Page 23 - HTVU2018

2018 Hispanic TV Upfront Guide Presented by HispanicAd.com
HTVU
UNIVISION COMMUNICATIONS
It has been a very challenging 12 months for Univision. As has been reported across multiple news organizations, financial strain and expansion with English-language digital entities including Gizmodo and The Onion have put very dark clouds over a company that continues to attract the greatest number of Hispanic TV viewers.
With the Univision and UniMás broadcast TV networks and Galavisión cable network, UCI firmly believes that it offers something to marketers that its competitors can’t achieve.
Speaking on a bilingual pre-Upfront conference call May 10, UCI Networks President/COO and company Chief Marketing Officer Jessica Rodriguez emphasized that her trio of over- the-air offerings encourage family viewing – unlike other networks that may be hyperfocused on millennials, or narco-dramas.
“Our content strategy spans multiple genres,” she said. Specifically, there are eight genres that comprise Univision’s network programming offerings.
With the 2018-2019 season, this now includes “supernatural”-themed series, taking a page from The CW as Univision works with its partners in Mexico at Televisa to broaden its programming appeal to today’s U.S. Hispanic audience.
Not on the call: UCI President/CEO Randy Falco. In prepared comments distributed by Univision, he said, “This year’s Upfront is about ‘Culture Unbound,’ a tribute to the relationship we’ve established with our community that has made us the destination of choice for 25 consecutive seasons. We know the best way to connect with our audience is through live News, Sports, Music and unscripted entertainment, which we deliver across our portfolio every day, and is our key differentiator in the market.”
Also commenting on the 2018-2019 season is UCI Chief Content Officer Isaac Lee, also absent from the pre-Upfront conference call with the press. He said, “We have gone to great lengths and made substantial investments in our content strategy to maintain UCI’s position as the leading destination for Hispanics in this changing marketplace.”
Interestingly, the focal points of Univision’s Upfront were not on prime-time programming but on live sports — minus the FIFA World Cup, now in the hands of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises — and news.
The Hispanic TV Upfront Guide asked Rodriguez to elaborate on UCI’s plans to pitch its sports offerings sans the World Cup to marketers. She was particularly excited by UEFA Champions
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