You know it’s basketball season when a man in a gorilla suit starts appearing in promos for a sports network’s senior studio show.

Viewers to ESPN Deportes and its ESPN México sibling are being treated to two new “This is SportsCenter” spots featuring anchors Jorge Eduardo Sánchez, Ricardo Puig and Jorge Mercader … and “Go,” the iconic gorilla-suited mascot of the National Basketball Association’s Phoenix Suns.

The first spot, “Jungle,” opens with Sánchez explaining that ESPN offers the opportunity for its employees to decorate their own office space and give it a personal touch. The spot then cuts to Puig, who asks his colleague, “Go,” if he’d like to go to lunch, revealing his “jungle” cubicle while he jumps over the wall to head to lunch.

The second spot, “Go Bananas,” features Mercader searching for something to eat in the refrigerator and finally deciding on a banana. When he closes the fridge, he is surprised to find “Go” behind the door. A stare-down ensues, and Mercader is forced to relinquish his snack to the hungry gorilla.

Both commercials were created by ESPN International’s marketing team in Mexico and are an extension of the “This is SportsCenter” effort seen across ESPN’s English-language networks in the U.S.

The NBA-themed effort comes as ESPN Deportes bulks up its roster of soccer commentators by hiring Jorge Pérez-Navarro for “a variety of soccer events” on both ESPN Deportes and ESPN Deportes Radio, making regular appearances on the sports chat show Jorge Ramos y Su Banda.

Pérez-Navarro was formerly with Telemundo’s sports department and, prior to that, spent more than a decade as co-host for Univision’s sports 

Univision has tapped former Comedy Central International global production and development chief Lourdes Dias as president of the Univision Entertainment division.

Diaz started in her new Los Angeles-based role on Nov. 1, reporting to Univision chief news, entertainment and digital officer Isaac Lee. The Miami native was responsible for commissioning all scripted and non-scripted productions at Comedy Central International and was the executive producer of such international scripted series as I Live with Models, Brotherhood, Medics and Wasteman.

Adrian Santucho has also joined the programmer as Miami-based executive vice president of Univision Studios, reporting to Diaz. Santucho was most recently CEO of FremantleMedia Latin America, a global content company that creates such competition series as Univision’s La Banda and 100 Lations Dijeron, the Family Feud adaptation airing on soon-to-close network MundoMax (and predecessor MundoFox).

“With over 20 years of experience, Lourdes has a proven track record of curating fresh and exciting new programming that attracts diverse audiences,” Lee said in statement. “At the same time, Adrian’s extensive experience in development, direction and production will be extremely valuable as we look to further strengthen our in-house production capabilities and develop new multi-genre content and original productions through Univision Studios. Together, the two have deep industry insights and are the ideal executives for these critical roles. We’re pleased to have Lourdes and Adrian as part of the team.”

Before joining Comedy Central, Diaz had been vice president of primetime Programming for NBCUniversal Media, overseeing comedy and drama series. She began her career in 1993 as a motion picture agent for ICM.

Prior to joining FremantleMedia in 2013, Santucho spent more than a decade with reality TV programming innovator Endemol, serving in various senior production and development roles for Endemol USA Latino, Endemol Mexico and Endemol Argentina.

The international syndication and distribution arm of broadcaster Telemundo and cable network NBC Universo is getting its own production house.

With an announcement made in Cannes, France, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises confirmed the creation of Telemundo International Studios, or “TIS.” TIS will be an internationally focused production unit, exclusively focused on creating short-form scripted formats designed to serve both emerging platforms and the lucrative worldwide marketplace.

"Telemundo International Studios will tap into an international growth opportunity at a time when Telemundo is delivering unprecedented ratings performance,” César Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal International Group and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, said.  “With this new production unit, we will continue to innovate and raise the bar in original Spanish-language content production in the U.S. and abroad.”

Telemundo International president Marcos Santana has been selected to oversee TIS. Santana collaborated in the creation of Telemundo Studios and has been part of its development committee since its inception. 

“The launch of Telemundo International Studios is a representation of the growth of our division, which further develops the expansion of our offer, increasing our catalog and distribution opportunities for markets and platforms that demand programming for a well-defined audience with established consumption habits,” Santana said. “I am excited and feel privileged to work on this new project, from its conception, with César Conde and the support of Comcast NBCUniversal.”

TIS will be headquartered in Miami. Its development committee includes Telemundo president Luis Silberwasser, senior vice president of development Perla Farias, and NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises Digital Media head Peter Blacker.

Telemundo Internacional is distributed to countries across Latin America, while a Telemundo-branded pay TV in Africa offers content dubbed into English for the South Africa market and into Portuguese for Angola and Mozambique.

The first batch of digitally distributed content created and distributed by Chanclazo Studios through its partnership with Entravision Communications is now available for consumption.

The newly created animated video content can be found exclusively on the mobile app for one of Entravision’s most popular syndicated radio programs, hosted by Erazno y La Chokolata.

Entravision revealed its partnership with Chanclazo Studios at a post-upfront event designed to draw scatter market dollars, held in late September at the Edison Ballroom in New York.

The company, the largest owner of Univision and UniMás affiliates, is an investor and exclusive partner for Chanclazo’s sales and distribution.

The first release, now on the Erazno y La Chokolata app, is the 30-second “El Garaje De Erazno” (Erazno’s Garage).

Other characters from the show, including El Doggie, will get animated webisodes in the future.

To drive the launch of the webisodes, Entravision will be promoting the campaign in house, using its radio stations and social media platforms to spread the word.

New episodes are available each Monday, with the first one made available Oct. 24.

Twenty years ago, Fox emerged as a fourth major broadcast network — finally big enough to challenge the “Big Three” of ABC, NBC, and CBS. It was also two years into a game-changing contract with the National Football League.

Among its core primetime shows were The Simpsons; The X-Files; Melrose Place; Beverly Hills, 90210; Party of Five; Martin; America’s Most Wanted and Married … With Children.

With Fox in a major growth mode, Fox News Channel was born. So was an entire collection of Fox Sports-branded regional sports networks, thanks to a 50/50 partnership between Fox parent News Corporation and Liberty Media.

Among these nascent cable TV sports channels was a Spanish-language offering targeted specifically to U.S. viewers, named “Fox Sports en Español.”

Today, this network is known as Fox Deportes and continues to be a trend-setter in a marketplace that’s vastly more competitive than when the channel was born out of “Prime Deportiva” and its successor, “Fox Sports Américas,” as a channel expressly devoted to the growing base of U.S. Hispanic sports fans and their unique interests.

Carlos A. Sanchez is executive vice president and general manager of Fox Deportes, helming the network from an office on Sepulveda Boulevard in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Westwood, overlooking Bad News Bears Field and the San Diego Freeway. He joined Fox Deportes in March 2014 after six years as president and general manager of WNJU, the Telemundo-owned TV station in New York. He also spent several years as an executive at Entravision Communications, the largest owner of Univision affiliates.

“This network first launched as a multilingual channel, before Fox purchased 50% of Prime Networks in 1996,” Sanchez recalled. “Today, we are five years in to our Fox Deportes branding, and we are continuing to evolve as our audience has.”

Fox Deportes must stay ahead of not just 24/7 networks ESPN Deportes, beIN Sports en Español, and Univision Deportes, but also Telemundo and sibling NBCUniverso, as well as a host of niche networks from across Latin America.

What defines Fox Deportes as unique?  “The Super Bowl,” Sanchez said.

Soccer has been the biggest sport, but what has been a differentiation point is that Fox has taken risks,” Sanchez noted. “Fox Sports has provided us with alternative sports to soccer.”

That’s helped diversify Fox Deportes’ programming while giving advertisers highly rated options that go beyond a kick and a ¡Goool! to market around.

“Three years ago, Fox Deportes aired the Super Bowl [in Spanish] for the first time,” Sanchez said. “To this day, we have the record for the biggest audience in Spanish for the game.”

Super Bowl XLVIII in 2013 saw the Seattle Seahawks defeat the Denver Broncos 43-8 in a game played at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

Despite the lopsided victory, the game featured big stars and a halftime show starring Bruno Mars. The 2016-17 NFL season has been a ratings disappointment for CBS and NBC, and the trade press has fixated on reasons as to why. Could Fox Deportes see a similar decline in viewership?

“I don’t think so,” Sanchez said. “The NFL is a unique property for our viewers and we are still introducing the NFL to many of our viewers.”

One way Fox Deportes is bringing an “NFL 101” approach to its viewers, which include less-acculturated Latinos from across Latin America, is with the recently launched studio program NFLEROS.

Initially an early Friday prime offering when launched in Week 1 of the NFL season, NFLEROS now airs on Sunday nights. This allows host Pablo Alsina and a team of commentators, including former NFL player Brady Poppinga, veteran broadcaster John Laguna and reporters Valeria Marin and Jessi Losada, to discuss Sunday’s matchups rather than offering a preview of what’s to come.

“We realized that there was an opportunity,” Sanchez said of the new night for NFLEROS. “It just made more sense to recap than to preview the week’s games. With our social-media focus, there is lots of interaction. We also see social media influencers and celebrities involved with the discussion.”

The shift to Sundays for NFLEROS puts a Los Angeles-produced program in front of viewers in a timeslot where the Mexico City-produced NFL Impacto had aired. That move was made because the U.S. Hispanic sports viewer is different than those in Mexico or points south and east across the Caribbean.

GLOBAL COMPANY, WORLDLY OFFERINGS

Aside from Fútbol Americano, Fox Deportes has found its groove with two Mexico City-produced studio shows — Central Fox and La Ultima Palabra. News and highlights show Central Fox and airs five times daily, while La Ultima Palabra is the network’s “flagship debate show,” Sanchez said. “It does very well for us, and boasts big-name talent.” Among its talent is Daniel “El Ruso” Brailovsky.

Meanwhile, the two-year-old Fox Deportes en Vivo has been an important connector for marketers who wish to get involved with major sporting events to which Fox Deportes might not have rights. The program’s hosts and production shift across the globe to the sports world’s hot spots, giving viewers and advertisers shoulder programming for such events as the FIFA World Cup. (Though Fox Sports holds English-language U.S. rights to the quadrennial men’s and women’s tournaments, NBCUniversal’s Telemundo is the Spanish-language U.S. rightsholder.) 

There are, of course, events where Fox Deportes is the rightsholder. Fox Deportes en Vivo has gone to Germany for Bundesliga matches and travels throughout the U.S. for NASCAR, UFC and Major League Baseball events.

Fox Deportes is currently enjoying the riches from this year’s eagerly anticipated World Series between the Chicago Cubs, who haven’t taken home a title since 1908, and the Cleveland Indians, who haven’t won a world championship since 1948. “The ratings have been record-breaking so far,” Sanchez said. “For Game 2 in Cleveland, we had 87% more viewers aged 18-49 than we did in 2015.”

Game 1 yielded similar growth for the network, he adds.

Then there is NASCAR, a sport that is growing in popularity with Fox Deportes viewers.

“Motor sports are important to our audience, and obviously Hispanics love cars,” Sanchez said. “There is [Mexican driver] Daniel Suarez, a driver important to Hispanics. The Daytona 500 is now a big event for Fox Deportes. NASCAR is definitely not one of those sports that people think about when they think of Hispanic sports, but we’ve been able to introduce a lot of these sports to our audience. We see ourselves as a global company, and that extends to how we view our programming. The world is getting smaller.”

With an audience that is 70% bilingual and technologically savvy, Fox Deportes seeks to be at the forefront of the cutting edge approaches to serving Latino consumers. With ATSC 3.0 on the way, OTT unleashed and live sports still a huge draw for Latinos, Fox Deportes’ silver anniversary is set to be a bright one. 

A leading lady of Telemundo’s afternoon will stay in place for a few more years, as Al Rojo Vivo anchor and editorial director María Celeste Arrarás has agreed to a multiyear contract extension with the NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises network.

“María Celeste’s professionalism, determination and charisma have been essential to the growth of our network and its news department,” Telemundo executive vice president of network news Luis Fernandez said. “In her years with the network, María Celeste has forged a close relationship with audiences and her name has become synonymous with Noticias Telemundo. I am honored and proud to announce that she will continue to be a part of our family.”

The new deal between Telemundo and Arrarás comes as Al Rojo Vivo debuts virtual reality technology, augmented reality, robotic cameras and a cutting-edge LED lighting system — the first Spanish-language TV program in the U.S. to use such technology.

“Years ago I took a chance on Telemundo becoming the No. 1 network in Hispanic television, and that bet has paid off,” Arrarás said. “I am honored that the network’s executives have continued to give me their vote of confidence and to support my career. I am ready to focus all of my energies on this new era of Al Rojo Vivo and to go back to being the show’s editorial director, a responsibility l had to delegate to others in order to collaborate with Noticiero Telemundo.”

To concentrate on Al Rojo Vivo, which will be celebrating its 15th anniversary on the air in 2017, Arrarás will leave her role as co-anchor of Noticiero Telemundo following the U.S. presidential election.

Arrarás’s contract extension comes as Telemundo makes two other key appointments that involve women:

• Ingrid Sanchez Graham has joined Telemundo as senior vice president of creative operations. She had served as VP of busIness operations at Discovery Networks Latin America/U.S. Hispanic and will drive the operational development, management and execution of creative shared services and manage departmental budgets. Based in Miami, she will report to senior VP of marketing and creative Aileen Angulo-Merciel.

• Debra Juarez was named vice president of digital at co-owned Telemundo station WSCV and NBC station WTVJ in Miami. Most recently news director at NBC O&O WMAQ Chicago since 2011, she spent seven years in Miami as a producer and executive producer at WCKT/WSVN from 1983 to 1990.

The zombie apocalypse will continue to unfold — in Spanish — thanks to NBC Universo.

The NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises-owned network will bring Spanish-dubbed episodes of basic cable’s most popular series to NBC Universo for a third season. Freshly dubbed season-three episodes of the AMC-originated series debuted on NBC Universo on Aug. 31; subsequent episodes will air Wednesdays at 10 p.m. Eastern for 16 weeks.

“We are excited to have more people become part of our universe, and having the opportunity to present our show to Latinos in the U.S. on NBC Universo is unprecedented,” Greg Nicotero, executive producer, director and special effects makeup supervisor for the series, said in a statement.

 “We are thrilled to bring back The Walking Dead en Español, a series that has resonated immensely with U.S. Hispanic audiences,” said Bilai Joa Silar, senior vice president of programming and production for NBC Universo.

In the third season of the popular AMC dramatic series, officer Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) continues the fight to survive and protect a group of survivors, including his family, from walkers. When he discovers a federal prison could be a safe refuge to set a permanent camp, he will push his group to its limit to eliminate prison walkers. Soon, he will discover his biggest challenge to keep his group alive will be other survivors. (Season three aired on AMC in 2012-13.)

NBC Universo is currently available to a reported 40 million households across the U.S.

Charter Communications’s $78.7 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks has yielded two major spats over license fees, including one involving top Spanish-language broadcaster Univision Communications.

On July 8, Univision — the biggest player in the U.S. Hispanic media world — filed a lawsuit against Charter in New York Supreme Court seeking a legal solution to its claim that the company’s contract with Time Warner Cable, rather than with Charter, is the controlling contract. The suit claimed that Charter was trying to pay for Univision’s network at Time Warner Cable’s lower license fee.

Charter completed its acquisition of Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks on May 18, a deal that bolstered Charter’s overall cable subscriber rolls from about 4 million to more than 17.3 million. Time Warner Cable had been the second-largest cable operator in the country prior to the deal, with about 11 million video customers. TWC’s deal with Charter is not set to expire until 2022.

 “Univision had no alternative because Charter outright refused to negotiate a renewal agreement,” the company said in a statement. “Charter insists that the contract Univision had with Time Warner Cable is controlling, rather than its own contract with Univision. Charter bases this argument on the preposterous theory that as a result of the merger, Time Warner Cable, rather than Charter, is managing all these cable systems.”

Charter has remained relatively mum on the spat, stating, “We have a long-term contract with Univision and we expect them to honor it.”

For its part, Univision is seeking to stir up the pot. “The longstanding CEO and the executive team of Charter, as well as its pre-existing board of directors, now manage and control all of the cable systems,” the broadcaster said in a statement. “Indeed, Charter pitched this deal to regulators, its subscribers and the public as one where its management team would take control of the combined company, and that is exactly what happened. Quite simply, Charter promised one thing publicly in order to secure approval for its acquisition and is now privately claiming the exact opposite to Univision.”

According to copy of the lawsuit obtained by Multichannel News, Univision licensed its programming to Charter pursuant to a 2014 distribution agreement that was set to expire June 30. That agreement contained a provision that stated if Charter were to purchase the distribution systems of another entity, “the purchased distributor would remain subject to the operative agreement between Univision and that other distributor, but only until the end of the calendar year in which the acquisition occurred. After that time, the Charter agreement would govern the acquired systems.”

Univision isn’t the only media company challenging Charter’s view on what controlling contract shall be enforced regarding network license fees. In mid-July, 21st Century Fox sued Charter for applying its TWC contract to Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network, rather than a deal signed with Charter in 2014. As with the Univision agreement, Time Warner Cable’s deal with 21st Century Fox was for a lower rate.

Court dates for the 21st Century Fox and Univision lawsuits have not yet been set.

The concept of “summer ratings doldrums” has long been a foreign one to Hispanic television.

Spanish-language broadcast network Univision is taking note of such “summer success stories” as its miniseries Por Siempre … Joan Sebastian, El Poeta del Pueblo, airing weeknights at 10 p.m.

Airing opposite the concluding installments of Telemundo “super series” El Señor de los Cielos, the miniseries’ premiere episode on Monday, June 27 delivered an average audience of 1.2 million adults aged 18-49 and 522,000 adults aged 18-34. Por Siempre …, based on the life of Joan Sebastian, the iconic Mexican crooner who died in 2015, reached an average audience of 2.3 million total viewers 2-plus.

That's significant, as the June 20 episode of El Señor de los Cielos finished at No. 20 in the ratings for the week, regardless of language, drawing 1.28 million viewers 18-49.

Jose Manuel and Julian Figueroa, Joan Sebastian’s real-life sons, play their father at different stages of his life. Livia Brito is seen in the role of Maribel Guardia, one of Joan’s true loves.

The Joan Sebastian miniseries is set to run through early August, when the first season of Netflix drama Narcos takes the time slot.

Univision has not revealed the premiere date for Narcos, which chronicles the life of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. However, the partnership with Netflix brings to Univision a program that will certainly vie for viewers against the third season of Telemundo “super series” Señora Acero.

Meanwhile, Univision is also pleased with the ratings success of its 9 p.m. telenovela Tres Veces Ana. A story about “destiny, hatred and sibling rivalry” starring Sebastián Rulli, the series started strong, with its May 23 premiere averaging 2.3 million total viewers 2-plus and 1.1 million adults aged 18-49 between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m.

BIG AWARDS, RETURNING ASPIRANTS

Aside from weeknights, Univision is setting its sights on a solid Sunday performer as the music-filled competition series Va Por Tí returns for its second season on July 17.

The Televisa-Univision co-production is again hosted by Galilea Montijo.

The season premiere of Va Por Tí comes after the much-anticipated youth awards series Premios Juventud 2016 on Thursday, July 14. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET; it is tape-delayed for West Coast viewers with a 7 p.m. PT start time.

The 13th annual edition of the youth awards show brings together the leading stars in music, TV, film, sports and social media, with nominees and winners selected by fans at PremiosJuventud.com.

Set to perform are global superstars Enrique Iglesias, Wisin and Pitbull, as well as the leader of the bachata genre, Price Royce.

While the upcoming programming will likely deliver top ratings, nothing may come close to the jaw-dropping performance Univision enjoyed for the Copa America Centenario final on June 26, which saw Chile defeat Argentina on penalty kicks following a scoreless overtime period.

The match easily finished at No. 1 among all programs, regardless of language, with adults aged 18-49, averaging a stunning 3.41 million viewers and netting a 2.7 rating. By comparison, the No. 2 program among this viewer group — NBC’s America’s Got Talent — averaged 2.96 million viewers and grabbed a 2.3 rating.

For nearly six years, CNN en Español viewers could tune in weeknights at 9 p.m. ET to hear Cuban-born writer and journalist Ismael Cala offer insight and opinions on the day's top news stories on studio program Cala.

As of July 1, the discussion is now being led by network veteran Camlio Egaña, and the program has been retitled Kmilo. In a statement released June 15 by CNN en Español, Cala said he will now focus on his career as a motivational speaker and author.

“A great learning cycle has closed, and I want to thank CNN en Español senior vice president and GM Cynthia Hudson, VP of programming and production Eduardo Suarez, and the rest of the executive team for the confidence they had in me during all this time,” Cala said. “I'll be eternally grateful to my great production team. I enjoyed the journey and growth in the program, but now it is time for me to break paradigms, explore new horizons and reinvent myself. I also want to give a very special thanks to our viewers throughout this continent, for their affection and the love they have given me every day.”

Egaña joined CNN en Español in October 2010 as the presenter of the weekend news magazine Mirador Mundial. He most recently served as the host for the weekday afternoon news and information program Encuentro, which airs at 5 p.m. ET.

"This is more than a challenge,” Egaña said. “It is an honor and a huge responsibility. It’s interesting that even with a 30-year career, I feel as if everything starts again. Everyone should feel this at least once in their lifetime. It is a wonderful feeling.

“I leave Encuentro with some mixed feelings and sadness because it has been a daily pretext to accompany people and create a loyal and demanding audience, and also because I leave a great team of producers with whom I share the glorious feeling of friendship,” he added.

Taking on the role as Encuentro’s new host is Guillermo Arduino, currently the host of Mirador Mundial. He will continue as the host of the weekday 30-minute tech talk program Clix. Arduino is a 17-year network veteran.

Now serving as host of Mirador Mundial, which airs Saturdays and Sundays at 6 p.m. ET, is CNN Worldwide senior Latin America affairs editor Rafael Romo. He has been with CNN en Español since October 2009 and previously worked as an on-air reporter in Chicago for Univision and for CBS's WBBM-TV.

For an English-language network, the mid-July debut of a new primetime show is largely considered “summertime fare” and a placeholder for programs previewed during the May upfronts and set to bow in September or early October.

In the Hispanic TV world, there’s no summertime dip in viewership, with Latinos who consume Spanish-language television just as likely to watch a telenovela on a steamy August evening as they are on a snowy evening in winter.

That’s why Telemundo has set Tuesday, July 19, as a premiere night for not just one weeknight primetime program, but for three new shows. The Spanish-language broadcast network is essentially replacing three hour-long primetime programs at once.

At 8 p.m., popular Latino actor Carlos Ponce will return to Spanish-language television to join Maritza Rodriguez, Marimar Vega and Adriana Barraza in the romantic comedy telenovela Silvana Sin Lana. The plot centers around a high society woman who loses everything and must avoid falling in love with a fishmonger in the lower-class neighborhood she now lives in.

The 9 p.m. hour belongs to Sin Senos Si Hay Paraiso, the long-awaited sequel to the successful Colombian telenovela Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso. The story now centers around a woman struggling to get ahead in life who wants to demonstrate her true value — without resorting to plastic surgery and without falling into the temptation of the glamorous life of drug trafficking.

At 10 p.m. comes the return of “super series” Señora Acero, officially titled Señora Acero 3: El Coyote. This installment focuses on Mexican immigrants struggling to achieve the American dream while avoiding both detention by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and drug lords who seek immigrants to kidnap and use as slaves in the illegal narcotics trade.

Telemundo president Luis Silberwasser told Multichannel News that the unconventional decision to replace three primetime shows at once — especially given Telemundo's strong June ratings performance — is part of a “deliberate strategy” to entice viewers and show the strength of the network's programming.

 “People are familiar with our 10 p.m. ‘super series,’ Señora Acero, while Sin Senos is a sequel to a successful and bold telenovela that in 2007 and 2008 was shocking and intriguing,” Silberwasser said. “At 8 p.m. we have the romantic take on the telenovela, and having Carlos Ponce on board sends a strong message as to our commitment to bring top talent to our viewers.”

 “We asked ourselves about giving viewers the best in one big night,” he added. “It may be risky. It may be bold. But, it is part of the vision to market Telemundo in a different way, and to change the perception of the Hispanic viewers and what they are all about. We don’t save our premieres until the fall, as there is no lull in the summer when you track our audience. We are enjoying growth, and we hope to continue that momentum.”

Eight weeks after Telemundo’s inclusion in the NBCUniversal Enterprises combined Upfront presentation in New York, the network’s advertisers are “seeing the difference” its current programming has delivered in the Nielsen ratings.

“If you look at the days when Univision has not had Copa América coverage, Telemundo’s regular programming has beaten them,” Silberwasser said. “We are neck-and-neck with them, and the advertisers see this shift in market share and have expressed excitement about the innovation that Telemundo is bringing to the marketplace.”

According to Nielsen data shared by Telemundo, the network outperformed Univision 10 times among adults 18-49 between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. weeknights. Furthermore, the network for the first time ranked No. 1 among adults 18-49 for four consecutive nights between May 30 and June 2.

With all of NBCUniversal's networks set to air programming from the 2016 Summer Olympics from Aug. 5-21, Telemundo is poised for antoher total-day ratings uptick. Telemundo will focus on soccer and diving during the daytime hours, leaving the primetime coverage to sister network NBC.

“The primetime programming on Telemundo stays as it is through the Olympics,” Silberwasser said. A nightly Olympics recap will air at 11:30 p.m. ET, he said.

In addition to its strong national performance, Telemundo has also seen Nielsen strength at its Los Angeles owned-and-operated station KVEA.

According to Nielsen, soon-to-conclude super series El Señor de Los Cielos was a blockbuster, helping KVEA close out June as the most-watched local station in the market, in any language, at 10 p.m. on weeknights among adults aged 18-49.

KVEA’s wake-up newscast, Noticiero Telemundo 52 a las 6, also scored strong ratings for Telemundo, ranking above Univision’s KMEX among 18-to-34-year-olds.

“Telemundo’s commitment to delivering best-in-class entertainment and programming is providing us with a tremendous opportunity to continue to grow our audience and market share,” KVEA president and GM Celia Chavez said. “We are honored that our viewers are choosing Telemundo 52 to get the local news, entertainment and information they need.”

Soccer remains an ever-important ratings and revenue driver for Hispanic sports networks.

Thus, it should come as no surprise that Univision Deportes and ESPN Deportes are each gearing up for tournaments they believe will be key draws for sponsors and viewers.

The 100th year anniversary edition of the Copa America Centenario tournament, to be held in the U.S. for the first time, is typically the biggest sporting event in the Americas. The tournament pits teams from CONCACAF and CONMEBOL member nations in a format similar to the World Cup.

While the first ball won't be kicked until June 3, Univision Deportes is already in pregame mode. Airing each Monday at 9 p.m. is America Redonda - Camino a la Copa America Centenario. The weekly show features an in-depth look at everything leading up to the tournament.

Hosts Luis Omar Tapia, Diego Balado, and José Luis López Salido will conduct exclusive interviews with the managers/head coaches of the participating teams, including Juan Carlos Osorio (Mexico), Jürgen Klinsmann (United States) and Gerardo Martino (Argentina). 

Additionally, Univision Deportes has set airdates of April 10, May 1 and May 15 for the 60-minute investigative feature Expediente. Featuring an in-depth look at failures and successes in the world of sports, the show is hosted by Adriana Monsalve, Lindsay Casinelli, Alejandro Berry and Iván Kasanzew and will focus solely on the tournament for its third season.

Meanwhile, Univision Deportes viewers can watch some of the best Copa America matches from years past, as they will be replayed daily until the start of this year's tournament.

Meanwhile, ESPN Deportes has already released its coverage schedule of the 2016 International Champions Cup tournament, which begins July 23 at 12:30 p.m. ET with Scotland’s Celtic vs. England’s Leicester City and concludes August 13 with Celtic vs. Italian side Inter Milan.

The ICC matches are part of an agreement with Relevent Sports granting ESPN the U.S. English-language and Spanish-language rights to the tournament through 2018.

 “The ICC is a great complement to our lineup of marquee international events this summer led by UEFA Euro 2016,” ESPN senior vice president of programming Scott Guglielmino said. “We look forward to showcasing some of the best soccer brands in the world across our media platforms to our bilingual soccer fans.”

And North American Soccer League (NASL) fans can now follow their favorite teams on beIN Sports, thanks to a rights deal with the second-tier U.S. pro soccer league that runs through 2017. Network coverage kicked off April 2 with Miami FC vs. the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.

“With our new partnership with NASL firmly in place, we’re betting big on North American programming rooted in a growing U.S. fan base,” beIN Sports managing director Yousef Al-Obaidly said. “Featuring some of the country’s top professional soccer talent, this acquisition represents the first time we hold the rights to a domestic soccer league, further showcasing our commitment to providing access to the best sports leagues and events, both here and abroad.”

The NASL is comprised of 12 teams in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico and uses a split-season schedule running from April to early November, with a four-week break in July.

“We're obviously very excited to announce our new partnership with beIN Sports,” said NASL Commissioner Bill Peterson. “Like the NASL, beIN Sports has quickly grown in importance and stature across North America. Our savvy pro soccer fans here in North America are watching beIN Sports on a regular basis, and now they'll be able to watch exciting and competitive NASL action every week.”

The New York Cosmos enter the 2016 season as defending champions, and will face additional competition as three new teams make their NASL debut this spring: Oklahoma City-based Rayo OKC, owned by Spanish club Rayo Vallecano; Miami FC, co-owned by Italian soccer legend Paolo Maldini; and Puerto Rico FC, owned by New York Knicks star Carmelo Anthony.

Of course, beIN Sports's mainstay soccer telecasts are the likes of "El Clasico," the Spanish La Liga contests between F.C. Barcelona and Real Madrid. The latest rendition, on April 2 from Barcelona's Camp Nou, ended in a 2-1 victory for the visiting team, with the late, winning goal coming from Cristiano Ronaldo. The broadcast averaged more than 1.9 million total viewers across the English and Spanish language channels and dominated on social media: on a tweets per unique author basis it had the most socially engaged audience of any sporting event on the day, including two Final Four games in the NCAA basketball tournament on TBS, beIN Sports said. The most-tweeted moment of the game was when Ronaldo scored the winning goal: 11,000 tweets at 4:15 p.m., according to the programmer, citing Nielsen. In Spanish, it was the top soccer telecast year to date against all cable networks regardless of language, the programmer said. 

In less than two years as president of Telemundo, Luis Silberwasser has invested heavily in local and national news as the NBCUniversal-owned Hispanic network seeks to finally topple its chief rival, Univision, in both viewership and advertising dollars.

In a January 2015 interview with Multichannel News, Silberwasser said Telemundo had "gone against the stream" by investing in dual anchors, adding 5:30 p.m. weekday newscasts at several owned-and-operated stations and reinvigorating its national weekday-morning program.

Telemundo’s national news team now is getting a new leader, and it has turned to Spain — by way of Beijing — in making its selection.

Luis Fernández, most recently CEO of soccer club Real Madrid for the Asia-Pacific Region, is now Telemundo's executive vice president of network news. A 30-year journalism veteran, he also brings U.S. television experience as a former president of entertainment at Univision, overseeing its studios division. Before moving to the U.S. in 2007, Fernández had a prolific career in Spain, serving as CEO of state-run Radio Television Española (RTVE). He has also been news director at Spain's Canal Plus, at Telecinco and at national radio network Cadena SER.

Fernández reports to Silberwasser and succeeds Luis Carlos Vélez, who was hired for that position in January 2015 after serving as news director and as an anchor for Caracol Television in Colombia.

Vélez will remain with Telemundo as a news anchor and senior correspondent. On March 19, he became the co-anchor for Noticiero Telemundo Fin de Semana, the network's 5 p.m. weekend newscast. Vélez will appear alongside Felicidad Aveleyra and replaces Edgardo del Villar, who will continue as a reporter for the network.

“News plays a central role in terms of how we inform and empower our community,” said Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and NBCUniversal International Group.  “Luis Fernández will play a strategic role in leading our network news division at a time when the U.S. Hispanic community is playing an increasingly important role in the transformation of our country.”

Specifically, Fernández will oversee network news operations and manage editorial direction, programming and production of all news properties, including nightly newscast Noticiero Telemundo; the Sunday program Enfoque con Jose Diaz-Balart; the national weekend newscast Noticias Telemundo Fin de Semana; the news content of weekday-morning program Un Nuevo Día; and the network’s daily news magazine program Al Rojo Vivo, hosted by María Celeste Arrarás.

Fernández also will oversee other related network news programming, breaking news and specials, and work closely with Mario “Don Francisco” Kreutzberger in producing and coordinating high-profile interviews. Kreutzberger, the longtime host of Univision’s Sabado Gigante, struck a deal with Telemundo in early March. 

Fernández will also be charged with strengthening synergies between Telemundo's national news team and NBC News.  

Commenting on Vélez’s new role, Silberwasser said: “We are thankful to Luis Carlos, who brought innovation and a new focus on breaking news which led us to a record-breaking year.  We are excited that he will be able to join Telemundo News’s Emmy Award-winning team ... and pursue his dreams as a journalist and on-air talent at Telemundo.”

On Dec. 7, 2014, Yazaira López was declared the season-one winner of Univision’s singing competition series Va Por Tí.

With 43% of the votes, the young Puerto Rican winner of the Televisa and Univision co-production won a recording contract with Warner Music and a $50,000 cash prize.

Starting this week, the show starts its search for its season-two champion. Va Por Tí will return to Univision on a to-be-announced date this summer.

Open auditions for season two will start on April 9 at the JW Marriott Chicago and continue on April 16 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Los Angeles Downtown and April 23 at The Westin New York Grand Central. Participants are asked to pre-register at VaPorTi.com and must be at least 18 years old.

"Expert scouts" in music and talent will be at the auditions, Univision said.

Va Por Ti follows a similar format to American Idol and The Voice, with celebrity judges and Latin recording artists called "capitans" serving as mentors for each group of contestants.

Galilea Montijo will return as host of the show that gives one gifted singer the chance to realize their dream of becoming the next Latin music star.

The series began its first series with 28 candidates, divided into three teams led by popular Latin recording artists Dulce María, El Dasa and Jencarlos Canela. The network hasn’t said if those artists will return for season two.

For years, Hispanic television viewers have gotten to know telenovela actors primarily through the characters they've portrayed on TV.

Now, AMC Networks' WE tv is for the first time turning the cameras on the stars themselves — with an assist from Telemundo. My Life is a Telenovela, set in Miami and produced by Matador, will follow a group of "beautiful and fierce Latina actors working in this hyper-competitive world, which has captivated hundreds of millions of viewers."

WE tv has ordered eight hour-long episodes of the reality show, which is set to premiere later this year. As the series begins, several characters are vying for the same role on a Telemundo telenovela. WE tv hopes this will provide the fireworks necessary for compelling reality entertainment.

“WE tv is a network that was really built on diversity," WE tv president Marc Juris said. "It is bringing viewers personalities and programming that has historically been hard to find on the mainstream dial. This show continues that commitment to new faces and voices."

WE tv is a sibling of such networks as AMC, BBC America, IFC and SundanceTV and is available in more than 86 million U.S. homes. 

My Life Is a Novela is not the first star turn for telenovelas on U.S. English-language TV this year. NBC's Telenovela, which concluded its 11-episode run in February, featured superstars Jencarlos Canela and Eva Longoria in a fictional behind-the-scenes look at how a telenovela is produced.

U-verse TV's universe of Spanish-language television channels once again includes Univision.

AT&T’s telco-TV service on March 24 restored Univision Communications-owned broadcast network UniMás and pay TV channel Galavisión to its channel lineup, some 20 days after U-verse pulled the plug on those two channels and flagship network Univision.

AT&T had restored Univision to U-verse TV on March 9, a good-faith “temporary” gesture to allow Hispanic U-verse subscribers to watch that evening’s Democratic Presidential Debate telecast co-hosted by Univision and The Washington Post.Further temporary extensions came following the debate.

Univision's initial reaction to AT&T's decision to black out its networks was fierce. The broadcaster accused the telco of undervaluing Univision and the Hispanic audience.

"We are always proud to stand with the Hispanic community, regardless of the costs to Univision," the Spanish-language media firm said in a March 7 statement. "For us, it is about standing up for the future of multicultural media and the opportunity for it to thrive in a multiplatform marketplace. In many of the markets U-verse serves, Univision stations are ranked No. 1, regardless of language. If, as the most popular Spanish-language broadcaster, we do not take a stand and require the distributors treat us on par with English-language broadcasters, what does that mean for the minority and independent creators that come after us?"

Since then, Univision and AT&T have remained relatively mum as negotiations continue to renew the deal that expired Feb. 28. In a February internal memo to employees, Univision said it made several attempts to open negotiations with AT&T but the telco had not moved forward to renew its pact with the broadcaster. For its part, AT&T said in a statement that it was in talks with Univision.

One reason for AT&T’s reluctance to make a new deal could be tied what some analysts have said are AT&T's efforts to shift U-verse customers to its recently acquired DirecTV platform. A DirecTV-Univision carriage deal was struck in March 2013.

As of March 31, there are no official updates as to when Univision and AT&T might reach terms on a new deal.

Separately, NBCUniversal and satellite-TV provider Dish Network are at odds over carriage of Telemundo's 16 owned-and-operated TV stations and cable network NBC Universo. NBCUniversal's networks remain on Dish as part of a cooling-off period tied to arbitration invoked by the satellite provider.

Centroamérica TV has entered the reality TV fray, thanks to a production pact with El Salvador’s top television network.

Calle 7 El Salvador, a co-production with Telecorporación Salvadoreña (TCS), which airs weeknights at 8 p.m., bowed on Feb. 29. The reality show pits two all-male and all-female teams of 10 competitors against each other in a series of physical challenges that test strength and agility. Contestants will be eliminated over four months until just one man and one woman remain.

The winning contestants will take home a cash prize of $7,500, the network said.

“We are extremely excited to team up with TCS to bring U.S. audiences our new series,” Francisco Gimenez, general manager of networks for Hemisphere Media Group, Centroamérica TV’s parent company, said. “This format has been an enormous hit throughout Latin America, and we are confident it will be a great success among our viewers.”

Centroamérica TV has 4 million U.S. customers through MSOs Comcast, Time Warner Cable, RCN, Bright House Networks, Charter Communications and Cablevision Systems; telcos AT&T and Verizon Communications; and satellite-TV providers DirecTV and Dish Network.

If you’re a fan of 1990s films Armageddon and Deep Impact — both of which deal with the impending destruction of Earth by a giant asteroid, unless its destroyed by a team of human heroes — Univision Digital’s newest Web series may just be for you.

If you’d like to send all of the 2016 presidential candidates into outer space on that mission, then that series — Heads of Space — is tailor-made hilarity.

The 12-episode animated short-form series debuted Feb. 16 at HeadsOfSpace.com. It was developed by Plop, a Latin American digital production company that specializes in political satire, in partnership with Univision Digital’s recently launched Udisea platform. All episodes are in English with Spanish-language subtitles.

Heads of Space follows the intergalactic adventures of 2016 presidential aspirants Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, in addition to former candidate Jeb Bush. The six politicians are sent to Mars by President Obama to ensure the survival of the human race by stopping a gargantuan asteroid from destroying Earth. The sextet is on a small ship piloted by “Rotus.”

The episodes will follow the timeline of the 2016 presidential elections and comment on real political events taking place through Nov. 8, Election Day in the U.S.

“We’re thrilled to launch this innovative web series that gives our digital audience a truly funny look at the presidential candidates in a completely unexpected setting,” Kevin Mills, Univision Communications’s vice president of news strategies and initiatives, said. “The Heads of Space project is the most recent step in UCI’s ongoing strategy of expanding the quantity and variety of our digital content targeted to an increasingly diverse audience. Given that our multicultural and millennial audiences over-index in the use of mobile platforms and online video consumption, the series’ format was especially designed for easy viewing and sharing on mobile devices and social media. We also know that these particular audiences love satire, so this story is sure to engage them with its biting humor and direct connection to the actual course of the political campaigns.”

In addition to uploading new episodes of the series each week, HeadsOfSpace.com will feature new, shareable content each day, including news, infographics and interactive stories reflecting the day-to-day developments of the real presidential campaign.

The adventures of a Mexican family that mysteriously gains superhuman powers after visiting their reclusive grandfather have landed in primetime on Galavisión, the Univision-owned pay TV network said.

Los Súper Pérez debuted Feb. 29 at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) on Galavisión. Produced by Mexico’s MVS Televisión, the series aired for two seasons on the MX 52 channel starting in 2012.

As is typical with superhero tales, a villain emerges who uses his powers to turn ordinary citizens into powerful monsters who desire to control their city. The Pérez clan then steps in to help save the day.

Little by little, the Pérez family becomes popular heroes, known for their “Pérezmobile” — a flying Datsun 80.

Los Súper Pérez will air on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT, starting March 1.

The 20-episode series is being handled by Cisneros Media Distribution

A scripted drama inspired by the true-to-life story of Sonora, Mexico, native Dasahev López Saavedra, known to regional Mexican music fans as “El Dasa,” has started production ahead of an anticipated debut this spring on NBC Universo.

El Vato, a 10-episode series chronicling an aspiring singer of the same name as he navigates life in Los Angeles and ultimately lands a recording contract, is NBC Universo’s first original scripted series created expressly for U.S. Hispanic audiences. It is produced by Endemol Shine Latino and Boomdog.

“We are excited to offer our growing audience, including our loyal regional Mexican music fans, fresh and vibrant programming,” Bilai Joa Silar, NBC Universo’s senior vice president of programming and production, said. “This series promises to showcase El Dasa’s versatility as an artist, and his fans can expect to fall in love with his character El Vato and his entourage as they embark on their journey to stardom.”

Cris Abrego, co-chairman of Endemol Shine Americas, added that his firm is thrilled to be producing NBC Universo’s first scripted series along with Boomdog. “We’ve assembled an amazingly talented cast and El Dasa’s inspirational, true-life story and all the fun that ensues on his rise to stardom should make 'El Vato’ quite a ride for the network’s viewers,” Abrego said.

El Dasa was discovered in 2011 by legendary Mexican entertainer Vicente Fernández when his band asked him to listen to his chauffeur, Saavedra, sing. Fernandez was so impressed by the young singer’s talent that he invited him onstage to sing a duet at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. The audience gave the pair a standing ovation, with Fernández asking the audience to help support El Dasa.

Since then, El Dasa has regularly charted both in the U.S. and in Mexico on the regional Mexican airplay and sales charts and is considered one of the genre’s top recording artists.

Twenty years ago, Fernando Fiore was best-known as the co-host of the weekly Univision travel program Fuera de Serie, alongside a Colombian runway model named Sofia Vergara.

Today, Fiore, now a sportscaster, hopes to follow Vergara’s crossover lead, thanks to a new multiyear deal with Fox Sports.

Starting Feb. 10, Fiore — who hosted Univision’s weekly sports show República Deportiva for 16 years — will serve as a co-host and general contributor for the English-language sports network’s diverse slate of soccer programming.

Fiore’s hiring at Fox Sports was widely expected. He’d been given an audition of sorts when Fox Deportes hired him as a contributor to a 90-minute pregame show ahead of October’s U.S.-Mexico soccer match and on Fox Deportes’s Fox Deportes en Vivo.

Fiore’s new deal with Fox Sports will put him behind the microphone for the 2016 Copa America Centenario, a highly anticipated tournament involving men’s national soccer from throughout the Americas. The June 3-26 event, marking 100 years of the tournament, is the first Copa America to be held in the U.S.

Fiore will also appear on Mexico national team telecasts during the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup, and throughout Fox Sports’s coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

“Fernando Fiore is one of the superstars of Spanish-language broadcasting in the U.S., and we are delighted to welcome him to the FOX Sports family,” David Neal, executive producer of the FIFA World Cup on Fox, said. “Fernando's vast experience and unique perspective will be valuable additions to our coverage of the Road to Russia and the 2018 FIFA World Cup."

In prepared comments, Fiore noted that he was honored to bring his experience and Latin flavor to Fox Sports. “The wonderful thing about sports is that there is no language barrier,” he said. “Whether the fans watch fútbol or soccer, we’ll be presenting coverage of the biggest world-class soccer events. After all, the passion for soccer and the sound of a ¡GOOOOOL! need no translation."

In addition to his years in sports at Univision, Fiore is also an author. His first book, The World Cup: The Ultimate Guide to the Greatest Sports Spectacle in the World, was released in 2006.

Patricio Wills, the executive responsible for such hit telenovelas as UniMás’s La Viuda Negra and Telemundo’s La Reina del Sur, has agreed to steward a Miami-based startup that will develop content exclusively for UniMás and its digital platforms.

The first project from Wills’s new venture, which has yet to be named, is expected to debut in October.

Wills is the founder, president and CEO of RTI Colombia. In February of 2011, he added oversight of Producciones RTI, the company’s joint venture with Telemundo that produced La Reina del Sur (“Queen of the South”), one of the U.S. network’s most successful primetime dramas.

By 2013, RTI-produced telenovelas weren’t airing on Telemundo in the U.S., though. Following the 2011-2012 series Flor Salvaje, Mexican media company Televisa joined forces with RTI. The result placed La Viuda Negra on Univision Communications-owned UniMás. (Univision Communications has an exclusive deal to air Televisa-owned programming in the U.S.)

The most recent RTI/Televisa series to air in the U.S., La esquina del Diablo, also aired on UniMás. That series concluded its run in April of 2015.

Now, Wills has been charged with developing “edgy, action-packed series” for UniMás’s primetime lineup — a task that will have the nearly 40-year Latin television veteran develop content specifically for U.S. Hispanic audiences.

 “Patricio is, without a doubt, an innovator and one of the best content creators in media,” Univision Communications president and CEO Randy Falco said in a statement. “As we continue to grow UniMás as one of the leading Spanish-language broadcast networks, we are pleased to join forces with Patricio to continue to innovate and bring our audience the best in alternative formats and stories.”

The agreement with Wills is significant to the evolution of UniMás, which shifted from previous male-focused incarnation TeleFutura in January 2013 to target all Latinos in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-35-year-old demographic. As UniMás grew, it did so with Televisa-owned RTI programming. By bringing Wills in-house, Univision Communications’ sales team now has the power to go full throttle with product integration opportunities and plot customization, as Telemundo has done for the last several years.

Willis’s deal with UniMás arrives at a critical point for parent Univision, which saw the expected resignation of Alberto “Beto” Ciurana as president of programming and content in late January. Ciurana’s exit followed the departure of several other key Univision executives, including Ruth Gaviria, who exited as executive vice president of corporate marketing last August. She resurfaced last month as chief marketing officer for radio-station owner Intercom Communications.

His final project with RTI Productions — La Viuda Negra II — debuted at 10 p.m. Feb. 28 with a world premiere simulcast on Univision, UniMás and Galavisión networks, as well as on Univision Digital platforms.

The 10th season of Nuestra Belleza Latina, Univision’s popular beauty pageant-themed reality show, will be an all-star affair.

The series will mark a decade of talent, beauty and behind-the-scenes drama with its first-ever all-star edition, starting Feb. 28 at 9 p.m. (ET). Twelve past competitors — selected from a group of 99 finalists — will get a second chance to strut down the catwalk and seek the Nuestra Belleza Latina crown.

Ahead of the Feb. 28 premiere, the show will take to social media starting Feb. 8, revealing which past contestants will return for a second chance at the crown on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Nuestra Belleza Latina will also showcase its “beauty with a purpose” aspect with features on how the series has changed the lives of past winners and contestants.

Actress and model Chiquinquirá Delgado and TV/radio host Javier Poza will return as hosts of the series. Francisca Lachapel, last year’s winner and now part of Univision’s morning show Despierta América, will be “social media reporter.”

The show’s official website will offer exclusive videos; features on past queens, show talent and contestants; recaps of past seasons; and reports from behind the scenes. Viewers can also watch videos on Uvideos, Univision’s over-the-top platform.

Veteran journalist Maria Elvira Salazar has returned to SBS-owned MegaTV after a three-year absence to helm Mega Noticiero, a newly launched weekday news analysis program.

The twice-daily offering debuted Feb. 15 on the nationally distributed MegaTV at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. Unlike the market’s existing Spanish-language news offerings, Mega Noticiero features Salazar as the sole anchor, offering analysis and insight on the day’s top news topics without reporters or a co-anchor.

Miami-based MegaTV’s broadcast-TV affiliates include WSBS in Miami/West Palm Beach, Fla., WTAM in Tampa, Fla., and WATV in Orlando, Fla. It also has multicast carriage in Houston and Puerto Rico, and is available to DirecTV and AT&T U-verse TV subscribers.

According to MegaTV, Mega Noticiero is chiefly designed to lure viewers from WFUN, the independent Spanish-language television station branded as “America TeVe.” WFUN airs traditional newscasts featuring a full staff of journalists, and it competies against Telemundo-owned WSCV and Univision’s WLTV.

Also in the mix is WGEN, the Mundomax affiliate born out of the demise of the MundoFox network in July 2015. At first, the station continued with a traditional 10 p.m. newscast branded as “Noticias 8.” However the station shifted to a roundtable news analysis format under the name Noticias y Más con Ricardo Brown, featuring a format similar to Mega Noticiero.

MegaTV vice president of national television sales Francisco Framil told Hispanic Television Update that Mega Noticiero is a good competitive position, even with multiple Spanish-language news programs already available in the Miami DMA.

“MundoMax canceled their local and national newscasts, and Estrella TV is a non-factor in the Miami market, with low appeal among non-Mexicans,” Framil said. “Univision and Telemundo newscasts are concentrated from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and from 11 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Mega Noticiero will mostly compete directly with America TeVe.”

The presence of the Cuban-American Salazar will help accomplish this, Framil said, as she has the ability to attract first and second-generation Cubans who comprise the majority of America TeVe’s viewership.

“Maria Elvira represents a refreshing alternative to the competition, as we will be reporting headline news plus in-depth interviews within the newscast,” he says. “This makes our newscast unique and different from our competitors.”

Salazar hosted several news analysis programs under a variety of names featuring her first name, Maria Elvira. She is a familiar face to many U.S. Hispanics who grew up watching her as one of the very first national news anchors on SIN, the predecessor network to Univision.

In the 1988, she joined Telemundo, where she stayed until 2002, joining America TeVe for a four-year stint. In June 2006, Salazar took the reins of Maria Elvira Live, which aired weeknights at 8 p.m. on MegaTV until August 2013, when contract negotiations broke down over the presence of popular news analyst Jaime Bayly at 10 p.m. on MegaTV. Salazar departed, joining the short-lived CNN Latino and, after that, independent station WDFL in Miami, branded as “Mira TV.”

Telemundo’s owned-and-operated stations are doing their part to help engage Latino voters by highlighting the importance of registering to vote.

The NBCUniversal-owned Spanish-language network is conducting voter registration drives in each of its markets with an owned-and-operated station. The push is part of its #YODECIDO initiative, designed to inform, empower and engage Hispanic voters ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

As part of Telemundo’s efforts, Colombian-born network personality Ximena Duque (Dueños del Paraíso), currently the girlfriend of srecording artist Carlos Ponce, showed viewers how to register Jan. 22 during a live segment on morning news show Un Nuevo Día.

“We are very excited that Ximena is sharing this important milestone in her life with our viewers to help raise awareness about the importance of becoming an active participant in this year’s elections,” Raquel “Rocky” Egusquiza, vice president of community affairs at NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, said. “We encourage all of our communities – particularly those in California, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Nevada and Colorado, which have more than 6 million eligible unregistered voters – to participate in their local voter-registration drive so they can be fully engaged and help elect the leaders that will represent them, including the next president of the United States.”

KVEA in Los Angeles hosted Telemundo’s first local registration drive on Jan. 31 during its 12th annual Prevenir es Vivir health and wellness fair at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

“All of our stations are deeply-rooted in the communities they serve and this hyper-local effort, which combines best-in-class national and local election coverage with community-driven voter registration drives, will help all of our communities get the information they need so they can be active participants in this year’s elections,” Manuel Martinez, president of Telemundo Station Group, said in a statement. “Our local voter registration drives coupled with our citizenship app — Examen De La Ciudadania — which helps viewers study for their U.S. citizenship exam, are important tools that our communities can use to empower themselves so they can make the important decisions they need to open doors of opportunities for themselves and their families.”

In 2016, more than 28 million Hispanics, representing 13% of all eligible U.S. voters, will be eligible to vote. However, Hispanics remain underrepresented in most national elections, with lower turnout rates than other minority groups in most elections.

Larrymania will reign once more on NBC Universo this summer — just three months after what could have been a potentially career-ending situation for star Larry Hernandez.

NBC Universo has renewed the reality series starring regional Mexican music star Hernandez, whom the network calls an “unstoppable artist with no filter,” for a fifth season. The show and the singer’s career were threatened last November, when Hernandez was arrested on an outstanding warrant on kidnapping and assault charges at an airport in Ontario, Calif., and extradited to South Carolina.

Larrymania , the No. 1 Hispanic cable-television program among viewers ages 18-49, was one of the few series to survive last February’s conversion of youth-focused cable network mun2 into general-entertainment service NBC Universo.

Alluding to his troubles, Hernandez said, “This new season of Larrymania will no doubt be very special because many different things have happened in my life. This is a new chapter of my life I want to share with my fans.”

Production on the latest season of Larrymania began Jan. 23, with the filming of a concert at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theatre.

As a musician, Hernandez has become one of Latin music’s top regional Mexican artists, fueled by controversial “narco corridos” featuring lyrics and themes tied to Mexico’s drug-trafficking subculture. His career was put on pause Sept. 25, when Hernandez was prevented from boarding a Southwest Airlines flight from Ontario, Calif. to Denver by airport police.

He was arrested on an outstanding warrant from South Carolina, where he was charged with kidnapping, assault and assault and battery from an alleged August incident in that state.

“Larry remains authentic as ever to his fans,” Larrymania executive prodcucer Gloria Medel Solomons said in a statement. “Their love and support got him through some tough times this past year, and I'm excited that we will be giving fans a much-anticipated season in which they will continue to get an unfiltered look into Larry's life on- and off-stage, with a few surprises along the way.”

Put in a difficult spot, NBC Universo ultimately opted to support Hernandez — and to not put a top-rated series and its sponsors in a quandary. Reruns of the series and special compilation shows aired from Nov. 5 through Dec. 3 as Hernandez prepared his defense.

As of Jan. 29, Hernandez’s case had been pushed back, due in part to evidence from two video’s broadcast on Telemundo’s Al Rojo Vivo news program in late December. In one video, Hernandez and alleged victim Jose Andrade are seen walking into a hotel together on the alleged night of the assault. Footage shows Andrade exiting the hotel alone with no visible bruises.

Andrade had claimed that Hernandez had held him against his will in the hotel, wrapping him in plastic and beating him following a dispute over payment for a concert in Newbury, S.C.

A second video believed to have been shot inside the hotel room, though, includes the voice of a man believed to be Hernandez saying he will beat up Andrade and another concert promoter, Roberto Gomez.

At press time, Hernandez’s legal team was working to shore up additional evidence they believe will clear the star of all charges.

The bittersweet story of a 13-year-old Medellin street urchin who rises to fame after being profiled in a Cannes Film Festival-nominated film, but ends up in jail amid accusations of theft and murder, will hit U.S. TV screens on UniMás.

Sony Pictures Television-RCN Television co-production Lady, La Vendedora de Rosas debuted Jan. 26 on UniMás, airing weeknights at 9 p.m. Playing former child star Lady María Tabares is Natalia Reyes, a Colombian actress who was a 2002 finalist on reality show Popstars: Colombia and who has starred in various Colombian telenovelas over the past 15 years.  

The series dramatizes the story of Tabares, who began selling roses at a young age and is discovered by Colombian film director Victor Gaviria. Her performance in the film La Vendedora de Rosas (“The Rose Seller”) won international accolades and the first-ever nomination of a Colombian film at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998. Despite the success, she was back on the streets a year later, and was witness to the murder of her partner and the father of her child.

On April 10, 2008, Tabares’s life took a sharp turn downward, as she was convicted of theft and homicide and sentenced to 26 years in prison. She was released in May 2014, under the stipulation that she remain under house arrest.

Filmed in Bogotá, Colombia, Lady, La Vendedora de Rosas features a screenplay written by Lina Arboleda, Pedro Miguel Rozo and Juliana Lema. The series was executive produced by Andrea Marulanda and Juan Pablo Posada.

Bravo’s popular Top Chef franchise is getting some Latin flavor, thanks to NBC Universo.

Top Chef Mexico, the South of the Border version of the reality competition TV series, will debut on the Spanish-language cable network on Feb. 18 at 9 p.m. Mexican model and actress Ana Claudia Talancón hosts the 13-episode series,

produced by Cinemateli Content.

Top Chef Mexico, like the franchise’s other iterations, pits 16 professional chefs against each other in various cooking-themed challenges. Judges will eliminate one contestant until the last chef standing wins the title of “Top Chef México.”

The 16 “cheftestants” in Top Chef Mexico will live together for six weeks, isolated from their homes, restaurants and social life. They will share rooms in an exclusive hotel adjacent to Mexico City’s Alameda Central.

Serving as judges are Mexican celebrity chefs Guillermo González Beristain, Aquiles Chávez, Juantxo Sánchez and Martha Ortíz.

“I am proud to be part of this exquisite project that shows México in a better light,” Talancón said. “Top Chef México showcases our culture, our traditions and the love we have for Mexican cuisine. Viewers will be delighted with the contestants’ talent, professionalism, their passion and will get to know first class chefs.”

The winning chef is selected based on several factors including flavor, technique, presentation and concept development, based on the challenge requirements. They are also judged on their ability to collaborate with the other participants. Top Chef México chefs will compete for a cash prize of $1 million Mexican pesos ($55,215) and a feature in Travel & Leisure Mexico magazine.

Episodes will also be available via video-on-demand and on the NBC Universo Now app on an authenticated basis.

Univision has started to set the lineup for the 28th edition of Premio Lo Nuestro, with bachata sensation Prince Royce, reggaetón star Yandel and veteran songstress Thalía confirmed to perform at the network’s Feb. 18 celebration.

Univision also tapped veteran Colombian artist Carlos Vives to receive the “Premio Lo Nuestro a la Excelencia” award for career achievements. Vives is the winner of five Premio lo Nuestro awards and is nominated this year in the Video of the Year category for the song “Tierra del olvido.”

Premio lo Nuestro will air from Miami’s American Airlines Arena on Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. ET, following an hour-long pre-awards special. West Coast viewers can watch a delayed broadcast at 8 p.m. PT.

Also set to perform are Latin urban act Gente de Zona, nominated under the Tropical category for Group or Duo of the Year and Video of the Year; regional Mexican artist Gerardo Ortiz, who is nominated in four categories: Regional Mexican Song of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Norteño Artist of the Year, and Album of the Year in the general category; and urban reggaeton singer Maluma.

Prince Royce is nominated in the Tropical music category for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, and Artist of the Year; Thalía is nominated for Album of the Year and Female Artist of the Year in the pop/rock category; and Yandel is nominated for Artist of the Year in the urban music category.

Unlike the Latin Grammys, winners of Premio Lo Nuestro a la Música Latina are chosen by popular vote. Nominees are determined based on U.S. Latin airplay data provided by Mediabase/Media Monitors, Big Champagne and Buzz Angle Music, with an eligibility period of Sept. 1, 2014 to Aug. 30, 2015.

Fans were able to vote for their favorites from Dec. 1-20, 2015 at PremioLoNuestro.com.

Univision will announce more performers and presenters over the coming weeks.

When the time came for Viacom Kids and Family Group to decide on the first series to produce from its new Miami multiplatform production hub, all eyes turned south to Bogotá, Colombia.

Bogota is where the second season of Nickelodeon’s Latin American hit Yo Soy Franky is set to begin, with promos to be shot this week by a joint U.S.-Colombian team. An English-language adaptation of the telenovela, I Am Frankie, will be the first show to originate from the new Viacom International Studios hub, located on the edge of Miami’s hip Wynwood arts district.

Created by Marcela Citterio, Franky was green-lighted last July and debuted across the region in September. It's being adapted for the U.S. by Miami-based Catharina Ledeboer, head writer for such Nickelodeon Latin America shows as La Cocina de Talia (“Talia In the Kitchen”).

The teen telenovela is centered around “Franky,” an experimental android and supercomputer created to look like a 15-year-old girl. Franky attends school and only her “family members” at home are aware that she is a robot. She learns about family life, making friends and even the challenges of having a boyfriend.

Now, Franky will become Frankie. I Am Frankie, a global, English-language adaptation of the show, will be cast this spring and shot this summer. Nickelodeon has ordered 20 episodes for distribution in 160 countries and territories where its programming airs. No premiere date has been set.

Yo Soy Franky stuck to the traditional telenovela format, with 60 hour-long episodes in its just-concluded first season.

Nickelodeon decided to go with an English-language version of Yo Soy Frankie for two reasons, VIMN Americas executive vice president and chief operating officer Juan “JC” Acosta told Hispanic Television Update in an exclusive interview.

“It is not only because of its success and high ratings in Latin America, but also due to its relatable and universal story lines that appeal to global audiences,” Acosta said.

After just three months on the air, the total viewership for Franky totaled 4.5 million viewers; it is No. 1 in its key teen target demos in Colombia, Argentina, and Mexico.

The show’s official blog has also generated some 1.5 million visits, mostly from Colombia and Mexico. That’s half of all Web traffic to MundoNick.com, Nickelodeon’s Latina America portal, and its Nick app for smartphones.

Yo Soy Franky is produced in Colombia by Televideo with on-site participation from VIMN Americas production staff. It stars 23-year-old Venezuelan actress Maria Gabriela de Faria, best known for her role as “Isa” in the Nickelodeon Latin America series Isa TKM.

While “I Am Frankie” was the first choice for shows to be produced in Miami, it’s not the first time a program from Latin America has been adapted for Nickelodeon’s U.S. audience. For example, Every Witch Way, an adaptation of Nickelodeon Latin America’s Grachi, aired for four seasons on Nick from January 2014 through July 2015.

The decision is a vote of confidence in Latin America-originated content as Hispanics comprise a larger share of the U.S. teen-age audience, Acosta said.

“It speaks to the quality of the content coming out of Latin America, and how it can have international success,” he said. “The key is to have strong characters with universal storylines that are able to translate into successful formats that can be easily adapted to any market.”

What does the production of I Am Frankie say about the distribution of programs from Latin America in the U.S. and across the globe?

“There is great content coming out of Latin America, across all genres,” Acosta notes. “This presents a huge opportunity for distribution and localization to international markets. It’s great to see the region expanding their footprint and reaching global audiences.”

Interestingly, Nickelodeon has eschewed a 24/7 Spanish-language outlet for U.S. audiences.

Nick’s appeal to Latino young adults and children dates back more than 15 years, with the 2000 debut of preschool cartoon Dora the Explorer and spinoff Go, Diego, Go!, which aired from 2005-2011. Both programs had been a part of Univision’s Saturday-morning Planeta U lineup, following two seasons on Telemundo from 2006-2008.

Given population trends, perhaps Nickelodeon’s best play at attracting Latino youth is with English-language programming. According to Pew Research Center’s 2013 American Community Survey, 14.2% of the entire Hispanic male population is 14 or under. Some 13.6% of all Hispanic females are 14 or under.

Furthermore, kids age 14 and under represent 21% of all U.S.-born Hispanics, a telltale sign that births, rather than immigration, are pacing Latino population growth. Just 2% of foreign-born U.S. Hispanics are 14 or younger.

Should a Latina be cast as "Frankie," Nickelodeon would offer the best demonstration on how “total market” strategies currently seen in the Hispanic marketing and advertising arena have been further extended through programming decisions.

Cyma Zarghami, president of Viacom's Kids and Family Group, offered no hints about casting, though.

“I Am Frankie is a fresh and different format and has an incredibly talented team behind it,” she said. “Miami has been a content hub for Nickelodeon for some time, and our talent continues to innovate their approach to both content and platforms.”

Atlantic Broadband, the cable operator serving Miami’s beach communities, has added the Pasiones and Televisión Dominicana networks to its roster of channels in that market.

With the additions, subscribers to Cogeco Cable subsidiary Atlantic Broadband now have access to Hemisphere Media Group’s entire suite of channels, including Centroamérica TV, Cinelatino and WAPA América.

Customers must subscribe to the “Mundo Latino Basico” package in order to view the two newly added networks. Programming on Pasiones (channel 207) is focused on telenovelas and serialized dramas; Televisión Dominicana (channel 248) is a general entertainment network for Dominicans living in the U.S.

“Our networks are ideally-suited to meet the growing needs of Hispanics in Atlantic Broadband’s South Florida footprint, and we are thrilled to work with them on this exciting launch,” Hemisphere Media Group president and CEO Alan Sokol said.

The addition of Pasiones and Televisión Dominicana comes following the mid-December arrival of former People en Español publisher Lucia Ballas-Traynor as Hemisphere’s executive vice president of advertising sales. Ballas-Traynor’s TV experience includes prior stints as GM for Galavisión and Viacom International Media Networks’ MTV Tr3s prior to its U.S. Hispanic dissolution.

RCN — a competitive cable operator with a sizable footprint in big urban markets such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and Washington, D.C. — has opened Univision Communications’s UVideos TV everywhere platform to its subscribers.

RCN subscribers can now use their logins to access the authenticated site, which offers programming from networks Univision, UniMás and Galavisión, as well as a live stream of the Univision network.

According to Nielsen data cited by RCN, more than one-third of Spanish-speaking Hispanic consumers say the ability to consume content on multiple devices is a highly important factor in choosing a video provider. The Nielsen study also found that six in 10 Spanish-speaking Hispanics were likely to share clips with friends online and expressed an interest in additional Spanish-language digital video content.

“These findings, coupled with Univision Communications’s strategy of making their content available anywhere, anytime and across platforms, reinforced RCN’s decision to add the Univision, UniMás and Galavisión networks to its lineup,” RCN said in a press release.

“The Univision, UniMás and Galavisión networks are important additions to our offerings, as our Spanish-speaking customer base continues to grow, along with the demand for TV Everywhere,” said RCN chief operating officer Chris Fenger. “What’s more, research from ThePlatform shows that more than 90% of pay TV subscribers have the ability to access premium content on their video-enabled, Internet-connected device of choice. That same study also states that the number of video-enabled devices connected to the Internet is expected to eclipse the global population by 2017. As the demand for this service continues to grow, we continue to expand our offerings to keep pace.”

For the third year in a row, U.S. audiences will have a choice of channels on which to watch the National Football League’s title game — they’ll just need to know how to speak Spanish.

Through a sublicensing deal struck with rights-holder CBS, ESPN Deportes will simulcast Super Bowl 50 in Spanish on Feb. 7. The Spanish-language channel has simulcast English-language sibling ESPN’s NFL games, including Monday Night Football, since 2006.  

The deal, which came together in late December, means the biggest event in U.S. television will have a Spanish-language home for the third consecutive season. NBC simulcast its coverage in 2015 with co-owned network NBCUniverso; Fox did the same in 2014 with its Fox Deportes network.

CBS, which doesn’t own a Spanish-language TV network, worked with the NFL to reach terms with ESPN Deportes.

“We’re excited to partner with CBS and ESPN Deportes,” NFL executive vice president of media Brian Rolapp said. “We are committed to delivering our games in customized ways to serve our growing Hispanic fan base, and look forward to connecting with our fans on Super Bowl Sunday on [both of these networks].”

ESPN Deportes already airs postseason games, having televised the Jan. 9 AFC Wild Card game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans, simulcast in English by The Walt Disney Co. corporate siblings ESPN and ABC. It will also pair with ESPN to telecast the Pro Bowl on Jan. 31.

The rest of the NFL playoffs are televised exclusively by English-speaking networks, with Spanish audio available via SAP.

This approach has its limitations. For instance, during Jan. 9’s CBS broadcast of the Pittsburgh Steelers’s Wild Card victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, the SAP feed didn’t match what was seen on-screen, including a pre-kickoff interview conducted by CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson.

CBS Sports chairman Sean McManus didn’t want to take such an approach with the big game.

“As the broadcaster of Super Bowl 50, it was a priority for us to find a Spanish-language partner to reach the NFL’s Hispanic fan base,” he said. “The ESPN Deportes presentation will be a great complement to our broadcast.”

ESPN’s game coverage of Super Bowl 60 will begin at 6 p.m. (ET) from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., with the Monday Night Football Team of play-by-play announcer Alvaro Martin, color commentator Raul Allegre and sideline reporter John Sutcliffe. A 90-minute pre-game show will start at 4:30 p.m. (ET); postgame coverage will also follow.

The NFL has made great strides in seeking to best connect with Hispanic sports fans. According to the 2010 ESPN Deportes Poll, in addition to research conducted independently by Experian Marketing Services, the NFL had a lower passion score than Spain’s first-division soccer league among all U.S. Latinos.

Single out bilingual Hispanics, though, and the NFL is among the most popular sports properties. Among English-speaking Hispanics, the NFL ranks No. 1 among all professional sports leagues, according to Experian.

Securing domestic Spanish-language TV rights to North America’s premier sporting event reflects ESPN Deportes’s commitment to growing the NFL’s Hispanic fan base, vice president of programming and business initiatives Freddy Rolon told Hispanic Television Update in an exclusive interview.

“There has been a long-term commitment to building the fan base, and this is just a continuation of that commitment,” he said. “Hopefully we can continue having the big game in the future.”

In years past, excitement and anticipation about Super Bowl commercials was perhaps more fervent than for the game itself. As ESPN is now an option and with no 360-degree sales opportunity (as their was with Fox and NBCUniversal), what does this say about the evolving Super Bowl buy?

“Our sales team is out in the market with a package that includes Super Bowl programming across ESPN and ESPN Deportes,” Rolon said. “We can offer both the game on ESPN Deportes and game content across our other platforms.”

ESPN Deportes Radio will broadcast the Super Bowl for the third consecutive year, as part of a separate media-rights deal.

Was there concern from media buyers and planners, advertisers and/or agencies about a viewer dip in CBS’s ratings due to viewers shifting to ESPN Deportes? Or were media buyers excited about a new opportunity to reach Hispanics who prefer to consume Spanish-language media?

“We are adding to the overall audience of the Super Bowl,” Rolon said. “We are reaching a broader audience, and we are serving an audience that hasn’t really been served before. The Super Bowl is a cultural event, and now we are giving Spanish-speaking fans the option to watch the event on a platform that is directed to them.”

Rolon continued: “There’s a demand for fans to watch sports in a fully immersed environment. They want to see the facts, teams and results in a targeted way. Their experience is a hundred times better when all of the graphics align to what they see.”

Rolon declined to disclose financial terms, saying only that CBS and ESPN Deportes “saw a great opportunity on working together to offer the game in Spanish. With the NFL’s input, we quickly agreed to find a way to make a deal.”