Univision Presents New Programming Lineup

NEW YORK: Alongside presenting its 2012-13 programming lineup, Univision Communications has outlined several new digital content initiatives for the U.S. Hispanic market.

Univision unveiled UVideos Digital Network, a new video platform that will serve all video content from its portfolio of TV networks. The service is set to launch this summer. Univision also continues to expand its distribution across platforms through its partnerships with DISH, AT&T, Hulu, YouTube, Fanhattan, iOS and Android. The company also has a number of strategic partnerships in place to launch new genre-specific broadband channels. This season, Univision is also delivering three new "webnovelas" building on the success of Vidas Cruzadas and No Me Hallo. Televisa will produce a webnovela targeted at U.S. Hispanics to begin production this fall. Univision Studios is working with Kate del Castillo, who is starring in a new webnovela.

For the Univision network, new telenovelas include When the Heart Commands, starring Cristian de la Fuente, Siliva Navarro, Cesar Evora, Rene Strickler and Leticia Calderon, and For Her, I’m Eva, featuring Lucero and Jaime Camil. For the daytime grid, Despierta América will feature a concert series. Specials lined up include Sábado Gigante 50 Year Celebration, America Celebrates Chespirito and Festival Acapulco: Juan Gabriel. In the way of reality, Look Who’s Dancing returns for a third season, while Our Latin Beauty heads into its seventh. Parody and Little Giants both get second seasons.

On the TeleFutura network, the drama series The Other Face is a re-imagining of one of the most successful stories in the history of Spanish-language television, Televisa’s novela The Pretender. X-Men: The Last Stand, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and Tron: Legacy are among the movies headed to the network.

Galavisión lined up Heroes of the North 2 and Cloroformo in the way of series. The docu-reality slate contains Mystic. Behind Knowledge is a new info-tainment show for the network.

Randy Falco, the president and CEO of Univision, commented, “As Univision celebrates its 50th anniversary, marketers are facing the stark reality of a rapidly evolving media landscape and consumer base that looks nothing like it did in years past. Today, at least 20 percent of marketers’ target market is Hispanic, so what was once considered a niche is now an undeniable, mainstream growth opportunity. Over 50 years, one thing has remained the same—Latinos live here, at Univision. Our brand equity is paramount among Hispanic Americans and our 73 percent market share in Spanish-language television is unmatched. The time is now for marketers to connect with the young, engaged, ready-to-interact Hispanic consumer through Univision’s content across traditional, digital and social platforms.”
 
“We are doubling down our efforts to meet the overwhelming demand from consumers and advertisers for premium, digital content and we’ll be offering much more of our popular TV shows across multiple platforms,” said Cesar Conde, the president of Univision Networks. “Our investment in the absolute best digital content and broad, innovative distribution partnerships is a testament to Hispanic Americans’ incredible level of engagement with Univision on all possible platforms and their hunger for more. Today we are giving them more—UVideos, webnovelas and broadband channels, plus more than a dozen new prime-time programs and the next generation of the series and specials that they can’t get enough of. The offerings on our three flagship networks, nine additional television networks and digital platforms represent the best Spanish-language programming out there—bar none—and reflect the innovative culture at Univision and the strength of our powerhouse partnership with Televisa. This season we will continue to feed our audiences’ passion points across all screens and foster engagement by dramatically expanding our robust suite of digital offerings and growing our leadership position in linear television.”
 
“Our audience is in the sweet spot of consumerism that clients must target to create sustainable growth in the years to come. With 94 percent live viewership, 68 percent unduplicated reach, and viewers visiting us online twice as often as any other network, Univision is engaging our audience in a deeper and more lasting way—in and out of the home—than any of our competitors. Plus, our millennial-heavy audience is a full generation younger than the audiences of the ‘Big Four’ networks,” added David Lawenda, the president of ad sales and marketing. “The level of engagement Univision delivers is extraordinarily rare, and marketers are actively re-balancing their media plans to tap into the growth that only Univision offers. Only we can activate the power of our brand, programming and talent to meaningfully mobilize millions of bilingual and Spanish-dominant consumers on behalf of our clients’ brands.”