Pretlow – Chairman @ VOY Pictures Television.

VOY Pictures Television announced that it has named José Pretlow as Chairman and Gloria Medel as President of Production. In his new position, Pretlow will provide strategic direction for VOY Pictures Television’s programming efforts, and produce shows both for VOY’s distribution platforms and syndication. Medel will develop new programming and oversee day-to-day show production.

In making the announcement, Fernando Espuelas, Chairman and Founder of VOY said, “We are honored to have such accomplished and talented professionals as José Pretlow and Gloria Medel at the helm of VOY Pictures Television. Under their direction, we are confident that VOY Pictures Television will provide the millions of Latinos and mainstream viewers with television programs that are entertaining, inspiring, energizing and a true reflection of their lives and interests.”

Keeping to the VOY philosophy of self-empowerment and optimism, VOY Pictures Television, will provide culturally-relevant and aspirational programming for the country’s fastest growing population segment: the English-speaking, acculturated “New Generation Latino.”

Pretlow has more than two decades of successful television production expertise having worked with some of daytime television’s biggest names: Phil Donahue, Sally Jessy Raphael, Leeza Gibbons and Geraldo Rivera. He served as a producer on Donahue, senior producer on The Sally Jessy Raphael Show and senior producer and executive producer on The Geraldo Rivera Show. After many years of television work in New York City, Pretlow was asked to executive produce the late night show Vibe in Los Angeles, and thereafter became executive producer for Leeza in 1997, which was Emmy-nominated for Show and Host each year of Pretlow’s three-year tenure. Since that time, Pretlow formed his own production company and worked on independent projects and pilots.

With a background in production, direction and writing, Medel, has coordinated and produced projects for rock, Latin, pop and country music stars such as David Bowie, Johnny Cash, Gloria Estefan, Elton John, Ricky Martin, Joni Mitchell, Willie Nelson, Ozzy Osbourne and Thalia, as well as for comedy stars. In 1998, Medel began a five-year stint at Automatic Productions, Sony Music’s television production unit, where she coordinated “Sessions At West 54th”, public television’s critically-acclaimed music series and the show’s companion CD and DVDs. Her live television production experience includes TNT Network’s “Masters” series: “An All-Star Tribute to Johnny Cash”, “An All-Star Tribute to Joni Mitchell” and A&E’s long-running series “Live By Request.”

Medel co-produced “The Original Latin Kings of Comedy” for Showtime, which featured George Lopez, Cheech Marin and Paul Rodriguez in an all-star showcase of Latino humor. In 2003, Medel became an independent producer and served as a producer of videos and television specials such as the 2004 CMT Flame Worthy Video Music Awards and the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards Latin America, a role she reprised this year as well.

“I am very excited to join VOY and I believe wholeheartedly in its mission of providing top-quality English-language programming to U.S. Hispanics and others,” said José Pretlow, Chairman, VOY Pictures Television. “There are vast opportunities to explore and a tremendous pool of untapped Latin talent from which to draw; the possibilities are endless”, added Gloria Medel, President of Production, VOY Pictures Television.

With a goal of transcending cultural boundaries, VOY Pictures Television’s focus will be two-fold: to develop programming which will run on VOY Network, the forthcoming 24/7 lifestyle cable network that targets English-speaking U.S. Hispanics; and to produce programming for other television entities aimed at a broader audience which is interested in Latin culture. Whether on the VOY Network or elsewhere, VOY Pictures Television’s programming will depict Hispanics in a positive light and include Hispanic components, whether on-screen or above-the-line.

VOY Pictures Television has already produced several shows including: Flavor, a cooking show hosted by the respected Mexican chef and successful restaurant owner, Zarela Martinez, and her son, Aaron Sanchez, a chef of nouvelle Mexican cuisine and also, a restauranteur; My Life, an in-depth biography show featuring a wide array of U.S. Hispanics; and Go! a one-hour, national, daily daytime talk show for syndication featuring the transformation of an individual who wants to jumpstart his or her life, hosted by VOY Founder and Chairman, Fernando Espuelas.