Three New Execs At Telemundo’s WZDC

The Telemundo Station Group today announced three leadership appointments for WZDC Washington (DMA 6).

Janette Luviano will lead the station’s newsroom as news director; Will Hildebrandt has been named vice president of sales, and Nestor Alvarenga will oversee the station’s community affairs strategies as community manager.

Luviano brings 25 years of experience in television, radio and print to her new role as news director for WZDC. She has worked for both Telemundo and Univision stations, most recently as an executive producer at Telemundo’s WNJU New York. Luviano earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in education from Ashford University.

As VP of sales, Hildebrandt will lead a team of sales professionals to develop and implement local, national and sales strategies across WZDC’s broadcast and digital platforms. He brings more than 12 years of sales and leadership experience including four years as director of business development for the Telemundo Station Group. In that role, Hildebrandt leads all national political advertising for owned and affiliated Telemundo stations, including WZDC, and works directly with client executives to develop strategies that leverage the spending power of the Hispanic market.

Prior to joining NBCUniversal, Hildebrandt worked as a sales manager at Cox Reps-HRP overseeing dozens of stations’ national political advertising sales. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Appalachian State University in North Carolina.

Alvarenga joins WZDC from the Office of Community Partnerships in Montgomery County, Md., where he worked as Latin American community liaison. In that role, he worked with key Hispanic constituencies including community organizations and stakeholders to forge a strong relationship and direct line of communication with the county. Prior to this, Alvarenga also worked on labor and human rights issues in Central America, including in his home country of El Salvador. Alvarenga earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public management from the University of Maryland.

Earlier this month, the Telemundo Station Group and ZGS Communications announced they entered into agreements that, once the necessary FCC and other governmental approvals are obtained, will result in the Telemundo Station Group acquiring Telemundo affiliate stations owned by ZGS that serve 10 markets, including WZDC Washington. WZDC will be operated by NBC-owned WRC-TV through a local marketing agreement beginning Jan. 1, 2018, until the Telemundo Station Group and ZGS close on their transaction and a channel-sharing agreement between WZDC and WRC goes into effect. WZDC will be co-located with WRC in WRC’s news facility.