Hispanic

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.

“English, or Spanish?” For newsrooms seeking to serve increasingly diverse audiences, the best answer might be: “Why not both?” A pair of experiments at the ASU Cronkite School of Journalism by the bilingual Cronkite Noticias reporting team tested a new way to deliver the news to these viewers. The results? ¡Muy buenos!

Esteban Creste is news director at Univision’s WXTV New York. He and his team have decided to re-imagine one of local television’s most familiar and enduring formats — the late news. While it’s way too soon to know whether the experiment will work, there are lessons already for any station interested in challenging the status quo.

Quibi is tapping a second NBCUniversal news brand to produce daily news programming for its mobile-first live content platform, set to launch April 2020. Hispanic media juggernaut Telemundo announced today that its news division is partnering with Quibi on two Hispanic news shows for the platform’s curated news and entertainment programming vertical, Daily Essentials.

To accept financial support “risks the integrity and credibility of NAHJ’s 35-year mission,” the president of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Hugo Balta, said.

Univision reported revenue fell 4% to $701.7 million. What the company describes as core revenue dropped 3.5% to $694.5 million. It also posted lower second-quarter net income, it fell 21% to $90.7 million from $114.3 million a year ago.

Years of boardroom bickering and missteps, including a disastrous foray into English-language media, as well as rising competition from rival Telemundo and shifting demographics, have taken a toll.

The Spanish-language TV giant may pitch itself to Disney, Viacom and Fox, but its sale likely won’t make much for investors.

Spanish-language broadcaster Univision expects the volume of advance advertising commitments for its next programming cycle to rise after wrapping its negotiations in TV’s annual upfront market, according to a person familiar with the matter. This person says Univision saw its overall volume grow between 5% and 6% over last year’s efforts, driven in part by an influx of new advertisers and expanded budgets from current clients. The results represent Univision’s best from an upfront market in four years, this person added.

Free streaming service Pluto TV on Monday launched a suite of linear channels aimed at Hispanic Americas. Pluto TV Latino features 11 Spanish- and Portuguese-language channels with programming in a variety of genres including movies, comedy, music, crime reality sports and telenovelas.

Lester Holt, the anchor of NBC Nightly News, is the glue that holds the evenings together. He will be onstage for all four hours, joined by NBC’s Savannah Guthrie and Telemundo’s José Díaz-Balart for the first hour. In the second hour, Meet the Press host Chuck Todd and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow will join him.

While many traditional TV players are looking to diversify beyond linear TV, Univision, with Vince Sadusky at the helm, has spent the past year getting back to its roots as a Spanish-language broadcaster. But while Sadusky believes in the broadcast TV model, Univision’s ratings are challenged, and it has felt increased pressure from its main rival, NBCU-owned Hispanic-targeted broadcaster Telemundo. But Sadusky’s bigger priority, he says, is telling Univision’s refocused story to the ad marketplace.

Univision Communications is rebooting its UniMás network with a focus on live entertainment in the shape of sports, news and reality. May 13 is also premiere day for a 10 p.m. newscast on UniMás. And it’s rebranding its Univision Deportes network to TUDN.

Telemundo promotes the VP of sales at its KTMD Houston to oversee its San Antonio outlet.

Abbey Fernández is all over social media in the Bay Area. It’s not only part of her job description, but it’s also something she uses as a tool to help build her brand as a journalist. The bilingual Fernandez does it all for NBC O&O KNTV’s Synced In as well as a Spanish-language version on Telemundo KSTS, Conectados Contigo. She writes, shoots, edits, hosts and posts both shows every Monday, Wednesday and Friday on IGTV (Instagram TV), Instagram Stories and Twitter.

Fuse Media president and CEO Michael Schwimmer is stepping down. Schwimmer’s last day at Fuse will be April 12. Mike Roggero, COO-CFO of Fuse, has been named interim CEO.

The Hispanic-language giant is selling the brands, acquired from Gawker Media, to Great Hill Partners.