Zaslav To Lead Discovery US Hispanic’s Upfront

Discovery US Hispanic, the home to Discovery en Español and Discovery Familia, today unveiled its 2011/2012 upfront theme — “Beyond,” as in offering advertisers “the opportunity to ‘go beyond’ and leverage the company’s unmatched ability to create content-driven ideas and synergies that transcend language barriers, travel across technology platforms and deliver a wide range of Hispanic audiences.”

This upfront season, Discovery US Hispanic will benefit from its parent company’s overall content investment of $1 billion across its networks and brands, Discovery’s largest investment in programming in its 25-year history.  The result is a lineup of original series and specials for both Discovery en Español, and Discovery Familia, to be announced at the Discovery US Hispanic Upfront on May 18 from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York.

David Zaslav, president-CEO, Discovery Communications, will kick off this event and provide his vision for the growth of the US Hispanic division.

“In 1998 we transformed the Hispanic pay-TV landscape by creating Discovery en Español to provide Hispanic audiences with the best content from Discovery,” said Zaslav. “Now the network showcases the most popular programs from our portfolio including Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, ID and Science as well as original productions like our acclaimed Rescued: The Chilean Miner’s Story.”

“To extend Discovery en Español’s leadership position as the No. 1 non-fiction Hispanic network in the United States powered by the No. 1 nonfiction media company in the world, this upfront season we will deliver more exclusive content, original productions and compelling current affairs specials,” Zaslav added. “Combined with our deep pipeline of U.S. content, this expansion will provide new solutions, branding options and unsurpassed value to our advertising partners seeking to attract the rapidly-growing Hispanic population segment.”

“This year’s Upfront will be about driving home our competitive differentiators and demonstrating how we will continue to raise the bar beyond expectations,” said Ivan Bargueiras,  general manager for Discovery US Hispanic and SVP of advertising sales for Discovery Networks Latin America/US Hispanic. “We look forward to showcasing the strength of our new content lineup and award winning solutions that will drive brand awareness and growth for our clients.”