Latest from Next TV in Mundofox

Meruelo Group Maximizes Relationship With RCN

Jacobson Adam — Thu, 17 Sep 2015 14:00:00 +0000

MundoMax — formerly MundoFox, which rebranded in August after the dissolution of Fox International Channels’s joint-venture partnership with Colombia's RCN — has taken on sales and marketing duties for two key affiliates owned by Southern California-based Meruelo Media.

Effective Aug, 31, KWHY — perhaps MundoMax's biggest affiliate outside of Miami — and KUCN in Houston will no longer have autonomy over their advertising and promotional efforts. Existing station management will now work in concert with MundoMax network executives, under their direction.

MundoMax will base its sales operation in New York, with sales bureaus in Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami.

The moves are meant to help MundoMax attain “maximum sustainable growth in each market,” based on necessary investments and repositioning from MundoFox, MundoMax president Ibra Morales said.

“We enthusiastically welcome this new partnership with MundoMax in Los Angeles and Houston,” Meruelo Media president Otto Padron said. “We are confident that this new operational framework will give MundoMax real-time flexibility and the potential for greater success in these two very competitive markets.”

Overseeing the new sales structure for MundoMax is Edward Jimenez, MundoFox’s former vice president of national sales. He will work with alongside Tom Maney, the executive vice president of Fox Hispanic Networks, who will remain in an advisory role with MundoMax for the near future.

Separately, an overhaul of the news department has already yielded a tease to what lies ahead in 2016: MundoMax has introduced 60-second local and national news briefs that will air during commercial breaks anchored by former KWHY lead anchor Palmira Pérez. MundoMax will officially unveil its first post-MundoFox network newscasts next year.

For RCN, It’s a Whole New ‘Mundo’

Jacobson Adam — Thu, 20 Aug 2015 13:00:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES -- Three years ago, Fox Hispanic Media turned on the lights and soft-launched MundoFox, a new Spanish-language broadcast network targeting U.S. Hispanics.

MundoFox was designed from the get-go as an ambitious stab at a sophisticated Latino audience that craved more than the “Cinderella”-style telenovela or family oriented live variety show.

With sleek scripted dramas, a popular early prime game show adapted from Family Feud, and a strong emphasis on local and national news, MundoFox entered the scene with gusto, its executives confident it would eventually rival Univision Communications’ No. 2 network, TeleFutura (now UniMas), for viewers. That day will never come for MundoFox.

On July 16, Colombia’s RCN Television Group — Fox International Channels’ joint-venture partner in the Fox Hispanic Media-managed network — announced it had purchased 21st Century Fox’s interest in MundoFox. Also gone is the Fox brand, as the network is now known as MundoMax.

And RCN has said goodbye to roughly 35 journalists associated with the national Noticias MundoFox newscasts, which have been “canceled” as part of the wholesale rebranding.

News programming is expected to return in 2016, however, as RCN executives are reviewing MundoMax’s entire programming slate.

"RCN is excited to be carrying on the MundoFox network that we started jointly with our partner FIC," said Morales, whose resume includes a stint as president of Telemundo Station Group. "We look forward to serving the remarkably vibrant and dynamic U.S. Hispanic community with our successful programs and are proud to dedicate our efforts to the continuous growth and success of the network.”

One notable holdover from MundoFox is the hour-long 100 Latino Dijeron, the Family Feud-style game show that emerged as one of its lone ratings successes. The competition program still airs at 7 p.m. weeknights. Also still on the primetime lineup is the Tims Productions telenovela Suleimán, El Gran Sultán, dubbed into Spanish from its original Turkish (Muhteşem Yüzyıl).

At 9 p.m. weeknights is La Guerrera, a dubbed-into-Spanish version of Rede Globo’s Brazilian soap opera Salve Jorge. At 10 p.m., affiliates such as Meruelo Media’s KWHY Los Angeles will continue to air local news. KWHY will now air the 30-minute Noticias MundoMax 22 weeknights at 5 p.m. and at 10 p.m. Veteran news anchor José Ronstadt, widely known for his time at Telemundo-owned KVEA, co-anchors KWHY’s newscasts with station veteran Palmira Perez.

It was not known at press time if other affiliates would continue their 30-minute local newscasts.

MundoFox until July 27 aired a 10:30 p.m. national newscast anchored by Rolando Nichols and originating from Los Angeles. Nichols in the mid-2000s anchored a now-defunct newscast for TeleFutura (now UniMás).

Today, the studio is dark; it is believed Nichols and correspondents Carolina Sarassa and Max Aub are all seeking new opportunities. The Los Angeles studio made MundoFox the only Spanish-language network serving U.S. Hispanics with a newsroom outside of the Eastern time zone.

Replacing the national newscast, which also aired at 5:30 p.m. on MundoFox’s more than 50 affiliates, is the reality exposé show Most Shocking.

RCN informed the multicultural marketing and advertising community of MundoMax’s official launch with a promotional spot on its website featuring the tagline, “Live to The Max.”

One advertiser has already signed on with MundoMax, automaker Dodge. Thirty-second commercials, featuring Machete actor Danny Trejo in character, appear on the MundoMax.com website, which features detailed program information and sections devoted to sports, horoscopes, and health and beauty.

Meanwhile, Fox Hispanic Networks continues, with Spanish-language cable television networks Nat Geo Mundo, Fox Life and Fox Deportes as its three U.S. offerings. Tom Maney remains as executive vice president of Fox Hispanic Networks. Andy Checo, MundoFox’s former director of publicity and community affairs, has joined public-relations firm Havas Formula in New York as a director.

Mario Lopez Moves to MundoFox

Adam Jacobson, Contributing Editor, Hispanic Television Update — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 21:30:00 +0000

When it comes to television opportunities, actor and host Mario López could be a Golden Boy.

While that notion may be up for debate, it’s no lie that the veteran Latino star has signed on as the executive producer for MundoFox’s newest primetime entry, Los Golden Boys.

López is sharing executive producer duties with boxing legend Oscar de la Hoya; the docu-reality series features current world champion boxer Leo Santa Cruz, former world champion Abner Mares, and up-and-coming fighter Antonio Orozco. The series, which bowed March 8, airs Sundays at 10 p.m. on Fox Hispanic Media’s Spanish-language broadcast network.

A MundoFox original production, Los Golden Boys is a behind-the-scenes look into the world of championship boxing and the daily struggles that fighters must contend with both in and out of the ring.

“We are extremely excited to welcome Oscar De La Hoya and Mario López to the MundoFox family,” MundoFox president Ibra Morales said. “Los Golden Boys is a riveting look at the lives of these young athletes who are achieving the American Dream with their talent and determination.”

Lopez’s deal with MundoFox follows a March 4 upfront call in which Fuse Media president Bill Hilary announced that Hispanic millennial-targeted NUVOtv — rechristened in 2011 from Si TV — will be folded into the Fuse music network in third-quarter 2015. Si TV Media purchased the 73 million-subscriber music and entertainment channel from the Madison Square Garden Co. for $226 million in April.

As reported by Multichannel News, the new Fuse channel will continue to work with NUVOtv chief creative officer Jennifer López, who will develop an unscripted show for the reborn Fuse.

There was no mention of Mario López, who Nuvo TV signed to a development deal in 2013. Under the deal, NUVOtv green-lighted the second season of the interview series Mario Lopez One-on-One, as well as a new dance competition series with the working title Salsa in the City. He was to also develop three new series for the network, network officials told Multichannel News.

The reimagined Fuse will focus on millennials; Hispanics represent a significant percentage of this age group, thus the network’s insistence that the NUVOtv’s concept isn’t going away.

“We also did a lot of research on NUVO and found that young, Hispanic people do not want to be put in a corner and pigeon-holed, but rather want to be recognized as part of the new America, and that’s what they want to celebrate,” Hilary told Multichannel News.

While NUVOtv’s programming philosophy is expect to take hold at Fuse, the channel is expected to morph into a music-centric offering dubbed “FM.” The target audience will remain multicultural adults aged 18-34.

MundoFox Available to Time Warner Cable Subscribers

Jaclyn Tuman — Thu, 18 Sep 2014 18:30:00 +0000

MundoFox has made their broadcast network available to Time Warner Cable digital subscribers in New York, where viewers can access programming on channels 807 and 1229.

“Time Warner Cable is an important partner to MundoFox” said Ibra Morales, President of MundoFox. Today marks a milestone in our continuously growing distribution efforts."

With this, there has been an immense increase in distribution in the New York market.

“We welcome our new viewers in New York, who are now able to enjoy MundoFox’s unique, high-quality programming, bringing more choice to their Spanish-language entertainment programming options,” said Morales.

Some shows now available include the game show, 100 Latinos Dijeron, the drama Suleiman El Gran Sultán, Noticias Mundofox con Rolando Nichols, and the comedy series, Familia en Ventra.

To learn more about programming and MundoFox, visit the link here.