NBCUniversal’s Telemundo Enterprises is marking Hispanic Heritage Month with year four of its multiplatform initiative with the slogan “Celebrando Todo Lo Que Somos,” or Celebrating All That We Are.

The bilingual campaign kicks off Monday during NBC’s Today show and Telemundo’s Hoy Dia, followed by a roadblock across NBCU’s social media platforms.

Among those showing up in the campaign are Mario Lopez, George Lopez, Mayan Lopez, Belissa Escobedo, Pablo Castelblanco, Isabella Castillo, Danilo Carrera,  Chikybombom, Andrea Meza, Lourdes Stephen, Jessica Carrillo, Carlos Adyan,  Giselle Blondet and Myrka Dellanos; athletes Alyssa Thompson and Benjamin Cremaschi; and news anchors Julio Vaqueiro, Arantxa Loizagam Vanessa Hauc, Ana Cabrera, Alicia Menendez and José Díaz-Balart.

A message from Oscar-winning actress and Hispanic Heritage Month ally Lupita Nyong’o will also be featured.

The campaign pays tribute to the rich and multifaceted identities of U.S. Hispanics and culminates with an invitation to Hispanics to share their personal stories and join in celebrating their heritage.

Telemundo will spotlight national Hispanic Heritage celebrations through its entertainment and news programming, including original digital content series like Como Se Dice (‘How Do You Say That?’) as well as digital and social extensions of La Mesa Caliente and Al Rojo Vivo that delve into the Hispanic experience and inspire Latinos.

Telemundo Deportes shows and digital properties will profile Hispanic American athletes and commemorative games throughout the month including the 2024 Paris Olympics and the Premier League. 

Telemundo also co-hosted the third annual Axios Latino Visionarios event celebrating the contributions of Latinos. 

Norma Ribeiro has been named anchor for the 5 and 6 p.m. weekday newsdays at Florida stations WRDM Tampa and WWDT Fort Myers-Naples, both part of NBCUniversal Local’s Telemundo Station Group, while Samantha Diaz Roberts will anchor the 5 p.m. newscast at the stations. Both start in the new roles in mid-August. 

The newscasts have Noticiero Telemundo 49 branding. 

Ribeiro joins WRDM and WWDT from Telemundo Station Group’s KVEA Los Angeles, where she has been a reporter since 2017. Prior to KVEA, she worked at Univision and Venevision.  

”Norma is a highly skilled journalist who brings a wealth of experience covering diverse communities,“ Miguelangel Lopez, regional VP of news and content for Telemundo-owned stations in Orlando, Tampa and Fort Myers, said. “Her dedication to journalism and storytelling will be a tremendous asset to our award-winning team and our audiences across the Gulf Coast." 

Diaz Roberts has been a multimedia journalist for Telemundo 49 and Telemundo Noticias Florida, the regional streaming news channel. Previously, she spent time with Telemundo Las Vegas. 

“Samantha’s passion for journalism and commitment to serving our communities is evident in her award-winning work and success covering multiple markets and communities,” Lopez added. “Her promotion is a testament to her talent and dedication, and we look forward to her continued contributions in her new expanded role with Noticiero Telemundo 49.”

Noticiero Telemundo 49 airs on Telemundo 49 Tampa and Telemundo Fort Myers-Naples weekdays at 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m., Saturdays at 6 and 11 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m.

Maria Estrada, news producer at KASA Albuquerque, has been promoted to managing editor of news brand Noticiero Telemundo Nuevo México. She will oversee day-to-day editorial content for KASA. 

KASA, part of NBCUniversal Local’s Telemundo Station Group, is branded Telemundo Nuevo Mexico. 

Estrada joined the station in August 2022. 

“Maria’s experience and passion for journalism, along with her passion for serving our communities, will make her a strategic and effective newsroom leader,” Osvaldo Martínez, executive VP of multiplatform news, original programming and standards, Telemundo Station Group, said. “We are thrilled to have her assume this important role and lead KASA’s talented news team.” 

Estrada has more than 20 years of experience in broadcast journalism. She began her career at KXTQ Lubbock, a Telemundo station, as an assistant news producer, before being promoted to executive news producer and assistant news director at Ramar Communications. 

Estrada studied radio, TV and film at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas.

Katia Gutiérrez has been promoted to news anchor and multimedia journalist at KBLR Las Vegas, focused on Noticiero Telemundo at the station. She starts in the new role July 17, working on KBLR’s 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. newscasts. 

Gutiérrez joined KBLR’s Telemundo Las Vegas in February 2023 to lead the assignment desk. She has played a key role in coordinating coverage of major events, such as the Super Bowl and the inaugural Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Also Read: Local News Close-Up: What Happens in Vegas? A Lot

“Katia's dedication and passion for delivering impactful stories to our community make her a perfect fit for this role,” KBLR news director Johali Carmona said. “We look forward to her continued growth and contributions to our news team.”

NBCUniversal Local’s Telemundo Station Group owns KBLR. Carmona was named the news director earlier this year. 

Prior to her time at KBLR, Gutiérrez was head of information, correspondent, and main host for TV Azteca Michoacán. Her work focused on political, social and cultural events in Michoacán, Mexico, including coverage of Pope Francis’ first visit to Mexico, elections and natural disasters, including Hurricane Rick and Tropical Storms Manuel and Ingrid.

NBCUniversal’s Telemundo unit says it will have more than 40 hosts, commentators and reporters handling its Spanish-language coverage of the Paris Summer Olympics.

The talent includes former Olympians and athletes including Team USA gymnast Danell Leyva, as well as familiar voices such as Andrés Cantor, who will lead the soccer announcing team with his distinctive “gooooool” call.

Jessica Carrillo and Miguel Gurwitz will host the opening ceremony with Noticias Telemundo’s Julio Vaqueiro reporting from the River Seine live on Telemundo, Universo and Peacock on July 26.

“We are proud to unveil the network’s largest and most diverse commentary roster ever, marking Telemundo's most significant commitment to Olympic coverage in our history,” Telemundo executive VP, sports Eli Velazquez said. “We assembled this exceptional team of commentators representing the different countries and disciplines important to Latino audiences to deliver the most comprehensive and engaging coverage of Paris 2024.”

Olympians on Team Telemundo include: Manuel Sol, former midfielder who represented Mexico in the 1996 Summer Olympics; Isabella Echeverri, former midfielder on Colombia’s National Team squad in Rio 2016; Isabella Arcila, professional swimmer who represented Colombia in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020; Walter Herrmann, Argentine national basketball team member and 2004 Olympic basketball gold medalist; and Abner Mares, Mexican-American professional boxer who represented Mexico at the Athens Summer Olympics in 2004.

In addition to Gurwitz and Carillion, hosts for Telemundo’s Olympic coverage are Carlota Vizamanos and Copan Alvarez.

Jessi Losada will be returning to Telemundo as host of the network’s celebration of 20 years of Olympic coverage.

Veronica Rodriguez and Freddy Lomali will be the networks’ late-night hosts.

In addition to Cantor, Telemundo’s Olympics soccer commentary team includes Natalia Astrain, Manuel Sol, Carlos Yustis, Maxi Rodriguez, Sammy Sadovnik, Jorge Calvo, Isabella Echeverri, Diana Rincón, Diego Pessolano, Walter Roque, Luis Bucci, Jaime Macias and Carlos Ramirez. Carmen Boquin will serve as social media correspondent.

Covering other events will be Jessica Rosa Andino, Bibiana Candelas, Isabella Arcita, Jose Francisco Rivera, Walter Herrmann, Adrian Garcia Marquez, Abner Mares, Claudia Trejos, Danell Leyva, Mara Montero, Eduardo Biscayart, Jose Bauz and Karim Mendiburu.

Reporters on the scene in France for Telemundo will be Pablo Aguabella, Ariana Figuera, Frederik Oldenburg and Yazmin Jalil.

Telemundo and Universo will televise more than 315 hours of Spanish-language coverage of live competitions and recap specials.

Peacock will livestream all Telemundo and Universo programming. 

Telemundo and Universo’s coverage will also be available on Telemundo App, Telemundo.com, and NBC.com via TV Everywhere for customers with pay-TV subscriptions.

Celina Donada has been named sports anchor and reporter for Noticias Telemundo 40, the news brand at KTLM Harlingen-Weslaco-Brownsville (Texas), known as Telemundo 40. She starts this month. 

Donada comes to KTLM from ESPN radio station NotiGAPE in Reynosa Tamaulipas, Mexico, where she was anchor and reporter since 2017. During her tenure, she covered the Super Bowl, the World Series, the PGA Tour and the FIFA World Cup in Russia in 2018.

“We are thrilled to welcome Celina to the Telemundo 40 news team,” said Iris Rodriguez, news director, Telemundo 40. “Her passion, skills and expertise covering high-profile sports events make her an invaluable asset for our station and audiences.”

Prior to NotiGAPE, Donada spent five years at Televisa Deportes, where she began her career and developed her skills in sports anchoring.

Born and raised in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, Donada holds a bachelor’s degree in educational psychology.

KTLM is situated near the border between the U.S. and Mexico. 

Amy Alvarez has been named news director at KULX Salt Lake City, the Telemundo station in the market. She comes from KVDA San Antonio, another Telemundo outlet, where she was executive producer. 

Alvarez starts at the Telemundo Station Group station May 6 and will report to Tatiana Argüello, president and general manager of KULX, known as Telemundo Utah, and KDEN Denver, known as Telemundo.  

“Amy is a dedicated and passionate news professional who has significant experience producing and leading local coverage for Spanish-language newsrooms in large Hispanic media markets, including roles with several Telemundo-owned stations,” Argüello said. “We are excited she’s joining our talented and hard-working news team to help us further our already impactful position in our communities and super-serve Spanish-speaking audiences across Utah.”

She succeeds Pedro Andrade as KULX news director. 

Alvarez joined KVDA in 2018 as a news producer and was promoted the following year.

Prior to her time in San Antonio, Alvarez spent two years as executive news producer for Tegna, based in Houston, after being a news producer at KTMD Houston for nearly four years.  

From Caracas, she has also been an associate producer for Televen, a network in Venezuela.

Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra has hired Solangi Sosa to be an anchor and reporter, beginning April 1. She will co-anchor Noticiero Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra weekdays at 5 p.m., alongside Carmen Martinez, and 5:30 p.m. with Jose Rivera Adrovet. Sosa will also be a nighttime general assignment reporter. 

Part of NBCUniversal, Telemundo Inglaterra is a news brand for WNEU Boston, WVIT Hartford, WDMR Springfield and WRIW Providence. Sosa will be based in Boston. 

She rejoins Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra from Telemundo’s national news platform Noticias Telemundo, where she was a correspondent based in Miami. Sosa previously was a reporter for Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra based in Boston and Hartford. Before that, she was a reporter with WRC-WZDC Washington, NBCU’s NBC-Telemundo pair. 

“Solangi is a skilled journalist who understands our communities through her personal and professional experiences in New England,” Damaris Bonilla-Montalvo, news director for WBTS-WNEU Boston, said. “We’re excited for her return and look forward to her contributions to our coverage.”

Earlier in her career, Sosa was a news producer at WSBS Miami and at South Florida News Service. She earned an undergraduate degree from Western Connecticut State University, and a master’s in Spanish Mass Media & Journalism from Florida International University.  

Telemundo Nueva Inglaterra has weekday newscasts at 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m. 

Candy Duran has been named news director for KCSO Sacramento and KNSO Fresno, known as Telemundo 33 and Telemundo 51. She starts April 8 and will report to Stacy Owen, president and general manager of KCSO-KNSO. 

“Candy is an experienced and committed journalist who understands our communities,” Owen said. “She is passionate about empowering and inspiring people and embodies our Working For You/Trabajando Para Ti brand. We’re excited for her to lead our efforts to increase our impact through our television, digital and streaming platforms.”

She succeeds Adolfo Segura, who moved to KUAN San Diego, known as Telemundo 20. 

KCSO and KNSO are part of NBCUniversal Local.  

Duran has been executive producer at KFTV Fresno, part of Univision. She was also assignment editor, writer and producer at KDTV San Francisco, also a Univision station. 

Before that, she was a reporter at KUPB in Midland, Texas, a Univision station. 

She started as an intern at KSTS San Francisco, a Telemundo station. 

Sacramento is Nielsen’s No. 20 DMA and Fresno is No. 53. 

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises is launching “Decisión 2024,“ a multiplatform election year initiative to engage and inform Latino voters.

Decisión 2024 will include expanded election news and campaign coverage, voter profiles, town halls, debates and registration drives. 

Telemundo will also provide fact-checking tools to help viewers sort through claims made by the candidates.

Decisión 2024 kicks off with coverage of the Super Tuesday primaries on March 5. 

The Noticias Telemundo digital news unit will live blog throughout the day and night, with contributions from reporters across all platforms.

Noticias Telemundo will also have live coverage and analysis of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on March 7.

Telemundo will increase its news programming with the launch in May of Noticias Telemundo Ahora, a 24/7 free ad-supported television (FAST) channel. The channel will feature five hours of original streaming-only newscasts daily.

Local Telemundo stations will also deliver in-depth election coverage and analysis about their state’s primary elections and results.

“Decisión 2024 is a clear manifestation of our commitment to engage U.S. Hispanics in the upcoming election,” Luis Fernández, chairman of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, said.

“By leveraging all areas of our company working closely with Noticias Telemundo, we plan to inform and motivate all eligible Latinos to participate in this important civic duty,” Fernández said. “Latinos have the ability to influence the outcome of this election and with Decisión 2024, we want to make sure they have all the information and resources they need to be active participants in this consequential electoral process.”

Telemundo said that 36.2 million Latinos will be eligible to vote in November, up from 32.2 million during the 2020 election.

NBC News and Telemundo will provide voters with the “Planifica Tu Voto” (Plan Your Vote) interactive tool, which provides information about the election, including state-by-state voting rules, identification requirements, law changes since the 2022 midterm elections, registration deadlines and procedures for early and mail-in voting.

The tool was built and is powered by the NBC News Data Graphics team, and the most up-to-date, real-time information supplied by the NBC News Decision Desk and politics team.

Working with a variety of nonpartisan organizations, Telemundo will also be engaging the Latino community with national and local voter registration drives, voter-education phone banks and community events.

Gemma Garcia has been named executive VP of Telemundo’s news division. She has oversight of Noticias Telemundo’s news programming, editorial units, digital news properties, newsgathering and bureaus in the United States and Latin America. She reports to Luis Fernandez, chairman of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. 

Garcia was the head of news at RTVE Play, an OTT platform that is part of Spain’s Radio Televisión Española (RTVE). Before that, she was Telemundo’s senior VP of digital news. 

“Gemma brings impeccable news judgement, invaluable experience as an innovative news leader and an unwavering commitment to delivering the highest quality journalism for the Latino community,” said Fernandez. “I’ve known Gemma for many years, and I have no doubt her unparalleled leadership, rigor and journalistic passion will help Noticias Telemundo grow our reach and strengthen our brand among Latino audiences.”

Garcia succeeds Patsy Loris atop Telemundo’s news division. Loris left last month. 

Luis Fernandez had previously been executive VP of Telemundo news. 

From 2019 to 2022, Garcia was a VP at Telemundo, overseeing the editorial vision, operations and production of Noticias Telemundo’s broadcast and digital news. 

“I am thrilled to return to Noticias Telemundo at this critical time for our community to reaffirm our commitment to rigorous and balanced news coverage across all platforms under our motto — las cosas como son, or telling it like it is,” said Garcia. “As we approach historic presidential elections in both the United States and Mexico, I look forward to working with the best team of news professionals in Spanish-language television to continue to give Latinos a voice and provide them with all the news and resources they need to make well-informed decisions.”

Garcia first joined Noticias Telemundo in 2016 as executive producer, after she was chief correspondent at Spanish broadcaster TVE. She also was deputy head of TVE’s news department. 

Luis Fernández is returning to NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises as chairman, the company said.

Fernández replaces Beau Ferrari, who will become a senior adviser to Cesar Conde, chairman of the NBCUniversal News Group and NBCU for strategic growth opportunities.

Fernández, who will report to Conde, had been president of Noticias Telemundo, Telemundo’s news division, before retiring in 2021.

“Throughout his extraordinary career, Luis has time and again shown visionary leadership, building and growing the most successful Spanish language media organizations in the United States and overseas,” Conde said. “At this moment in Telemundo’s storied history, we are so fortunate to have someone of Luis’s experience and stature to rejoin our team and excited about what the future holds for Telemundo and its audiences under his leadership.”

Ferrari was chairman of NBCU Telemundo Enterprises for three years.

“Under Beau’s successful leadership, Telemundo has remained a highly influential voice to Spanish-speaking audiences throughout the nation,” Conde, who also is a former Telemundo chairman, said. “He has led Telemundo during a transformative time. He and the team delivered innovative content across all platforms and record financial results. I look forward to continuing to work closely with him in his new role.”

Gray Television said it promoted Jason Hall to VP of Spanish Media Sales for the Gray TV Telemundo Station Group.

Hall has been senior director of Spanish Media Sales for Gray’s 42 Telemundo stations since joining the company in August of 2022.

“Jason’s Hispanic media sales expertise has been key to our Telemundo stations and overall sales success. Jason’s track record with Gray has been invaluable, and we look forward to having him continue leading the charge for Spanish language media sales at Gray,” Susan Sim Oh, VP of strategy and operations, Gray TV Telemundo Station Group, said.

Before joining Gray, Hall was with Audacy, Estrella Media and Univision.

Don Browne, former Telemundo Communications Group president, died August 29 at age 80. He had been battling a brain tumor. 

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises said on X, as Twitter is now known, “We honor the legacy of our former president, Don Browne, whose leadership and vision championed Spanish-language media and Hispanics at ⁦‪@Telemundo⁩ and throughout the industry.

“Our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends during this time of loss.”

Browne was born in Toms River, New Jersey, and attended the University of South Carolina on a football scholarship. 

He joined NBC in 1979 as Miami bureau chief of NBC News and spent more than 30 years with the network.  

Browne was executive VP of NBC News from 1991 to 1993. He was executive in charge of Today, was involved in the creation of newsmagazine Dateline, and was acting president of NBC News. Browne played a key role in NBC acquiring Telemundo in 2001. 

He was president and general manager of NBC-owned WTVJ Miami before he was named Telemundo president in 2005. With that position, he had oversight of the network and 16 owned and operated stations. 

“His work ethic, drive and passion catapulted him to the top of the NBC leadership hierarchy,” WTVJ said on NBCMiami.com.

Browne retired in 2011. 

He was inducted into the B+C Hall of Fame in 2008.

Browne’s wife Maria died of cancer in 2021. Soon after, doctors discovered he had a brain tumor.

Pedro Andrade has been named news director at Telemundo station KULX Salt Lake City. He’s been the assistant news director for the past year. 

“Pedro is a strategic news leader with strong editorial judgement,” said Tatiana Argüello, president and general manager of Telemundo Utah and Telemundo Colorado. “He has fostered a culture of innovation and collaboration in the KULX newsroom, and I am excited for Pedro and his team of experienced news professionals to continue informing and empowering our Spanish-speaking community in Utah to make decisions that will have a lasting effect on themselves and their families.” 

Andrade joined KULX in 2022 from KSTS San Francisco-San Jose, where he was a news producer. Born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela, Andrade worked for the General Office of Communication at the Housing Authority in Venezuela in various mass communication roles. He got his start in the media as a radio host in Caracas. 

NBCUniversal Local owns KULX. 

FIFA Women’s World Cup soccer action and auto-racing events highlighted last week's sports ratings landscape. 

Fox’s July 26 coverage of the U.S. women’s soccer team’s draw against the Netherlands was the top viewed live sports event for the week of July 24-30 with an average of 6.43 million viewers, according to Nielsen numbers published by SportsMedia Watch. Telemundo’s Spanish-language telecast of the match also made the top 10 most-watched events for the week with 1.16 million viewers.

According to Fox Sports, Fox averaged a record 4.3 million viewers for its three U.S. Women’s soccer team telecasts during the Group Stage event, up 19 percent from 2019. 

Auto racing events secured four of the top 10 positions on the live sports viewership chart, with USA Network's July 30 live race and pre-race coverage of the NASCAR Cup series Cook Out 400 playoff event finishing third and fourth for the week, while NBC’s July 29th NASCAR Xfinity Road America 180 race and ESPN’s July 30 Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix pulled into sixth and ninth place, respectively. ESPN said the 1.16 million viewers for its Belgian Grand Prix telecast was the race's largest audience on record in the U.S. 

KDEN Denver, the Telemundo station serving Colorado, promoted Niurma Sanchez to chief meteorologist, the first person at the station to hold that title.

The station named Jose Luis Quevdeo to an expanded role as meteorologist.

Sanchez has been KDEN’s meteorologist for six years and has been recognized as the best meteorologist by the Colorado Broadcasters Awards for five consecutive years Before that she was with Telemundo station WSCV Miami and the Meteorology Institute of Cuba. 

Also Read: Denver Stations Show Mile High Growth

Quevdeo joined KDEN in 2021 as web editor, covering weather events including tornados, fires and hail storms. Before KDEN, he worked as a meteorologist at the Institute of Meteorology of Cuba.

“We congratulate Niurma and Jose Luis on their well-deserved promotions and look forward for our viewers to continue benefitting from their skills and expertise,” Griselle Sierra, news director at KDEN, said. “Niurma’s forecasting work spans extreme weather events, including winter storms, blizzards and hurricanes, while Jose Luis is our in-house expert in weather storytelling for online and digital audiences. Together, they will help our audiences understand and navigate weather events and make their forecasts available across all platforms.” 

Yaimee Bell, KBLR Las Vegas multimedia journalist, is joining WNJU New York. Both KBLR, known as Telemundo Las Vegas, and WNJU, known as Telemundo 47, are part of NBCUniversal. Bell will be a general assignment reporter and starts at WNJU July 10. 

“Yaimee is a talented journalist who cares deeply about the issues and concerns most important to our audience. She is also a versatile multimedia reporter, skilled at delivering the big story across all viewer platforms,” said Alexa Rodriguez, Telemundo 47 news director. “We are excited to welcome Yaimee to the Noticiero 47 Telemundo family.”

Bell joined KBLR in 2021 after working with Univision Communications in Miami as a digital journalist.  Prior to that, Bell was a reporter for South Florida Media Network from 2018 to 2019.

From Cuba, Bell is bilingual in both English and Spanish. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Universidad Oriente in Santiago, Cuba and earned a master’s degree in Spanish multimedia journalism from Florida International University in Miami.

“WNJU is deeply rooted in the community and represents the very best in broadcast journalism,” said Bell. “I am incredibly honored to join the Telemundo 47 news team.”

Podcast “My New Favorite Futbolista”, which showcases soccer stars, premieres its new season June 14. The bilingual podcast is a joint venture between Telemundo and NBC Owned Stations. Soccer standouts Janelly Farías and Meghan Klingenberg host alongside LX News journalist Eric Alvarez. 

Farías, who plays in Liga MX and has played for Mexico, is the Spanish-language co-host while Klingenberg, who played for the U.S., is the English-language co-host. Alvarez co-hosts in both languages. 

The season will feature stars from the Women’s World Cup, which begins July 20 and airs on Telemundo. The first season featured players from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. 

The first episode, out June 14, focuses on Crystal Dunn of the U.S. team. The second, also out June 14, looks at Rocky Rodriguez of Costa Rica. Episode three, out June 21, centers on Becky Sauerbrunn of the U.S. 

Other episodes look at Christine Sinclair of Canada, Ashley Sanchez and Sofia Huerta of the U.S., and Estefanía Banini of Argentina, among other stars. 

Episodes run 15-20 minutes. 

“These are elite athletes who have worked their entire lives for a chance to represent their countries on the world’s biggest stage, and they are such distinct individuals with unique personal stories and passions,” said Farías. “I’m proud to be a part of this podcast that highlights who they are as people and community members and to help encourage others to support causes important to them.”

Reporters from NBC and Telemundo owned stations in markets connected to the athletes contribute to the podcast. 

“The remarkable stories of resilience, compassion and dedication behind these world-class competitors are inspirational,” said Klingenberg. “It’s been a true pleasure to contribute to this project and help showcase the powerful impact athletes can have as role models and leaders. I can’t wait to see them perform on the field this summer and cheer for their continued success off the field.”

The “My New Favorite Olympian” podcast launched in 2021 and went for two seasons before becoming “My New Favorite Futbolista.”

 At its upfront presentation next Monday (May 15), NBC Telemundo Enterprises will show advertisers new programming designed to reach Hispanic viewers on platforms including broadcast, cable and streaming.

The presentation will use the slogan “Come With Us,” designed to convince marketers to engage with the vital and vibrant Latino population. 

“Latinos continue to fuel the demographic and economic growth engine of our country as one of the most important opportunities for business in America,” said Beau Ferrari, Chairman, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. “Latinos are transforming our society and shaping mainstream culture. As America’s No. 1 Spanish-language content powerhouse, we are excited to present a robust content offering across entertainment, news and sports featuring premium properties, the biggest stars and tentpoles designed to reach and engage the full spectrum of Latinos at scale, in both languages and across all platforms.”

Telemundo plans to show off a slate featuring a ninth season of “Super Series” El Señor de los Cielos and Tplus-branded shows coming to Peacock.

The network said that based on both the success of its multiplatform portfolio and market demand for digital offerings, Telemundo is expanding its Tplus streaming brand in both the SVOD and AVOD space, focused on reaching the full spectrum of U.S. Latinos.

Tplus announced an exclusive first-look deal with Wilmer Valderrama’s WV Entertainment.

Tplus shows will also be available on an expanded portfolio of free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels. A sports-focused FAST channel, Telemundo Deportes Ahoro, is being launched, joining news FAST channel Noticias Telemundo Ahora.

Sports will also be a big part of Telemundo programming. 

Following up on last year’s World Cup, Telemundo will televise the FIFA Women’s World Cup from Australia and New Zealand in 2023. All 64 matches will be televised live in Spanish across Telemundo, Universal and Peacock.

Telemundo will also have extensive Spanish-language coverage of the Summer Olympic Games from Paris in 2024.

With Telemundo in the portfolio, NBCU said it reaches eight of 10 Hispanics in the 18-to-49-year-old demographic each month. 

“We all know Latinos are one of the fastest growing and most influential communities in this country,” said Linda Yaccarino, chairman, Global Advertising and Partnerships, NBCUniversal. “So, when you combine the power of Telemundo’s content with the massive reach of Comcast NBCUniversal’s One Platform, you have the most complete and effective way to engage this essential audience. No other company or platform can give marketers everything they need — all in one place — to tap into Latinos’ $1.8 trillion purchasing power, in English and Spanish.”

Local news from NBCUniversal’s Telemundo stations will be streaming to users of Samsung TV Plus, the companies said.

Full-time channels Noticias Telemundo California and Noticias Telemundo Florida began streaming Wednesday. 

Noticias Telemundo Noreste (Northeast) and Noticias Telemundo Texas are expected to launch in April.

We’re proud to expand our partnership with Samsung and bring our premium Spanish-language local news from Telemundo stations to Samsung TV Plus users,” said Matt Schnaars, president, NBCUniversal Content Distribution. “As we continue to grow NBCUniversal’s footprint in the FAST landscape, we recognize the diversity of NBCUniversal viewers, the importance of local news programming and are committed to offering premium content that resonates with Hispanic audiences everywhere.”

The Telemundo channels are the first dedicated to local Spanish-language news on Samsung TV Plus. 

“As Telemundo stations continue to lead the industry as the only premium Spanish-language local news FAST channels in the streaming space, we are excited to make our Telemundo stations’ best-in-class journalism and content available to reach millions of Samsung TV Plus users and introduce new audiences to our best-in-class news and programming,” said Ozzie Martinez, executive VP of Multiplatform News, Original Programming and Standards, Telemundo Station Group.  

Samsung TV Plus already stream local news from NBCU stations NBCU has also created national streaming channels NBC News Now and Dateline 24/7. ■

Season eight of El Señor de los Cielos (The Lord of the Skies) starts on Telemundo January 17. Rafael Amaya portrays legendary drug lord Aurelio Casillas. Left for dead in season seven, Casillas shows he’s hardly out of the game.

“More invincible than ever, he returns to mercilessly avenge all he has lost,” Telemundo said in press materials.

“We are beyond proud of what our extraordinary cast and production team accomplished with this production in Mexico, a season to remember that defies expectations with its scope and compelling story,” said Karen Barroeta, executive VP of production and development at Telemundo Global Studios. “Having Rafa Amaya return in his most iconic role lit the fuse. Fans will be delighted to see their favorite characters and meet new ones in this dramatic action-packed season of one of the most venerable television series.”

Carmen Aub, Iván Arana, Isabella Castillo and Alejandro López are also in the cast.

The new season sees Casillas hidden in the desert by his enemies in the DEA. Striking a powerful union with allies from previous seasons, Casillas faces new romantic entanglements while dealing with unexpected family mysteries as he enacts his cunning plan of revenge.

Set in Mexico and the Caribbean, season eight is written by Luis Zelcowicz and directed by Juan Carlos Valdivia, Conrado Martínez, Mauricio Meneses and Bernardo Mota. Karen Barroeta, Ximena Cantuarias and Harold Sánchez are executive producers. ■

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of December 12-18, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, the currency-grade smart TV ACR data provider and data technology division of Vizio with insights from a panel of more than 20 million opted-in TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

With NFL action airing on Saturday — along with the usual Sunday, Monday and Thursday games — the league keeps its No. 1 spot by watch-time, at 7.25% (up from 5.41% the previous week). NFL Red Zone also appears at No. 22 in our ranking, while NFL Gameday Kickoff is No. 25.

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• The Voice’s two-night, three-hour season finale pushed the hit reality series to No. 10 in our ranking, up from No. 31 the previous week.
• NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and Two and a Half Men are week-over-week newcomers in our ranking, up from No. 28 and No. 27, respectively.
• The 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup concluded its final week with 1.13% of watch-time for English-language airings and 0.30% going toward Spanish-language.
• From November 20 - December 18, World Cup airings (both English- and Spanish-language) combined for 2.55% of all minutes watched on linear TV – third behind only the NFL and college football games.

CBS is the most-watched network for another week, with 8.12% of watch-time from December 12-18 (up from 7.40% the previous week). The boost was fueled in part by an NFL doubleheader on Sunday, which was anchored by the late-afternoon game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals.

Additional insights around the most-watched networks from December 12-18:

• NFL Network catapults to No. 8 by watch-time (up from No. 42 the previous week), due in large part to the cable channel airing three Saturday games.
• History Channel is the other week-over-week newcomer in our ranking, climbing from No. 27 to No. 24.
• Holiday movies continue to buoy cable networks, including Hallmark (No. 7), Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (No. 12), Freeform (No. 17) and AMC (No. 22).
• TBS climbs three spots week-over-week to No. 11 with a heavy emphasis on Friends re-airs (32.1% of the network’s watch-time).

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the real-time TV measurement company. Rankings are by share of TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

More days of the week with NFL games meant a larger share of TV ad impressions from December 12-18. The NFL was No. 1 yet again, with 16.49% of TV ad impressions, which is up from 12.25% the previous week. It’s also more than five times the programming with the next-highest share (college football).

More insights about the top programs by share of TV ad impressions:

• The Voice’s season 22 finale paced the show all the way to No. 3 in our ranking this week, up from No. 8 during the previous week’s semifinal round.
• Speaking of reality TV, Survivor jumps into our ranking at No. 19 (vs. No. 59 the previous week).
• The Spanish-language airings of the World Cup’s final matches delivered 0.98% of TV ad impressions on the week, with another 0.92% attributable to the English-language broadcasts.
• Over the course of the entire 2022 World Cup, TV ad impressions jumped 29% vs. the 2018 event — with impressions more than doubling across NBCUniversal-owned Telemundo and Universo.

CBS stays at No. 1 in our TV-ad-impressions-by-network ranking, with 18.23% (a week-over-week increase from 15.87%). On the week, more than 35% of CBS’s TV ad impressions came from the NFL, with another 4.7% from Survivor.

Additional notes on the top networks by share of TV ad impressions from December 12-18:

• NFL Network soars from 0.35% of TV ad impressions to 3.74% week-over-week, courtesy of live game action on Saturday (including the Minnesota Vikings’ historic 33-point comeback over the Indianapolis Colts).
• Fox (No. 5) is one of four networks with World Cup rights in our ranking — along with Telemundo (No. 8), Fox Sports 1 (No. 16) and Universo (No. 23).
• Telemundo actually delivered 57% of all World Cup TV ad impressions over the course of the tournament, with Fox collecting 27.8%.
• From November 20-December 18, Fox Sports 1 served 1.05 billion TV ad impressions during World Cup games, and another 690 million during FIFA World Cup 2022 Today.

The overtime World Cup final drew 16.78 million viewers on Fox Sunday, the most-watched World Cup telecast in English-language television history.

The previous World Cup finals telecast record was set in 1994 when Italy beat Brazil.

The Fox telecast topped the previous record of 15.5 million people tuning in to watch the United States tie England earlier in the tournament.

The Spanish-language telecast on Telemundo and Peacock drew a total audience of 9 million viewers, making it the most-watched and most-streamed match of the tournament. Viewing was up 65% from the 2019 final.

The final match was the most-streamed soccer match in U.S. media history regardless of language, with an average per-minute audience of 3 million viewers, Telemundo said.

"Telemundo’s coverage of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 with NBCUniversal’s partnership across all platforms culminated as one of the most exciting and successful World Cups in history," said Beau Ferrari, chairman of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises.

"Years of preparation led to record-breaking viewership and revenue across the Telemundo network, local stations and Peacock. This World Cup represents a historic outcome for our entire company," Ferrari said. "Now, the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is upon us, and we look forward to being the home of the World Cup, 'La Casa del Mundial' in 2026, when the tournament comes to the U.S., Mexico and Canada." ■

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of December 5-11, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, the currency-grade smart TV ACR data provider and data technology division of Vizio with insights from a panel of more than 20 million opted-in TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

The NFL maintained its No. 1 spot by watch-time from December 5-11, at 5.41% (down slightly from 5.53% the previous week). However, that doesn’t include another 0.43% of minutes watched on NFL RedZone, which is No. 18 in our ranking.

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• Basketball watch-time is on the rise, as men’s college hoops moves from No. 5 to No. 4 in our ranking, while the NBA jumps from No. 11 to No. 5.
• NBC’s “One Chicago” franchise grows minutes watched week-over-week, as Chicago Fire climbs from No. 21 to No. 12, and Chicago P.D. increases from No. 28 to No. 22.
• World Cup watch-time is dipping as the field narrows, with English-language share of minutes watched declining week-over-week from 2.55% to 1.40%, while Spanish-language minutes watched drop from 0.81% to 0.43%.
• Beyond Chicago P.D., ABC World News Tonight with David Muir is the lone week-over-week newcomer in our ranking, returning at No. 25 (up from No. 27).

CBS stays at No. 1 as the most-watched network, accounting for 7.40% of watch-time from December 5-11 (down from 8.66% the previous week). Along with Sunday NFL action, CBS also aired the annual Army-Navy college football game on Saturday.

Additional insights around the most-watched networks from December 5-11:

• With so much attention on the Georgia U.S. Senate runoff election, cable news watch-time shows growth week-over-week -- Fox News moves from 4.64% to 4.86%, MSNBC increases from 1.55% to 1.77%, and CNN is up from 1.31% to 1.54%.
• AMC leaned into classic holiday movies like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, Elf and more to fuel a week-over-week leap from No. 34 to No. 22 in our ranking.
• Similarly, Freeform leaned into (parent company) Disney-owned Christmas flicks to jump from No. 21 to No. 18 week-over-week.
• Beyond AMC, Nickelodeon is also a week-over-week newcomer, joining our ranking at No. 25 by watch-time (up from No. 27 the previous week).

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the real-time TV measurement company. Rankings are by share of TV ad impressions, for new episodes only.

NFL action delivered 12.14% of TV ad impressions from December 5-11, staying at No. 1 yet again in our ranking among all programs. That was down slightly from 12.25% the previous week, though it’s still more than seven times the program with the next-highest share.

More insights about the top programs by share of TV ad impressions:

• The list of top five programs is four-fifths sports: the NFL, Spanish-language World Cup games, men’s college basketball and the NBA.
• With two nights of semifinal competition, The Voice sings its way to No. 7 by TV ad impressions (up from No. 13 the week before).
• A busy week in U.S. political news (the Georgia runoff, Kyrsten Sinema leaving the Democratic Party) helped fuel CNN Newsroom’s week-over-week growth from No. 32 to No. 20 by share of TV ad impressions.
• Just two daytime soap operas appear in this week’s rankings: The Young and the Restless (No. 13) and General Hospital (No. 25).

CBS keeps its spot atop our network ranking, with 15.87% of TV ad impressions from December 5-11 -- down from 16.39% the previous week. The NFL accounts for nearly 17% of impressions on the network, which is more than double the total for CBS’s No. 2 program, The Price Is Right.

Additional insights around the top networks by share of TV ad impressions:

• Baseball’s winter meetings and the continuing free agency conversation push MLB Network into our ranking at No. 24, even in the offseason.
• ESPN2 impressions grew 25% week-over-week, partially on the strength of men’s college basketball (nearly a quarter of the network’s impressions).
• NBC’s share of TV ad impressions increase from 12.04% to 13.29%, as the network leaned on its usual primetime slate, along with the People’s Choice Awards.
• Discovery Channel TV ad impressions leap 17% week-over-week, with Gold Rush accounting for over 26% of impressions.

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of November 28-December 4, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, the currency-grade smart TV ACR data provider and data technology division of Vizio with insights from a panel of more than 20 million opted-in TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

Program schedules returned to normal following the holiday week, though football still reigned supreme with audiences. The NFL was the top TV program by watch-time from November 28-December 4, at 5.53% (down from 9.24% during the week of Thanksgiving).

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• College football’s championship weekend meant fewer games, but the sport still scored 3.80% of minutes watched to remain at No. 2 in our ranking.
• As the World Cup field narrows, viewership is still going strong. English-language games accounted for 2.55% of watch-time (No. 3 overall), while Spanish-language coverage (Copa Mundial de la FIFA) scored 0.81% (No. 6).
• Morning news programs leap in our ranking week-over-week, with Good Morning America jumping from No. 11 to No. 7, Today moving from No. 10 to No. 8, and CBS Mornings hopping from No. 20 to No. 16.
• The Price Is Right is another beneficiary of the normal TV schedule, experiencing the largest week-over-week climb in our ranking, moving from No. 31 to No. 15 by watch-time.

CBS hurdles back into the lead as the most-watched network, accounting for 8.66% of watch-time from November 28-December 4 (up from 7.83% the previous week). The network scored with a big NFL doubleheader on Sunday, as well Saturday’s SEC Championship Game between Georgia and LSU.

Additional insights around the most-watched networks from November 28-December 4:

• Cable news saw benefits from audiences returning to their usual routines post-holiday, as Fox News moves from No. 6 to No. 5 week-over-week, MSNBC goes from No. 21 to No. 9 and CNN climbs from No. 20 to No. 14.
• Procedurals helped push USA Network into the top 10 week-over-week, with Law & Order: SVU reruns accounting for nearly 46% of minutes watched.
• Freeform’s holiday movie focus helped fuel a rise from No. 36 to No. 21 week-over-week, as viewers tuned into seasonal classics like Home Alone (12.75% of the network’s watch-time for the week).
• Family Feud helped pace The CW’s week-over-week climb into our ranking, from No. 27 to No. 22.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the real-time TV measurement company. Rankings are by share of TV ad impressions, for new episodes only.

Even without the benefit of Thanksgiving games, the NFL still claimed 12.25% of TV ad impressions from November 28-December 4. When combined with Friday and Saturday’s college games, American football accounted for nearly 21% of TV ad impressions for the week.

More insights about the top programs by share of TV ad impressions:

• In other “football” programming, Spanish-language telecasts of World Cup games served 2.39% of TV ad impressions, while the English-language telecasts of the games delivered 2.11%.
• NBC’s 90th Annual Christmas in Rockefeller Center tree-lighting special arrives at No. 23 in our ranking, with 0.67% of TV ad impressions.
• The Voice leads all reality TV programs, with 1.00% of ad impressions (No. 13 overall on the week), while Exatlón Estados Unidos: All-Stars appears at No. 21.
• The Young and The Restless is the lone daytime soap opera to make an appearance, sitting at No. 11 -- up from No. 20 the previous week.

CBS nabs 16.39% of TV ad impressions to sail into first place in our network ranking, increasing its share from 15.82% the previous week. NFL and college football coverage accounted for more than 46% of CBS’s TV ad impressions from November 28-Decmber 4.

Additional insights around the top networks by share of TV ad impressions:

• Snow forecasts around the country helped drive The Weather Channel impressions up by 219% week-over-week.
• Bravo jumps from No. 27 to No. 21 by share of ad impressions week-over-week, as Below Deck delivered 15.05% for the network.
• 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? delivered over 37% of impressions for TLC, as the network increased TV ad impressions by 17% week-over-week.
• CNBC is another week-over-week newcomer in our ranking, jumping from No. 28 to No. 22 as the network returned to regularly scheduled programming.

The second round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament featuring the U.S. National Team highlights a busy lineup of live TV sports events scheduled the first full weekend of December.

The USMST – fresh off its November 29 win over Iran to advance to the World Cup’s round of 16 – will battle the Netherlands Saturday morning on Fox, with the Spanish-language feed on Telemundo and streaming service Peacock. The other World Cup game on Saturday features Argentina against Australia, also on Fox, Telemundo and Peacock.

On Sunday, FS1, Telemundo and Peacock will offer the England-Senegal and France-Poland World Cup games.

In the boxing ring, ESPN Plus will stream live the heavyweight championship fight between titleholder Tyson Fury and Derek Chisora in the third match between the two fighters. Fury, who knocked out Dillian Whyte in his last fight this past April, has won the first two bouts against Chisora. Also on Saturday, DAZN will stream the third bout between Juan Francisco Estrada and Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez. The two boxers split the two previous fights. 

In the Octagon, ESPN Saturday will televise a UFC Fight Night card featuring a main event  welterweight bout between Stephen Thompson and Kevin Holland.

College football's Championship weekend Saturday schedule offers several big games featuring top 10-ranked teams, including top-ranked Georgia against No. 14 LSU in the SEC Championship game on CBS, second-ranked Michigan against Purdue in the Big Ten Championship on Fox, third-ranked TCU battling 10th ranked Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship game on ABC and No. 9 Clemson versus No.23 North Carolina in the ACC Championship game on ABC. 

Week 13 of  the NFL season starts with Sunday afternoon regional game coverage on Fox and CBS, followed by NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast pitting the Indianapolis Colts against the Dallas Cowboys.

On the links, NBC will air weekend final round coverage of the PGA Hero World Challenge golf tournament.■  

Below is a snapshot of TV by the numbers for the week of November 21-27, highlighting the most-watched shows and networks using glass-level data from Inscape, and network and show TV ad impressions insights via iSpot.tv.

Most-Watched Shows and Networks

Via Inscape, the currency-grade smart TV ACR data provider and data technology division of Vizio with insights from a panel of more than 20 million opted-in TVs. Data is linear, live TV only and includes all episode types (new and reruns). Rankings are by percent share duration (i.e., time spent watching).

Thanksgiving Week programming focused on football of all kinds, as audiences tuned into the NFL, college football and World Cup coverage from November 21-27. But it was the NFL that won the week with 9.24% of watch-time (up from 5.68% from November 14-20), as the league was buoyed by three close games on Thanksgiving.

Some additional insights about the top programming on TV:

• English-language World Cup games debut at No. 3 in our ranking, with 2.66% of minutes watched as Fox and Fox Sports 1 aired four games per day.
• Spanish-language World Cup coverage (Copa Mundial de la FIFA) also scored with audiences, collecting 1.10% of watch-time on the week.
• NBC’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade coverage accounted for 1.12% of watch-time on the week (No. 5 overall), while CBS’s parade broadcast lands at No. 25.
• The Andy Griffith Show pops up to No. 17 in our ranking (from No. 46 the previous week) due to increased airings on TV Land and Sundance.

Fox assumes the lead as the most-watched network, accounting for 9.99% of watch-time from November 21-27 -- up from 5.22% the week before. The network benefited from big sporting events over the entire holiday weekend, from the World Cup to NFL action and the final weekend of the college football regular season.

Additional insights around the most-watched networks from November 21-27:

• Paramount Network leaps from No. 18 to No. 8 week-over-week due in large part to a Yellowstone marathon over the holiday.
• Fox Sports 1 rides World Cup action from No. 40 to No. 9 week-over-week in our watch-time ranking, while Telemundo jumps from No. 41 to No. 10 thanks in large part to Spanish-language coverage of the event.
• TNT makes modest week-over-week gains by share of minutes watched (from 1.03% to 1.17%) thanks primarily to NBA action.
• Hallmark Channel stays at No. 7 week-over-week in our ranking, but holiday specials helped power a watch-time increase from 2.91% to 3.07%.

Top Shows and Networks by TV Ad Impressions

Via iSpot.tv, the real-time TV measurement company. Rankings are by share of TV ad impressions, for new episodes only. 

Thanksgiving games helped the NFL claim 19.39% of the week’s TV ad impressions, rising from 12.21% from November 14-20. On Thanksgiving Day itself, the league served over 47% of TV ad impressions -- 5.6 times the amount of the closest program.

More insights about the top programs by share of TV ad impressions:

• College football closed its regular season by accounting for 11.49% of TV ad impressions – as rivalry games across Thursday, Friday and Saturday helped power a week-over-week increase from 8.20%.
• Spanish-language World Cup action delivered 3.42% of TV ad impressions on the week (No. 3 overall), while English-language matches were 2.23% (No. 4).
• World Cup studio shows across Telemundo, Fox and Fox Sports 1 also delivered a combined 2.3% of TV ad impressions.
• Other Thanksgiving programming also delivered significant shares of TV ad impressions. NBC’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade coverage had 1.73% of impressions (No. 9), while its National Dog Show broadcast had 0.86% (No. 13).

Fox leaps into first place in our network ranking, increasing its share of TV ad impressions from 5.92% to 15.84% week-over-week. Along with select World Cup games, the network also aired the Thanksgiving game between the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, NFL Sunday action, and Saturday’s big college football showdown between the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes.

Additional insights around the top networks by share of TV ad impressions:

• NBC and CBS also increased TV ad impressions share week-over-week, largely on the strength of the NFL (each network aired one of the other Thanksgiving Day games) and holiday-specific programming like the Macy’s parade.
• Telemundo more than doubled its ad impressions share of voice from 2.72% to 6.25% week-over-week as the network leaned into Spanish-language World Cup coverage.
• Hallmark Channel TV ad impressions climbed by 109% week-over-week as audiences tuned in for holiday-centric specials to set the mood for the season.
• BET more than doubled its share of TV ad impressions week-over-week, from 0.21% to 0.44% as the 2022 Soul Train Awards telecast accounted for nearly one-fifth of impressions on the network.

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises is donating 2,000 laptops to Hispanic youth and community organizations as part of its World Cup-themed El Campeón En Ti campaign.

Telemundo is working with the U.S. Soccer Federation on the efforts, as well as parent company Comcast, which has committed $1 billion to advance digital equality with its Project Up program.

“In today’s digital-first world, it’s more important than ever for young Latinos to have the technology and connectivity required to learn, communicate, and maximize their potential,” said Christina Kolbjornsen, senior VP of corporate and external affairs, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. “We’re pleased to work with valuable organizations like the U.S. Soccer Foundation as we continue to bring critical technology resources to inspire Latino youths to nurture and unleash their inner champion.”

Comcast and Telemundo will also be jointly promoting the Affordable Connectivity Program, which provides eligible households with a credit of up to $30 a month towards broadband internet service.

“We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to close the digital divide for millions of Hispanics,” said Broderick Johnson, executive VP, public policy and executive VP, digital equity, Comcast Corporation. “By combining free laptops with the Federal Government’s Affordable Connectivity Program, we can ensure that more households get connected to all that the Internet has to offer for education, jobs, healthcare, and so much more.” ■

Team USA's opening World Cup match drew 8.3 million viewers on Fox, which has the English-language rights to the soccer championship.

Viewership on Fox peaked at 9.4 million between 3:45 p.m. ET and 4 p.m.

The first three matches on Fox drew an average of 4.026 million viewers up 193% from the first three matches of the 2018 World Cup. 

NBCUniversal said Spanish-language coverage of the first two days of the World Cup averaged total audience delivery of 2.6 million for four matches across Telemundo, Peacock and Telemundo digital streaming platforms, up 72% from four years ago.

Also: Spanish-Language World Cup Ads Nearly Sold Out: NBCU

The USA-Wales match had a total audience deliver of 3.4 million viewers. The three matches televised on Monday averaged 2.1 million viewers, up 41% from four year ago.

During the USA-Wales game, Telemundo was the No. 1 network in Miami. Peacock was the top free app at the Apple app store on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, NBCU said.

Fox said USA-Wales was its most-streamed match with an average of 563,000 viewers.

Fox said the top markets for the USA-Wales draw were Austin with a 5.8 rating and 24 share, Cincinnati with a 5.4/21, Dallas with a 4.9/22, San Diego with a 4.9/21 and Philadelphia with a 4.6/17. ■

The launch of the 2022 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament leads the lineup of live sports offerings hitting the small screen this weekend.  

Fox will offer English-language coverage of the World Cup tournament from Qatar, beginning Sunday with the Qatar-Ecuador matchup airing at 11 am (ET). Telemundo and streaming service Peacock will offer live Spanish-language feeds of the game. 

Also: Fox Sports’s World Cup Coverage Playing on Broadcast and Cable Field

On the gridiron, college football is inching closer to securing its four playoff teams going into week 12 of the season. Top-ranked Georgia takes on Kentucky on CBS, second-ranked Ohio State faces Maryland on ABC and third-ranked Michigan battles Illinois on ABC. Fourth-ranked TCU travels to Texas to take on Baylor on Fox and fifth-ranked Tennessee plays South Carolina on ESPN. 

Other games include No. 6 LSU-UAB (ESPN2), No. 7 USC-UCLA (Fox), No. 8 Alabama-Austin Peay (ESPN Plus), No. 9 Clemson-Miami (Fla) (ESPN), and No. 10 Utah-No. 12 Oregon (ESPN).

In the squared ring, DAZN will stream the Jaime Munguia-Gonzalo Gaston Coria middleweight fight, while ESPN Plus will stream the Zach Parker-John Ryder interim super middleweight title fight. ESPN Plus will also offer on Saturday a UFC Fight Night card featuring the Derrick Lewis-Serghei Spivac heavyweight main event mixed martial arts bout. 

Week 11 of the NFL season features Sunday afternoon regional games on Fox and CBS, as well as NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast between the Kansas City Chiefs and division rival Los Angeles Chargers.■  

Fox Sports’s live 2022 FIFA World Cup coverage kicks off Sunday with a heavy emphasis on linear television for the 64-game tournament despite an unprecedented fall start, heavy competition from other North American major sports leagues and an unfriendly time difference between the U.S. and World Cup host country Qatar. 

Still, Fox executives are confident the World Cup will attract both the hard-core sports fan and casual viewers with its coverage of the premiere soccer tournament. The Fox broadcast network will air 35 matches throughout the tournament, including the semi-final round games and the World Cup final, according to the network. FS1 will air the remaining 29 games live. Most Fox televised matches will air between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET.

The November start of the World Cup — prior tournaments took place during the summer — presented some logistical problems for Fox. The network airs a full complement of afternoon and evening college football games on Saturdays as well as Sunday-afternoon NFL contests. Fox Sports VP of programming and scheduling Daniela Jeffries said Fox Sports was able to work around its crowded schedule and the eight-hour time difference between Qatar and New York to develop a lineup allowing consumers to watch most of the games during reasonable viewing hours. 

“There was a little concern about how this was all going to fit,” Jeffries told Multichannel News. “As the tournament revealed itself, we saw that it wasn’t so bad. There are some challenges in the sense that there are games that probably would have been Fox games versus cable games at a different time of the year, but overall we’re pretty happy and positioned to have over 200 hours, which is comparable to what we would have done in the summer when the schedule would have been lighter.” 

Jeffries also said Fox Sports worked hard to make sure it could distribute all the games on broadcast or cable TV to broaden viewership. “We felt good about being able to get in as much linear coverage as we were,” she said. 

Fans who wish to view World Cup games live online can watch on FoxSports.com, but only if they subscribe to a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) or virtual MVPD service. Replays of every game will be available on the app, as well as on the Fox-owned Tubi.com streaming service through its World Cup FAST channel, including in high-resolution 4K format.

Fox will also make in-match previews and live pre- and post-match shows for every World Cup game available via the Fox Sports soccer Twitter account. 

The addition of the digital outlets offers fans more options to consume World Cup news and highlights compared to 2018, as well as provides a powerful marketing tool to promote upcoming telecasts. “We’ll be able to offer more features and highlights available on the app and have replays on Tubi — all of which we weren’t able to offer in 2018,” Jeffries said.  

Also different from 2018’s World Cup is this tournament will include the U.S. men’s soccer team, which was eliminated from participating in the World Cup four years ago. The network hopes to draw huge viewership for its USA-England Group B matchup, which will take place in the early afternoon on Black Friday, November 25. 

Given the U.S. men’s team’s participation and Fox Sports broad distribution of the games, Sports TV analyst Lee Berke said the World Cup should perform well from a ratings perspective. In 2018 Fox and FS1 combined to average 2.6 million viewers, according to Nielsen. 

“The games are airing during the busiest time of the sports year, but there’s a built-in audience for the games, and with matches airing early in the morning they’ll avoid  running directly against college and pro football games,” he said. “It should achieve the numbers that they want to achieve this time around.”

NBCU’s Spanish-Language Coverage

NBC Sports Group holds the Spanish-language rights to the World Cup and will offer every World Cup game on Telemundo and, for the first time, on NBCU’s streaming service Peacock. Peacock will offer the first 12 matches free before making the remaining 52 games available to Peacock Premium (pay) subscribers, according to NBC Sports. 

For NBC Sports and Telemundo, having both the broadcast and streaming platforms available for fans to view the games will help boost both awareness and viewership, said Berke.

“The two growing platforms for sports right now are broadcast and streaming,” he said. “The Peacock component in particular will provide a substantial boost overall across different screens.”

The U.S. soccer team’s group stage games are listed below (all times ET). The full 2022 World Cup schedule can be found here. ▪️

• Nov. 21: U.S.-Wales (2 p.m.)
• Nov. 25: England-U.S. (2 p.m.)
• Nov. 29: Iran-U.S. (2 p.m.)

The Roku Channel is expanding its offering of news programming from NBCUniversal, adding four Telemundo-branded Spanish-language stations to its programming grid immediately, and three other NBCU FASTs in early 2023.

Starting Tuesday, Roku users will have access to regional news channels Noticias Telemundo California, Noticias Telemundo Florida, Noticias Telemundo Noreste and Noticias Telemundo Texas.

Also read: QVC and HSN to Launch Live-Streamed 'Shopping Experiences' on Roku Channel

And early next year, Roku's free, ad-supported programming app will also include Dateline 24/7, TODAY All Day, and Sky News International.

Existing NBCU content on The Roku Channel includes NBC News NOW, several NBC local news channels, and The Rotten Tomatoes Channel. Additionally, users have wide-ranging AVOD access to NBCU shows including Will & Grace and Friday Night Lights.

“Audiences are increasingly streaming news, and we are thrilled to work with NBCUniversal, home to some of the industry’s most respected news organizations, to continue bringing our users a robust lineup of valuable news programming.” said Ashley Hovey, head of AVOD for The Roku Channel. ■

Commercials in Spanish-language coverage of the World Cup are nearly sold out, NBCUniversal Ad Sales and Partnerships President Mark Marshall said.

NBCU will be broadcasting 64 World Cup matches live from Qatar on Telemundo and streaming them on Peacock, with early round matches available free to viewers, while later games will be available to paying subscribers.

Marshall said national and local ad sales are pacing well ahead of the previous World Cup.

"With just under two weeks to go, NBCUniversal and Telemundo, we only have a handful of units remaining for this year’s World Cup," he said. "We’ve not only surpassed our record 2018 revenue, we’ve also exceeded all of our current 2022 revenue goals."

NBCU has signed up three major cross-platform sponsors, with Ford presenting pre-game shows, T-Mobile owning the halftime show and Coca-Cola having title on the post game show. (NBCU will not be interrupting the action to show traditional TV spots during matches).

Marshall also said that NBCU has signed up more than 20 new advertisers for this year’s World Cup, with growth in categories including auto, retail, quick-serve restaurants and technology.

Advertisers including Volkswagen, Samsung and parent company’s Xfinity brand will be running customized creative executions developed with NBCU.

Volkswagen, for example, will have special content showing stars from Telemundo programming riding in electric-powered Volkswagen ID4 SUVs across America.

Xfinity will have a special virtual studio that enables fans in Qatar to connect with people back home.

“With sales this strong, we’re already in conversations for next year’s women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023,” Marshall said.

Marshall noted that the World Cup was an ideal venue for appealing to Hispanic consumers, who now represent about 20% of the U.S. population and about $2.8 trillion in economic activity.

“Brands now are realizing that speaking to U.S. Hispanic consumers is no longer a choice. It’s a necessity,” Marshall said. “The World Cup is the ultimate place for brands to reach and engage this audience.”

Also: Tubi and Fox Sports Launch Channel Dedicated to FIFA World Cup

Hispanic audiences are young and connected, which is why NBCU is streaming games on Peacock. NBCU believes that soccer -- or futbol -- is more fun to watch in Spanish, and that with Fox not having a subscription streaming outlet, some English-language viewers might choose Peacock or Telemundo.

In particular, on November 26, Fox will be putting World Cup games on cable to accommodate the Michigan-Ohio State college football game. ■

LX News and Telemundo-owned stations premiere the bilingual podcast My New Favorite Futbolista/Mi Mundialista Favorito, profiling the stars of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on November 1. Juan Pablo Ángel and Eric Alvarez host. The podcast is produced in partnership with Telemundo Deportes. There will be eight episodes. 

It provides in-depth narratives about international soccer stars who shine both on the pitch and off, "advocating for change and supporting causes important to their communities," LX News and Telemundo said. 

The World Cup takes place in Qatar November 20 to December 18. Each episode focuses on a different player or team and includes interviews with the athletes, experts and those closest to them. The first three episodes feature Julian Araujo, Paul Arriola and Chris Richards. 

Also: Jon Hamm Stars in Fox Sports Campaign for 2022 World Cup

The podcast will be available on all major podcast platforms, including Apple, Spotify and Stitcher. Video versions will be presented on LX News, TeleXitos and NBC-owned stations' local news streaming channels, and will be available on-demand at LX.com and Peacock.   

"These world-class athletes set to take sports’ biggest stage are just as impactful and passionate away from the game as they are on the pitch, if not more," said Ángel. "It's an honor to showcase them not just as players, but as compelling individuals dedicated to doing good, giving back and making a difference. I'm proud to be a part of this project and confident that we’ll introduce you to your new favorite soccer player, one you can root for during the World Cup and beyond."

Ángel played for Colombia and spent six seasons in the MLS. Alvarez joined LX News in 2021. 

LX News has the TV series My New Favorite Futbolista, a spinoff of My New Favorite Olympian. ■

Gray Television said it will start to air Telemundo's new morning show, Noticias Telemundo Texas, on its seven Telemundo affiliates in the state.

Noticias Telemundo Texas launched Sept. 26 on five Telemundo owned stations. The show is produced at the KXAS/KXTX studios in Fort Worth with all of the stations contributing reports on news in their markets. 

Starting Oct. 10, Gray's stations will start airing the show and its journalists will contribute reports to the program. 

The companies say that with this arrangement, Spanish-speaking audiences in 13 Texas markets will receive live news, updates and weather forecasts on weekday mornings.

Gray's Telemundo affiliated stations in Texas also will simulcast the 4 p.m. newscast from either KXTV or KVDA, leading into their own newscasts.

Gray said its stations will be providing more news than any other Spanish-language news outlets in their markets.

“We are pleased to team up with Gray TV and to expand our Noticias Telemundo Texas newscast to more communities in the state,” added Ozzie Martínez, executive VP, multi-platform news, original programming, standards for Telemundo Station Group. “From discussing the headlines that are leading the day to providing more context about the issues impacting Texans, our newscast will now reach and inform even more communities.”     

Telemundo has stations in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, McAllen and El Paso.

Gray has stations in Odessa-Midland, Waco-Temple-Bryan, Laredo, Lubbock, Amarillo, Tyler-Lufkin and Wichita Falls-Lawton. ■

Latino voters still prefer Democrats over Republicans to control Congress, and by a wide margin — 54% to 33% — but that is down significantly over the last few polls conducted by NBC News and co-owned Telemundo.

Another troubling sign for Democrats is that the top issue facing the country according to those Latino voters is the cost of living, while the poll found that a majority of Latino voters — 54% — disapprove of the way the top Democrat — President Joe Biden — is handling the economy, with 38% saying they thought Republicans in general did a better job of handling the economy than Democrats.

While Latino voters preferred Democratic control by 21 percentage points, that was down from 26 points in 2020, 34 points in 2018 and 38 points in 2016.

Following the economy, the issues most important to Latino voters polled were "threats to democracy" and jobs.

Latino voters gave Democrats higher marks than Republicans promoting tolerance and respect, handling the abortion issue and having the right approach to gun laws. ■

With the FIFA World Cup about to kick off, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises  released a report that argues that the game is growing in the U.S. and that it is particularly engaging when watched in Spanish.

The report, The Future Is Fútbol, paints soccer as the fastest growing sport in the United States. This year’s World Cup in Qatar (set for November 20-December 18) — to be televised in Spanish by Telemundo — could give the sport a further boost ahead of 2026, when the U.S. will co-host the event.

Soccer has been regarded as the future of sport for decades. The Telemundo report presents data showing that future is getting closer.

High school soccer participation increased 32% from 2002 to 2019, more than basketball, football, baseball or ice hockey. The report described soccer as a more egalitarian sport, with girls playing almost as much as boys. Participation grew 31% for girls compared to 33% for boys.

Also: Telemundo Reprises Soccer Campaign Aimed at Youth Before World Cup

Hispanics are particularly fanatical about fútbol. Soccer is already the most popular team sport among 40% of Hispanic high-school students compared to 21% of all high-school students.

Among U.S. Latinos age 16 and up, 73% say they are soccer fans, with 22% self-identifying as super fans — three times more than non-Hispanics. Latinos rank soccer ahead of American football, basketball and baseball.

In the report, 53% of Latinos said they plan to watch the World Cup, as do 29% of non-Latinos.

As part of the study, Telemundo did neuroscience research in which half of the subjects watched a World Cup match in Spanish while the other half watched in English.

The study found that when Latinos watched a soccer match in Spanish, they subconsciously liked it more than when they watched it in English. Watching in Spanish generated 15% greater likability compared to watching in English. The increased appeal of the game led to an elevated desire to keep watching for longer, keeping viewers glued to their screens, according to the study.

“Watching the match in Spanish was like an emotional and entertaining roller coaster ride where key game moments in Spanish, on average, produced 37 points more emotional intensity compared to English, where the highs didn’t go as high, and lows didn’t go as low,” according to the report.

The positive effects of Spanish game commentary transferred to advertising. The identical ad played in Spanish had 19% higher likability and 49% greater emotional intensity vs. English because Spanish is filled with emotion and expression that people feel for both the game and the brand advertising involved, the report said.

“Fútbol is the sport of America’s future,“ Mónica Gil, chief administrative and marketing officer, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, said. ”Soccer is growing in the U.S. and Hispanics are clearly leading the way, Every four years, the FIFA World Cup brings Latinos and non-Latinos together with a spirit and intensity that no other sporting event in the world can match. There is no more authentic way to experience the World Cup than in Spanish. For companies and brands seeking real cultural connection and a space to engage Latinos, soccer and the FIFA World Cup are the place to be, this fall and for years to come.” ■

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises said it is kicking off a multi-city national campaign leading up to the World Cup aimed at inspiring Hispanic youth through soccer and expanding access to safe recreational facilities.

The campaign -- El Campeón en Ti or The Champion in You -- is the second edition of Telemundo’s community-based campaign. The first stared during the 2018 World Cup.

The campaign will bring a series of events to cities across the country including New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Orlando, Los Angeles, Miami and Phoenix. 

"We believe that our community is at the heart of the World Cup – and we want to take these festivities across the country for Latinos to enjoy this global event," said Christina Kolbjornsen, senior VP, corporate & external affairs, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. "We’re again joining forces with our partners at the U.S. Soccer Foundation and the independent Hispanic Soccer leagues, allowing us to expand our efforts to create safe and accessible environments for young Latinos to grow and play. Soccer brings families together and empowers kids to show what can be possible. We're looking forward to joining our partners in celebrating the inner champion in every Hispanic youth."

The campaign will take advantage of the Telemundo network, and work with local Telemundo stations, Telemundo talent, and viewers in all markets to provide on-site activations and experiences. 

"We're excited to team up with our partners at Telemundo to unite young people and families through our game," said Ed Foster-Simeon, president & CEO of the U.S. Soccer Foundation. "Using soccer as a vehicle to improve lives is core to our mission and helps strengthen communities. These soccer celebrations and our continued partnership is symbolic of Telemundo's commitment to driving positive change in Hispanic communities."

Telemundo said it will also launch a grassroots campaign to reinforce the importance of accessibility nationwide, partnering with independent community soccer leagues in designated communities with a high density of Latino youth and Hispanic-led teams. Soccer clubs will play matches on weekends starting in August and continuing throughout the fall in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas. ■

Spanish-language programming and sports were big gainers during the first half of 2022, according to a new analysis from research and analytic firm iSpot.TV.

iSpot found that, despite the shift of viewing to streaming, live TV continues to deliver for advertisers, increasing impressions by 7.29% from a year ago.

Nevertheless iSpot recommends that advertisers put 30% to 40% of their ad budgets into over-the-top programming. Advertisers put just 9% of their budgets into OTT during the first half, according to the measurement firm.

Also: iSpot.tv Says Advertisers Underspend on Streaming

Spanish-language networks, led by Telemundo, Univision and UniMas, grew their share of ad impressions by almost 11%.

Live sports scored big, delivering 25.5% of all TV ad impressions during new programming, up from 22.4% a year ago. The growth was helped by the Winter Olympics on NBCU and the Super Bowl, which this year kept viewers engaged till the end of the fourth quarter.

Impressions also ticked up for cable news, with Fox News, CNN and MSNBC up a combined 3.6%. 

Among advertisers, the travel category increased its ad impressions by 93% compared to last year when COVID made people reluctant to travel. Sports betting ad impressions were up 81% and commercials for movies were up 64% as studios released eagerly anticipated films and families returned to theaters. 

The most seen single ad featured Liberty Mutual’s LiMu Emu and Doug.

The top 10 brands ranked by share of impressions were Liberty Mutual, Progressive, GEICO, Indeed, T-Mobile, Balance of Nature, Allstate, Subway, Verizon and Toyota. ■

Melissa “Missy” Crawford has been named president and general manager of KNSD-KUAN San Diego, an NBC-Telemundo duopoly owned by NBCUniversal. She will report to Valari Staab, chairman, NBCUniversal Local, and will work closely with Manuel Martinez, president, Telemundo Station Group. 

Crawford has worked at NBCUniversal Local for nearly 11 years. She was VP of creative and marketing for WNBC New York for the last 10 years.

Also: Local News Close-Up: News Reboots in Sunny San Diego

“Missy is an inspiring leader. She is very innovative and one of the top broadcast brand directors in the country,” Staab said. “With San Diego being home to two successful stations that operate like one team to meet the needs of the market’s ever-changing communities, Missy is the perfect leader to help both businesses build upon their accomplishments and plan out the next phase in their evolution as our industry continues to change.”

She succeeds Todd Mokhtari, who shifted to the GM job at KNBC-KVEA Los Angeles in April.

“Missy has been a great partner to our Telemundo 47 team,“ Martinez said. ”I’m excited to see what she and our San Diego team will do together to build on the great work they’re already doing.”

Before WNBC, Crawford worked at KGO San Francisco for 15 years. She started as an intern and moved on to creative services roles, including creative services manager. ■

World soccer organization FIFA has launched a new digital platform that is expected to stream the equivalent of 40,000 live games in 2022.

The free ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) FIFA Plus service, which will be available across all web and mobile devices in five languages — English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish — will stream 1,400 matches monthly taken from 100 member associations across all six soccer confederations, including 11,000 women’s matches, according to the organization.  

Ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 — which will be televised in the U.S. by Fox Sports and Telemundo — FIFA Plus will feature every past FIFA World Cup and FIFA Women’s World Cup match on film, totaling more than 2,000 hours of archived content. Overall, the FIFA Plus archive will launch with more than 2,500 videos dating back to the 1950s, with many more to come throughout the year.

In addition, FIFA Plus will also provide full-length documentaries, docuseries, talk shows and shorts in 11 languages, telling stories from the local grassroots to national teams and of footballing heroes past and present from more than 40 countries, FIFA said.

“FIFA Plus represents the next step in our vision to make football truly global and inclusive, and it underpins FIFA’s core mission of expanding and developing football globally,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement. “This project represents a cultural shift in the way different types of football fans want to connect with and explore the global game and has been a fundamental part of my Vision 2020-2023. It will accelerate the democratization of football and we are delighted to share it with fans.” ▪️

Valari Dobson Staab has been promoted to chairman, NBCUniversal Local, becoming the first chairman for the division, which includes NBC and Telemundo TV stations. She had been the president. 

“Valari is an outstanding, innovative leader with a proven track record of success,” said Mark Lazarus, chairman, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “She has transformed our local business and is a valuable part of the NBCU management team.”

Staab joined NBCUniversal in 2011 as president of the NBC Owned Television Stations group. Two years later, she acquired oversight of the Telemundo-owned stations. 

Earlier this month, NBC-owned stations announced the launch of their streaming news channels on Peacock, while Telemundo stations in some markets prepare to launch them later this year.  

Last year, NBC’s regional sports networks were integrated with the owned stations. [NBCUniversal Local had said the RSNs plan to debut their own direct-to-consumer products later this year, and later said the statement was misleading. "Our DTC strategy is evolving as we assess options in each of the unique sports markets we serve. At this time, we don’t have any further details about launch plans including timing or markets," said NBCUniversal Local in a statement.]

The station group includes WNBC New York, WNJU New York, KNBC Los Angeles and WMAQ Chicago. 

With Staab in the group president role, NBCLX, a streaming network for the next-generation news consumer, launched. The NBCUniversal Local division introduced advanced video advertising business NBC Spot On in early 2020. 

Prior to joining NBCUniversal, Staab was president/general manager of KGO San Francisco, which is part of ABC.  

She serves on the boards of the NBCUniversal Foundation, Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) and the Broadcasters Foundation of America.  

Staab was B+C’s Broadcaster of the Year in 2016. ■

Telemundo’s advertising sales for the 2022 World Cup are running well ahead of their 2018 pace, the Comcast NBCUniversal unit said.

“We’re currently 12 months out and have already doubled the number of deals relative to the comparable time period in 2018,” said Dan Lovinger, executive VP for sales at NBC Sports Group, speaking at a presentation marking a year before the World Cup kicks off in Qatar.

Lovinger said that Telemundo had doubled its linear ad revenue for the event, and tripled the digital revenue generated at this point four years ago.

Three major presenting sponsorships — pregame, halftime and postgame — are already sold out. “We have limited positions elsewhere, in and around our presentation of FIFA World Cup, but they’re moving fast and we expect most of our inventory to be sold before our traditional upfront spring window.”

Sports sales have been strong across the board and NBCU is also in the process of selling commercials in the upcoming Super Bowl and the Beijing Olympics. The World Cup will add to NBC’s sports arsenal over Thanksgiving, with four live matches leading into an NFL primetime telecast.

“In this shifting media landscape, major events like Qatar are vital to marketers and the demand for inventory is actually stronger than ever,” Lovinger said.

Four years ago, the audience for the World Cup was 40% female and nearly 80% of Telemundo’s adult 18-49 audience was bilingual, he said.

“For Hispanic audiences, the FIFA World Cup is their Super Bowl and their Olympics combined and because of that reach and scale, we already know that we're going to deliver the biggest event in Spanish language media across all platforms in 2022,” Lovinger said.

Telemundo is preparing to present its most ambitious multimedia coverage with all 64 matches broadcast live, including 56 games airing on Telemundo and eight on Universo.

The games will also be available on live stream with authentication.

Telemundo said its production will feature the largest on-site presence ever. For the first time, there will be in-venue presence for all 64 games, taking advantage of the proximity of the stadiums with commentators calling multiple matches in one day.

There will also be more pregame, halftime, and post-match coverage from onsite studios as well as all positions across Doha. Telemundo will add crews to emphasize the most relevant teams for the U.S. Hispanic audience — the U.S. and Mexico sides.

National Soccer Hall of Fame member and six-time Emmy award winner Andrés Cantor will return as chief commentator, marking his 12th World Cup and his 10th as play-by-play announcer.

In terms of marketing Telemundo will use NBCU’s portfolio of assets to connect with World Cup fans and generate awareness around the one-year countdown to the tournament. The promotional efforts will be led by a campaign that had its debut Tuesday with Telemundo’s broadcast of the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying match between Canada and Mexico. The match, which Canada won, 2-1, was Telemundo’s most-watched sporting event since the 2019 Copa America Final Brazil vs. Peru, the network said Wednesday.

The spot showcases how the World Cup is only a year away. ■

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises said that Patsy Loris will become the new head of of Noticias Telemundo on Jan. 1, after Luis Fernández retires as president at the end of the year.

Loris will remain executive VP at Telemundo’s news division. She joined Noticas Telemundo in 2019 from Univision.

“Patsy is an experienced news leader and has made significant impact in our organization by strengthening Noticias Telemundo’s position as the leading Spanish-language news organization covering politics across all platforms,” said Beau Ferrari, chairman of NBCU Telemundo Enterprises. 

“With three decades of news leadership, she is a highly regarded executive who will continue to grow our news properties, strengthen our news gathering operations and develop our news talent with a clear focus on serving our community with the news and information they need and expect every day,” Ferrari said.

Loris led Noticias Telemundo’s coverage of the 2020 presidential election, including extensive coverage of the presidential inauguration and the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Before joining Telemundo, Fernández was CEO of Real Madrid for the Asia Pacific Region, based in Beijing. Previously, he was president of entertainment and president of Univision Studios for Univision Communications.

“Luis has been the driving force behind the growth of Telemundo network’s news properties and Noticias Telemundo’s positioning as one of the most respected news brands in the industry,” Ferrari said. “He has been a transformative leader and a great partner in helping Telemundo fulfill its vision to be the choice and voice of Latinos around the world. Having built an extraordinary news team, he leaves Noticias Telemundo in the hands of one of the industry’s most talented news professionals.”

NBCUniversal’s Telemundo unit said that, working with the #SeeHer movement, it has developed a storytelling guide for Latina characters.

The #WriteHerRight guide will give brands and content creators a lens to apply to help Hispanic women see themselves accurately reflected in programming and advertising.

“P&G and its brands are deeply committed to powering progress for the Hispanic community every day and the content we develop and support must feature characters with whom Latinas can identify,” said Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer, Procter & Gamble and co-chair of SeeHer, which is backed by the Association of National Advertisers. “We see a lot more diversity in ads and programs today, but we need to ensure that Latinas are accurately portrayed in a real, respectful and genuine way that truly reflects who they are.”

The #WriteHerRight guide builds on SeeHer’s efforts to improve representation for women of diverse backgrounds, seeking to both raise awareness of the complex storytelling needed across Latina characters and provide creative teams with thoughtful ways to reflect Hispanic women more accurately.

Also: Telemundo Launches Streaming Division That Will Feed Peacock

“We’re thrilled to support the ANA in developing this very important tool,” said Mónica Gil, executive VP, chief administrative and marketing officer for NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. “Nearly one in five women in the U.S. are Latinas influencing a large part of the $1.9 trillion in Hispanic consumers’ purchasing power, so it is important for brands and content creators to connect with them authentically and accurately to fuel their businesses’ growth.”

The Latina characters guide is being unveiled Tuesday at the 2021 ANA Multicultural Marketing and Diversity Conference. It provides a checklist of questions that help ensure that writers and producers have thought through their Latina characters.

Parientes a la Fuerza (Family by Force) premieres on Telemundo Oct. 26. Described by the network as a melodrama, the series stars Guy Ecker and Barbara de Regil. 

Set in Los Angeles, Parientes a la Fuerza centers on George Cruz (Ecker), a 50-year-old Hollywood screenwriter who faces a mid-life crisis in the shadow of his one-hit wonder screenplay, his mother's death and the betrayal of his wife Leticia (Chantal Andere). His frustration, loneliness and feeling of failure, coupled with the need to fulfill his mother's last wish, drive him into Mexico, where he meets Carmen Jurado (de Regil), a beautiful Mexican singer who becomes his muse and his love. Cruz regains the inspiration he was missing. 

But love doesn't come easily when Cruz’s and Jurado’s families unite.

Michel Duval, Carmen Aub and Salvador Zerboni are also in the cast. 

Created by Sebastián Ortega, Parientes a la Fuerza is written by Rosa Clemente and Raul Prieto. Produced by 11:11 Films & TV for Telemundo, the series is directed by Gustavo Loza, Danny Gavidia and Felipe Aguilar. Marcos Santana, Karen Barroeta, Mariana Iskandarani and Andrea Salas are executive producers for Telemundo Global Studios. Juancho Cardona and Manolo Cardona executive produce for 11:11 Films & TV.

Malverde: El Santo Patrón starts Tuesday, Sept. 28 on Telemundo. The Super Series is set in the early 1900s, and centers on Jesús Malverde, who Telemundo calls “one of the biggest and most controversial Mexican characters of the last 150 years, an outlaw who ultimately became a legendary figure, a religious icon, and protector of the innocent, poor and dispossessed.”

Pedro Fernández plays Malverde, Mark Tacher portrays Vicente del Río and Carolina Mirando plays Isabel Aguilar.

Tacher said his Vicente character is “the sole enemy of Malverde.” Malverde loves Vicente’s wife and, alas, Vicente’s wife loves Malverde. 

“He steals more than my money,” Tacher, also in the cast of La Reina del Sur 2, told B+C. “He steals the love of my life, my family, and my stability.”

Tacher describes Vicente as a victim. “He had everything he wanted in life, then this guy Jesús Malverde appears,” he said. “It breaks everything.”

Malverde is based on a real historical figure. The set depicting early 1900s Mexico is around 90 minutes from Mexico City. Tacher said the project has the feel of a western. “You will feel the sand in your face,” he said. 

At the time, a small number of people controlled vast amounts of wealth, and the poor started pushing back. “Just a few have a lot,” said Tacher. “Everybody is aching for more.”

Luis Zelkowicz created the show. Karen Barroeta, executive producer and executive VP, Telemundo Global Studios, said it is the first period piece Telemundo has produced. She said Malverde was a long time in the works. 

“The first time we started talking about the project was around six years ago, where we said to ourselves, OK, Malverde, we hear so much about him, and we've kind of mentioned him in another of our Super Series, in our other shows,” she said in a TCA session. “We started doing research, and we said to ourselves four years ago, Let's put together a reel, and let's take it to focus groups, and let's see how people react to seeing a story just about him. And when we did, we found fantastic results. We saw how our audience here in the United States, an Hispanic audience, was so excited about knowing more, and so we just started the development process three years ago.”

Is Malverde a good guy or bad guy? Tacher likens him to Robin Hood. “He’s a hero of the people,” said Tacher. “He steals from the rich and gives to the poor.”

He noted how women wield real power in the series. “It’s one of the things that made the story so fantastic,” Tacher said. “Women have so much power in it. They’re standing up for their rights.”

WOIO Cleveland will launch the market’s first Telemundo affiliate Jan. 1, on sister station WTCL’s channel 6.1. Sharing resources with WOIO’s 19 News, the Telemundo station will offer 6 and 11 p.m. weekday news. 

WOIO and WTCL are owned by Gray Television.

“We are excited that Telemundo Cleveland will fill the void for Spanish-language viewers in our market with Telemundo’s great programming as well as two live and locally produced weekday newscasts,” said WOIO VP/GM Erik Schrader. “We are honored to provide this important service to the fast-growing Hispanic community in Northeast Ohio.”

WOIO is a CBS affiliate in DMA No. 19. Gray Television also owns The CW outlet WUAB, with MyNetworkTV airing on a subchannel.

NBCUniversal and its Telemundo unit are launching a company-wide campaign in English and Spanish commemorating Hispanic Heritage Month.

The campaign, themed Come With Us--or Juntos Imparables--was created by Telemundo and will appear across the entire NBCUniversal portfolio of TV and digital platforms.

Unilever, Wells Fargo and Zelle have signed up with the campaign as sponsors.

“At a time when everyone is ready to look to the future with a renewed sense of optimism, we celebrate our Hispanic heritage and contributions as we kick off this important campaign,” said Mónica Gil, chief administrative & marketing officer, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. “With this initiative, Telemundo and NBCUniversal are leading the way with a timely, inclusive and enriching message carrying Hispanics' legacy and culture across all NBCUniversal networks and inviting all audiences to share in the experiences of our diverse community.”

Also Read: Telemundo Launches Streaming Division That Will Feed Peacock

The initiative launches Wednesday on NBC's Today show and Telemudo's Hoy Día. All NBCU properties will participate in a social media roadblock and a big push on Twitter during that first day. There will also be an on-air roadblock during primetime when Come With Us messages will run simultaneously on all of the company’s channels.

The campaign will have English and Spanish language versions of the commercials, plus integrations, vignettes, special news coverage and Hispanic Heritage themed programming throughout the month.

For example, NBC News Anchor and Senior National Correspondent Tom Llamas’ new primetime streaming program on NBC News Now will launch Sept. 20, with daily segments focusing on Latin America and the lives of Latinos across the country. CNBC will feature business leaders from the Latinx community and Peacock will have a dedicated Hispanic Heritage Month destination and a new Latinx virtual channel. Local NBC and Telemundo owned stations will also have special coverage of community events and features about local leaders and organizations.

News segments covering subjects from culture and equality to food and music will appear on Telemundo news shows and there will be integrations during Telemundo’s coverage of the Billboard Latin Music Awards show on Sept. 23. The campaign will also be highlighted during broadcasts of the NFL Hispanic Heritage Sunday Night Football Game on Sept. 23 and World Cup soccer qualifying matches.

“Our approach to develop the ‘Come With Us’ campaign establishes an even stronger relationship across NBCUniversal’s businesses to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month and all heritage months moving forward,” said Craig Robinson, chief diversity officer, NBCUniversal. “It’s an honor to leverage our vast creative resources, showcase our unrivaled programming and to bring together our company-wide talent to celebrate and recognize the diversity of NBCUniversal and our audiences worldwide.”