Gustavo Cisneros

August 10, 2009 World Screen

This interview appeared in the April 2009 MIPTV edition of World Screen.

 

In spite of the economic decline, Gustavo Cisneros, the chairman and CEO of the Cisneros Group of Companies (CGC), sees great business opportunities for the future, from finished program and format sales to Internet and mobile content and other new-media businesses. Beyond running a company whose business lines cut across broadcasting, production and distribution, telecommunications, and consumer products, Cisneros has placed an emphasis on giving back to the community, including philanthropic endeavors and supporting cultural and educational programs. He speaks exclusively to World Screen about his outlook and goals for the year ahead.
 
WS: Are the businesses of the Cisneros Group of Companies sufficiently diversified to weather the current economic ups and downs?
CISNEROS: After more than 30 years of growth and expansion in the entertainment industry, we believe the Cisneros Group of Companies now offers a sufficiently diversified mix of businesses to weather even the most severe economic upheaval. Our business now covers a broad spectrum of the media-and-entertainment industry, including television production and broadcasting; film distribution; pay TV; film, music and entertainment production, including content for the Internet and mobile-phone distribution. We continue to grow and consolidate these businesses in the same way we have in the past. That is, we take advantage of the synergies offered by the entertainment products we produce and feature them on different platforms, whether in traditional or new digital formats. We also continue to expand into international markets where, happily, our productions seem to have near universal appeal.
 
WS: What are some of the growth areas among the media assets in CGC?
CISNEROS: We are now in a golden age of opportunity for the media-and-entertainment business. So we have created a new format division to develop additional commercial applications for our telenovelas, talk shows and other programs. We are also expanding our presence in the digital world through our own branded Internet portal and channels on YouTube and Mixplay. These sites are thought to complement, together with our mobile-communication platforms LatCel and Venemobile, our global multiplatform strategy.
 
WS: What international expansion do you foresee in the next 12 to 24 months?
CISNEROS: In the current economic environment, developing new markets is key, and happily we have been dedicated to this aspect of our business both philosophically and practically for some time. Venevision International has identified Asia, Eastern Europe and Africa as areas where we will be intensifying existing relationships and identifying new partners. We are very focused on China—where we signed an important agreement with CCTV during the Beijing Olympics—and India.
The U.S. market remains one of the most important markets for us, given the increasing size and clout of the U.S. Hispanic community. We are looking to increase our participation in the pay-TV market, where we have been so successful with our Hispanic film channel, VeneMovies. The [digital transition] and new consumer-behavior patterns give this market a very important role in the entertainment industry. We already provide a steady stream of new programming to the U.S. through our partnership with Univision and, at the same time, we are increasing our direct-to-consumer presence online in any environment with multiple platforms. We are prepared to expand our U.S. online presence, which is so important, both for our film distribution and music businesses. Additionally, LatCel, our mobile-content aggregation-and-production unit, is growing rapidly in the U.S. market.
 
WS: Why is it important for a business to give back to the community?
CISNEROS: The Cisneros Group has been involved in corporate-responsibility activities for decades in two fundamental ways. First, Fundación Cisneros plays a substantial role in education programs across the hemisphere with Actualización de Maestros en Educación (Professional Development for Educators), or AME, and Piensa en Arte. Second, the Cisneros Group manages other corporate-responsibility programs through Cisneros companies.

There are many entrepreneurs and corporations that have carried out their mission of contributing to society as a whole, going beyond pure business management to become involved in the dynamics of society. Latin America is fertile ground for such initiatives, and the Fundación Cisneros is one of many such organizations doing its part. Put simply, it is important for businesses to understand that we are a part of society, a country, a continent, a global community, and we must act without self-interest, with sensitivity to the needs and aspirations of other human beings. To survive as a community we must all behave altruistically, respect the dignity of individuals and strive for the common good. These are the values that inspire us here.