Univision realigns News & Entertainment with New Management Structure.

Univision Communications Inc. announced it is realigning news and entertainment with a new management structure, organizing its news operations on a company-wide basis and coordinating more closely the current and future entertainment programming for the Univision Network.

Alina Falcón has been named to the newly created position of president of news for Univision Communications. As the head of a new company-wide news division, Falcón will guide the company’s elevated focus on its news operations and have strategic and operational oversight of news programming and production across Univision Networks, Univision Television Group and Univision Interactive Media, as well as all sports programming and production. Falcón, who was previously executive vice president and operating manager of the Univision Network, will continue to be based in Miami and report to the president of the Univision Networks, Cesar Conde.

Luis Fernández has been named to the newly created position of president of entertainment for the Univision Network. In this position, Fernández will oversee entertainment programming, promotions and talent relations for the Univision Network, in addition to continuing to lead the recently established Univision Studios. Fernández will remain based in Miami and will report to Conde. Entertainment programming for TeleFutura will continue to be overseen by Bert Medina, senior vice president and operating manager of TeleFutura, and for Galavisión by Sebastian Trujillo senior vice president and operating manager of Galavisión, with both continuing to report to Cesar Conde.

Joe Uva, president and chief executive officer, Univision Communications, said, “Under the leadership of Cesar Conde, this new simplified structure will make Univision a stronger, more nimble organization, with a sharpened focus on news and entertainment. We see tremendous opportunities to expand the impact of our unmatched news operations across all of our platforms, and the changes announced today reflect our strategic intent to do so. These changes will also enhance our abilities to advance the Univision Network’s programming leadership, bolster our competitive positioning by bringing our organizational structure more in line with our major network peers, and enable the company’s pursuit of new growth opportunities.”

Cesar Conde, president of the Univision Networks, commented, “Consistent with our mission – to inform, entertain and empower Hispanic Americans – we are taking these steps to more clearly define and organize our approaches to news and entertainment, and have tapped two of our most talented executives to lead these important organizational initiatives. Alina’s track record of success leading the Univision Network, as well as her strong industry relationships and deep roots in the news business, make her the ideal person to take the helm of this new division and seize opportunities for growth and expansion. Luis is ideally positioned to lead all entertainment programming for the Univision Network, bringing to our company a track record as one of the most talented programming executives in the Spanish-speaking world and tremendous experience managing the largest broadcasting company in Spain. We are confident in the abilities of both of these superb executives to leverage this new structure to significantly strengthen their respective divisions.”

Falcón noted, “I am excited to take on this new role, which recognizes the importance and the growth potential of our award-winning news operations and will allow us to expand the depth, breadth and reach of our coverage. Univision’s news offerings play a critical role in the lives of Hispanic Americans, and with a single news division dedicated to ensuring the highest quality, in-depth news across all of Univision’s video and online platforms, we are strengthening our commitment to providing our audience with the best and most comprehensive news content available.”

Fernández said, “It is an honor to be given the opportunity to expand my role at Univision. The Univision Network has reshaped the media landscape in the U.S. by firmly positioning itself among the top broadcast networks in the country, and I look forward to continuing to build on the Network’s strong competitive positioning and historic entertainment programming success well into the future.”

The company also announced that Ronald Day, vice president of programming and promotions for the TeleFutura Network has been named vice president of programming and promotions for the Univision Network, replacing Otto Padron who has left the company to pursue other opportunities. Day will report to Luis Fernández. The company expects to name a vice president of programming and promotions for the TeleFutura Network in the coming weeks.

Conde noted, “Ronald has been a significant force behind TeleFutura’s recent success and is the right person to oversee programming and promotions for the Univision Network. Otto has been an integral member of the Univision family for many years, and we thank him for his many contributions and wish him well in his future endeavors.”