Estrella Takes Manhattan

Liberman Broadcasting has inked a deal with Tribune to launch Liberman's Spanish-language digital channel Estrella TV on WPIX New York. The CW outlet will air Estrella on channel 11.2 starting Oct. 1.

Estrella offers original entertainment fare for the Hispanic community, such as Estudio 2 and Los Chuperamigos. Between Liberman's owned and operated stations and affiliates, Estrella's U.S. market presence has expanded to 68% of Hispanic television households.

"WPIX's rich history and resonance with TV audiences makes it the ideal partner for Estrella TV as we expand our reach across the United States," said LBI Media Executive Vice President Lenard Liberman. "We are confident that our content will provide a compelling and popular entertainment option for viewers in the New York region while providing advertisers an opportunity to reach a growing demographic in a major market."

"Partnering with LBI is a great opportunity for us to maximize the PIX brand and serve our large and diverse Latino audience," said WPIX President/General Manager Betty Ellen Berlamino. "We have full confidence that our viewers will enjoy Estrella TV's scripted drama, comedy, musical-variety, talk and game show programs."

Michael Malone

Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.