Hispanic

Liberman Media Group is buying WLII Caguas-San Juan, Puerto Rico, and two repeaters for an undisclosed price.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai has told a member of the House that the agency is generally not in the business of dictating what viewers can and can’t see. Pai was responding to a letter from Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), who was concerned about a TV show, La Comay, airing on Mega TV in Puerto Rico and containing what she called “a pattern of xenophobic and racist remarks.”

Univision executives said the Hispanic media giant is seeing steady improvement during the current third quarter as it looks to recover from spring’s COVID-19 doldrums. Speaking to Wall Street analysts on the company’s second-quarter earnings call, CFO Peter Lori said advertising revenue for the third quarter was on track for a 15% year-over-year decline in the third quarter. That’s an improvement from the second quarter’s 40% plunge.

The Telemundo Station Group picks the former VP of news at WTVJ Miami to lead its Orlando operations.

NBCUniversal has named Beau Ferrari chairman of Telemundo Enterprises, succeeding Cesar Conde, who shifted to a role as chairman of the NBC News Group in May.

The NBCUniversal-owned Spanish language broadcaster is launching a latenight edition of Noticias Telemundo Fin de Semana, a newscast set to air Saturdays and Sundays at 11:30 p.m. ET beginning July 18.

The Trump reelection campaign is branding Spanish-language network Univision a “leftist propaganda machine,” saying it will “treat them accordingly,” and is taking issue with the company’s effort to become a 100% foreign-owned network as part of an internal financial restructuring.

Spanish-language broadcaster Univision plans to offer live sports and scripted series in coming months, as the network’s company strives to woo ad dollars from English competitors while being sold to a new company in the not-too-distant future. Univision plans to unveil 11 new scripted series, the result of a long production pipeline that readies series with a much longer lead time than counterparts, as well as televise matches from Liga MX, UEFA Champions League and MLS.

In a virtual presentation to media agencies and marketing executives on Tuesday, Steve Mandela, president of advertising sales and marketing for Univision Communications, said: “Unlike English-language networks, our primetime schedule for the next year is set with first-run episodes every hour of primetime.”

Univision will be presenting its 2020-21 programming plans with advertisers and agencies virtually on June 16, the broadcaster said, the latest to announce a day and time for a upfront that replaces a traditional live event originally scheduled in May but sidetracked by the coronavirus pandemic.

Some of the top creative minds at Mexican broadcaster Televisa are puzzling over an unexpected challenge: crafting their signature soap operas without a single love scene, or even a tender kiss.

The Hispanic broadcaster consolidates digital media, consumer insights and technology businesses under the Entravision brand.

Telemundo is moving him from its KXTX Dallas where he has headed news operations since 2017.

Noticias Telemundo anchor Julio Vaqueiro on Tuesday hosted a new half hour of news devoted to coronavirus at 11:35 p.m. ET/10:35 p.m. PT — Coronavirus: Un Pais en Alerta (Coronavirus: A Nation on Alert). The program focuses on the latest developments regarding the coronavirus and its impact on the Latino community.

The massive NBCUniversal Boston Media Center in Needham, Mass., houses the company’s NBC and Telemundo stations plus regional cable news and sports networks in a new $125 million, 160,000-square foot headquarters. “It’s a complete game-changer,” says one GM of the greenfield build.

The agreement includes local TV rating services, audio, and digital ratings for Entravision’s 22 predominantly Spanish-language markets.

Joe Ianniello, who oversees CBS assets at ViacomCBS, hasn’t decided whether to join Platinum Equity’s bid for the Spanish-language broadcaster.

Univision may be selling itself to Liberty Global and a smaller rival called Hemisphere Media, a struggling Spanish-language broadcaster in Miami that bills itself as “the only publicly traded pure-play U.S. media company targeting the high growth U.S. Hispanic and Latin American markets.”

Several firms have expressed interest in acquiring Univision Communications, according to people familiar with the matter, a deal that would give the Spanish-language broadcaster’s private-equity owners a long-sought exit. Hemisphere Media Group, Platinum Equity and former Viacom CFO Wade Davis are among those that have made overtures.

Noticias Telemundo doubles the size of digital editorial team and hires former New York Times En Español reporters in time to kick-off coverage in Iowa.