders who are fierce and driven. Please tell us about the specific data you have on the evolving community as consumers and TV viewers?

RICH FERRARO: I recall hearing trailblazing actress and advocate Laverne Cox say, “If you are not counted, then you do not count” and I believe that’s the case for LGBTQ TV viewers. That’s why GLAAD spent several years working with Nielsen to update their ratings to segment out LGBTQ viewers. We rolled out the first phase of the update with Nielsen in late 2018, which counts households headed by a same-sex couple, and are continuing to ensure the entire community is accurately represented. GLAAD’s most recent TV report shows that LGBTQ representation on TV is at an all-time high, so the Nielsen data can help show networks and advertisers what our sought-after advertising demo is tuning in for. Knowing that a large portion of LGBTQ people are tuning in could help save LGBTQ-focused shows.

MCN: How have you leveraged advertisers for TV in the past year?

RF: GLAAD went public about our plans to approach advertisers on The Hallmark Channel after the channel decided to pull an ad featuring two women marrying. We wanted to see if the advertisers stood by The Hallmark’s Channel anti-gay decision. We then worked with The Hallmark Channel very closely after that public call and they reversed the decision. Advertisers can play a huge role in how a network acts and what type of programming a network moves forward.

Also, advertising plays a massive role in shaping how viewers view their world and GLAAD has been consulting with brands including P&G, the world’s largest advertiser, to increase LGBTQ visibility in ads. Advertising is the most pervasive form of media and LGBTQ people are often invisible, but now a rainbow wave has started across advertising.

Related: 5 Questions with Julio Vaquiero

MCN: How has the continuation to influence producers to be inclusive and respectful changed over the past 2-3 years?

RF: GLAAD has consulted behind-the-scenes with producers, scriptwriters, casting directors, and other creatives for nearly 35 years, but 3 years ago we formally launched the GLAAD Media Institute, a program within GLAAD that is dedicated to this type of consultation and education. Our team of experts have decades of experience working with the world’s biggest content creators to tell authentic, entertaining, and enlightening stories. Over the past few years, the GLAAD Media Institute has expanded its consulting work to video games, advertising, kids TV, and children’s books.

MCN: Has messaging changed recently to educate consumers to be more mindful and open?

RF: Media and advertising are intended to reflect the world around us and today that includes LGBTQ people and families. Consumers expect to see LGBTQ people represented and I think the messaging to them has not changed, but the expectations of the media creators have changed. Not only do viewers expect to see LGBTQ people included, but they expect that it will be done in an authentic way that does not pander. This is often truly an artform and we at GLAAD have worked with some of the biggest content creators to perfect it.

MCN: What does the future hold for the evolution of the LGBT community as consumers and TV viewers? What is your hope for change in the next 5 years?

RF: LGBTQ people have always been known as loyal – we support brands who support us. And the bar has been raised for inclusion. It’s no longer enough for a brand to throw a rainbow on a t-shirt and march in a LGBTQ Pride parade. Some of our best practices for reaching our community include ensuring that a portion of proceeds go back to our community and that your brand is there year-round for LGBTQ people. For instance, GLAAD is working on a letter from corporations that speaks out against 5 anti-LGBTQ bills in Tennessee. Every brand that participates in Pride or has done a LGBTQ marketing campaign, and does business in Tennessee, should sign the letter – if not, our community will call you out as inauthentic.

In terms of TV, GLAAD has been counting LGBTQ representation on TV for 24 years. Last fall, in our latest report, we found that of the 879 series regular characters expected to appear on broadcast primetime scripted programming, 10.2% were counted as LGBTQ. This is the highest percentage of LGBTQ regular characters GLAAD has counted on primetime scripted broadcast programming. In 2018, GLAAD called on the broadcast networks to ensure that 10% of primetime broadcast scripted series regulars were LGBTQ by 2020. In just one year, the networks met and exceeded this call. Notably for the first time this year, LGBTQ women on primetime broadcast scripted series outnumber LGBTQ men on those programs. Additionally, this is the second year in a row on broadcast where LGBTQ people of color outnumber white LGBTQ people, 52% to 48%.

This diversity is what LGBTQ TV viewers will expect going forward – LGBTQ people represent every religion, race, background, gender, age, and ability – and we expect to see characters and stories that look at underrepresented communities within the LGBTQ community, like trans and non-binary people, queer Muslim people, and people living with HIV.

MCN: How has the current political climate affected the work done by GLAAD and what will your organization be doing in the run up to the election this fall?

RF: Under President Obama we saw the fall of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the passage of marriage equality nationwide. LGBTQ people – including GLAAD – were invited to the White House for Pride celebrations and for roundtables about issues that impacted our community. The current Administration has emboldened anti-LGBTQ voices nationwide and invited some of the most anti-LGBTQ organizations and voices to the White House. That level of visibility is only one small piece of what’s at stake for LGBTQ people during this election. GLAAD has counted over 130 attacks in rhetoric or policy from President Trump and people he’s appointed to his Administration, including filing a brief in support of granting businesses the legal ability to fire someone simply for being LGBTQ. This type of action has a huge trickle-down effect – into Churches, classrooms, and workplaces. GLAAD is a 501(c)3 non-profit so we are not permitted to endorse candidates, but we will be engaging in a large-scale ‘get out the vote’ effort to drive LGBTQ people and allies to the polls – and let them know what’s at stake.

“It is a crucial time for Hispanics in the United States, particularly during this upcoming election cycle,” says Julio Vaqueiro, whose career as a journalist at Telemundo is being honored with the CultureX Conversations Executive Leadership Award on March 25 at NYC TV Week Spring. This award is presented in recognition of the contributions of any individual to the advancement of in-language television programming and particularly for his (or her) approach to serving the targeted ethnic audience.

“For me to serve the Hispanic audience is one of the greatest privileges a journalist can ask for,” said Vaqueiro, the Emmy-winning anchor of Noticias Telemundo Fin de Semana, the weekend newscast that airs Saturdays and Sundays at 6:30 p.m. ET. “The people who are watching are the hard-working immigrant families who came to the United States to improve their own lives. And we owe it to these people to do our jobs the best we can.”

Ahead of his appearance at CultureX Conversations, an extension of the Multichannel News Multicultural TV Conversations event franchise, MCN had five questions for Vaqueiro.

MCN: What are the type of stories that you cover at Telemundo that have made an impact?

Julio Vaqueiro: Initially, there were so many stories to report about the criminal organizations the government was dealing with. The war on drugs, in particular, was extremely bloody. It still is, but that was the beginning of it, and we started to learn how the drug cartels worked. For me, it was very challenging because that was the first big ongoing news story I covered, and I basically spent my four years in Mexico City working on it.

Once I moved to the United States, I was able to get in touch with the immigrant community, the Hispanic population, and talk about their stories. So many families living here feared the risk of being separated, and it is very difficult to be the same person, and the same journalist, once you listen to the stories of immigrants who left everything behind just to look for an opportunity here.

Last year, I was at the border following the family separation policy. Those images of the families being separated made it impossible not to be changed after covering these stories.

MCN: How has your job changed in the last 10 years?

JV: To start with, Telemundo was really a completely different network, certainly not the size it is. But digital is what has really reshaped how we all do our jobs. When I started as a news correspondent in Mexico City, digital wasn’t even a thing. And now we have to acknowledge that the industry is changing and we are moving to a digital landscape.

We have basically doubled our size to a team of multimedia journalists who produce stories for digital, linear and social platforms. In addition to working on our daily newscasts, we are now constantly in contact with our audience via digital and social, and it can change anything we do at any given moment. Everyone has a voice now, and we must incorporate that into how we do our jobs.

MCN: Do you find the growing digital landscape beneficial to what you do as a journalist?

JV: I think it is a great opportunity to be in contact with so many people that can follow your work, and you can now inform through this digital option. We have to learn how to make the best use of it. But there is also a risk if it is misused. The risk is that people can receive information from other individuals who are not reporters or qualified to present facts and information. You need to know how to use social media and follow the right people, listen to the right people, and understand where the information is coming from.”

MCN: Has your job become more of a challenge in the current tumultuous political world leave in?

JV: The thing about this profession is it is always challenging, no matter what is happening, no matter who is in the White House, and no matter what is going on in the world. But with President Trump being in the White House, we have to be more focused and we have to think about what our values are and how relevant we are to our communities. We have to focus on providing information based on traditional values, truth and honestly. And we must double check our sources. You have to be on a constant standby about what is going to happen next.

MCN: Where do you see yourself in the future?

JV: I see myself still working for Telemundo, and trying to do things the best I can in proving my ability to report, to find new stories, and communicate with our audience. I also see myself writing, maybe a book, perhaps. And I just want to try to improve the way I work, and the way I serve my community. With this job comes a great responsibility to the people we serve.

For more about CultureX Conversations, please visit the NYC TV Week Spring home page.

Broadcasting+Cable and Multichannel News’s NYC TV Week Spring kicks into high gear on March 25 with the Next TV Summit – the professional video industry’s authoritative benchmark for assessing the progress and debating the future of television’s digitally driven streaming transformation.

A concentrated half-day experience in the heart of the nation’s media industry capital, the Next TV Summit offers attendees a unique opportunity to hear current thinking from some of the industry’s leading executives – as they discuss the most pressing economic, operational and technological issues facing the “business” of video – while offering valuable insights into how to succeed in today’s dynamic and historically disruptive times.

Convening on the eve of the TV industry’s annual Upfront showcases, the Next TV Summit affords presenting sponsors an unparalleled environment to reach and connect with high-level decision-makers across the television and video ecosystems as they seek applied knowledge and tangible solutions in key areas such as:

• Subscription & transactional video economics
• Direct-to-consumer & virtual MVPD models
• Advertising
• Content discovery & recommendation
• Consumer viewing behaviors
• Audience measurement & analytics

Related: Verizon, Omnicom, Dish Execs Highlight Advanced Advertising Summit

The summit will open with a keynote from Dave Shull, the CEO of Tivo, a company that is pivoting away from its DVR-centric past to its over-the-top future.

Panel sessions start out with one about linear TV's legacy in the era of streaming. Panelists include executives from Weather Group, PBS and Locast (speakers are subject to change).

OTT pioneer Farhad Massoudi of Tubi is slated to deliver a keynote, and panel sessions also will explore subscription versus ad-supported business models for streaming services and lessons learned from the field of streaming providers.

"The world of streaming video is exploding, and the business implications for the future of 'television' are both profound and daunting," Next TV Summit producer Tim Hanlon said. "Next TV will feature some of the most pioneering executives across the digital TV ecosystem, as we highlight today's best operational practices and divine tomorrow's strategic directions for video content, distribution and monetization."

For more about NYC TV Week Spring, please visit the events' website.

NEW YORK — Broadcasting & Cable has announced five of the 10 executives who will receive its annual Technology Leadership Awards. 

B&C has been giving these awards since 1999 to honor individuals who have made important and innovative contributions to the way TV, digital and streaming media companies use technology in their businesses. 

“This year’s winners highlight the growing importance of tech innovation in helping media companies navigate rapid changes in their businesses,” said Kent Gibbons, content director, B&C. “The 2020 award winners have been tech leaders in deploying new technologies and infrastructures that have helped companies build new businesses and strengthen existing ones while helping consumers access TV series, news, sports and streaming media in new ways.”

Each year, B&C honors 10 Tech Leadership Award Winners. This year, it is announcing the winners in two stages.

The first five are: Fred Baumgartner, director of next gen TV implementation, ONE Media 3.0 - Sinclair Broadcast Group; Renard Jenkins, vice president, production, media and distribution operations, PBS Technology and Operations; Stephanie Lone, senior VP, engineering, CBS Sports Digital, CBS Interactive; Jeff Mayzurk, senior VP of operations and technology, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises; and Lisa Pedrogo, VP of NY engineering & strategic initiatives, WarnerMedia Technology and Operations.

Their full bios can be found at: https://www.technologyleadershipsummit.com/awards. 

The honorees will be profiled in the Feb. 17 issue of B&C and receive their awards at an awards dinner on March 5 during the annual Technology Leadership Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. 

For the first time, the awards will be presented at this year’s Technology Leadership Summit, which is produced by Broadcasting & Cable, TV Technology and Multichannel News. 

In addition to receiving their awards at the March 5 dinner, the winners will sit on panels at the summit. 

With panels on the newest developments on cloud, AI and IP technologies as well as discussions of news, sports and streaming operations, this conference is designed to help executives at stations, networks and digital companies deploy new technologies and strategies for the future of their businesses.

During the summit, leading technologists, including the honorees, will share their expertise on new technologies and explain how they are using new technologies to build new business, cut costs and boost profits.

In addition to the panels, attendees will have complementary access to the awards dinner, where they can meet and mingle with the winners and colleagues, as well as free hotel rooms and meals. Attendees must be approved by the organizers and attendance is limited. 

To apply for access to the summit or to get more information on the agenda or sponsorship opportunities see: https://www.technologyleadershipsummit.com/

New York -- Spanish-language television stations and their English-language counterparts seeking to expand their reach in the Hispanic community need to literally determine which way the wind is blowing.

At a panel session at the NYC TV Week Hispanic TV event Wednesday, NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations president Valari Staab said that weather is one of the most desired news segments for the Spanish-speaking community -- and one of the most overlooked by other Spanish-language programmers.

Staab said when she first took over the group in 2013, she did some research, asking Spanish-speaking viewers what made them watch English-language news the most.

Read More:Complete Coverage of NYC Television Week

“It was dominantly weather,” Staab said at the panel session titled Two Stations, One Voice: Meeting the Needs of Today’s Bilingual News Audiences, moderated by B&C senior content producer -- programming Michael Malone. “And it was because the Spanish-language television stations had not paid attention to [the] weather. They typically didn’t have meteorologists -- they had weather presenters but not meteorologists -- and they didn’t pay attention to how they were presenting the weather. We decided [that] a big competitive advantage would be to really go after weather and give them the best weather [coverage] they could get anywhere.”

NBCUniversal, which owns about 42 NBC and Telemundo stations in 30 markets across the country, has gone deep on the weather. Staab said the company has invested heavily on weather radar and apps, including offering severe weather notifications in Spanish.

Telemundo Station Group senior vice president of news, standards and digital Ozzie Martinez said that having both English language and Spanish language stations lends to greater collaboration.

NYC TV Week: Media Can't Ignore Hispanic Population, Says Fox News' Juan Williams

“We are fortunate in Miami because most of the NBC on-air reporters are bilingual,” Martinez said. ”...[When] a big storm is coming, all of a sudden the Telemundo reporters can also be reporting on NBC and vice versa and we have now doubled our on-air resources.”

Staab added that Spanish-speaking viewers tend to be younger and more open to innovation than they’re English-speaking counterparts.

“We made a multi-year, multi-million dollar commitment to weather about three years ago,” Staab said. "We now own the largest private group of weather radar systems in the nation.” That radar capability includes about six mobile radar units that can be placed just about anywhere to track a storm -- she said they are particularly helpful in coastal areas and can get places the National Weather Service can’t -- and six fixed radar units.

“It’s live all the time, so when you go on our apps or you’re watching on our air, you see exactly what’s happening,” Staab said, adding that NBCU is also investing in augmented reality to help explain weather events more clearly, and apps with proprietary weather technology.

“Uniquely in Spanish we’re the only app where you can get local severe weather alerts in Spanish,” Staab said. “That is one area that has been neglected on the Spanish language side.”

New York -- The American media can't ignore the Hispanic population, Fox News political analyst Juan Williams said Wednesday during NYC Television Week's Hispanic TV event.

"You don't have to see them as a subset. They are becoming part of the general audience," said Williams, who is co-host of Fox News's The Five, citing the growth in the Hispanic population and the fact that the Latino community is the largest minority in the country. 

"You have to appeal to them in terms of their experience and in terms of their family and ethnic origins because you have to speak to people where they are," he added. "But you no longer can see them as somehow a secondary market."

Williams spoke during the Hispanic TV event's opening keynote, where he was interviewed by Joe Schramm, managing partner & president, Schramm Marketing Group.

Read More:Complete Coverage of NYC TV Week

The political analyst fielded questions about whether there is a 2020 candidate Hispanic voters can identify with and what needs to be done to get the Hispanic vote.

Right now, he said, there is not one candidate who stands out. But even so the U.S. Hispanic population is not homogenous. The population comes from different countries and live in different states.

"You can't take the Latino vote for granted," he said. "Candidates need to go into the communities."

It's also important to understand why members of the population vote the way they do, he said. 

"Why aren't they voting more in line, let's say, with black voters?" Williams said. "Given the way that Trump talks about immigrants, what is the attraction there? You have to start talking about values."