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2019 Hispanic TV Upfront Guide Presented by HispanicAd.com
AZTECA AMÉRICA
Rumors abound as to the future of Azteca América. That’s because Philip A. Falcone, Chairman, President & CEO, HC2 Holdings, Inc. in November 2017 stepped up to the plate and bought the broadcast TV network for an undisclosed price.
Many media brokers suggest Azteca América is a “holding” piece of a group of low-power and full-power TV stations HC2 has assembled for spectrum, and for data use tied to the next-generation broadcast standard known as “ATSC 3.0.”
Don’t tell that veteran Hispanic media executive Craig Geller, who serves as EVP of HC2 Network and is the voice of Azteca América during the 2019-2020 Upfront season.
“As we enter the 2019-2020 upfront, we are well positioned to serve up a highly coveted audience to our advertising partners,” Geller said. “As a sales organization, we remain steadfast in our approach to be consultative to our clients and provide the resources to understand the audience and connect with the audience.”
Geller is excited with the Azteca America broadcast network programming line-up, which he said “combines the quality and consistency of returning series the audience has grown to know and love, and our approach to attracting a new audience with innovative shows, formats and technology platforms.”
REFRESH BUTTON ALSO HIT AT AZTECA
The word “refresh” seems to be popular with more than one Hispanic media company this Upfront season. With UniMás getting a facelift, Geller and HC2 will soon be launching their own refresh of the Azteca América brand.
This will see a new tagline that suggests a closer tie, at least in name, to what viewers in Mexico can see: Azteca Uno, Todo Somos Uno.
In English, that’s “Azteca One, We Are All One.”
For the most part, Geller is promoting shows that note how the network is “counterprogramming” against Univision and Telemundo.
This includes the 7pm competition show Escape Perfecto,” and the return of the network’s longest- running franchise series, Al Extremo. Additionally, La Academia, a music-driven reality show, will return for its 26th season.
New to Azteca is La Fortaleza, “a reality game show of intense family-friendly sports and reality survival competition,” as well as Game Center, described as “a fast-paced magazine style show that highlights competitive video gaming” that offers rich entertainment content on eSports and the gaming scene.
Also new to the line-up is Ritual, a docu-reality series following stories told through the art of tattooing.