New Hispanic Network Slated to Launch Tomorrow

NEW YORK, September 10: Alejandro Burillo Azcárraga, a member of Mexico’s Grupo Televisa’s prominent Azcárraga family; and Carlos Barba, who helped establish both Telemundo and Univision, have teamed to launch a new U.S. Hispanic network, with initial rollout slated for Miami and New York tomorrow.

CaribeVisi󮠈oldings, corporate parent of the CaribeVisión Station Group, is a joint venture between Barba and Burillo Azcárraga’s Grupo Pegaso. Burillo Azcarraga will serve as chairman of the board and Barba will serve as CEO. The venture was initiated to launch the new 24/7 national ad-supported network CaribeVisión and it has acquired the stations WPXO in New York and WFUN in Miami and has also signed a contract for the purchase of a broadcast station in Puerto Rico. CaribeVisión launches tomorrow to more than 7.7 million households in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The service will be available on Time Warner Cable of New York and New Jersey, on Comcast in the Miami-Dade area and in Jersey City, and on Atlantic Broadband.

Barba said of the service: “Through our localized original programming and interactive platform, CaribeVisión will look to make our audience the star. We look to bring the beauty and rhythm of the tropics along with the refreshing sounds of our beaches and the endless passion of our people into living rooms across the U.S.”

He continued: “We do not see ourselves as competitors [to Telemundo and Univision] as our network will place emphasis on attracting the Puerto Rican and Dominican audiences, as well as other Caribbean and Latin Americans.”

The lineup will initially consist of English-subtitled telenovelas, talk shows, comedy, drama, sports, movies, news, children’s shows and special events. Some 60 percent of the network’s programming will be acquired and 30 percent will be originally produced and owned by CaribeVisión. The network has already concluded several programming agreements with media companies around the world, including with Antena 3, TV Azteca, Telefe, Telecino and Sportsbrand Media Group, Frecuencia Latina, Dori Media Group and Rede Globo Television.

The schedule includes originally-produced series like In Fraganti and Planeta Selegna, as well as novelas such as Amores Cruzados, Sabor de la Pasion and Senora del Destino. The network’s first talk shows will be La Corte del Pueblo and Margarita te Voy a Contar. Series will range from Ni Una Vez Mas and Disputas to Mujeres Asesinas, Historias de Sexo de Gente Comun and Historias de la Vida Real. There will also be one-minute news updates every year.

Burillo Azcarraga has held several key positions within Grupo Televisa, including head of programming and content, head of newscasts, head of Televisa International, executive VP of the board of directors and the executive committee, and president of the executive committee responsible for all of Televisa’s worldwide operations.

Barba spent a number of years with Telemundo, including as a member of its board of directors. He served as the president of Telemundo Television Group, senior VP programming and promotions of Telemundo Networks, president of Telemundo’s Channel 47 in New York, and manager of Telemundo Puerto Rico. He also served as the president and CEO of Univision Television Group, and was CEO of Venevision International.