Valls named EVP of Ad Sales of Hemisphere Media Group

Hemisphere Media Group, Inc. announced the appointment of 26-year television sales veteran Nicolas J. Valls, former SVP of Network Sales at Univision Network, as EVP of Advertising Sales.

In this newly-formed role, Valls will oversee national spot sales for WAPA Television and ad sales for WAPA America-the two currently ad-supported networks under the Hemisphere umbrella.

“Nick’s 26 years of broadcast and multiplatform sales experience make him a perfect fit to lead Hemisphere’s advertising sales strategy,” said Alan J. Sokol, President and CEO of Hemisphere. “Hiring someone with Nick’s experience and success demonstrates Hemisphere’s strong commitment to growing its advertising sales business.”

Before departing in 2012, Valls had been with Univision for more than 25 years, joining the company in 1986 as a regional sales representative when it was the Spanish International Network. He moved up the ranks, serving in various sales and marketing roles until being promoted to one of three SVP positions in network sales, where he managed more than $275 million in annual network sales revenue from Fortune 500 advertisers.

Prior to being named SVP of Network Sales at Univision, Valls was responsible for creating a custom marketing innovation team that conceived and executed tailored marketing programs for top 100 advertisers. He also worked closely with the network’s programming teams on developing branded entertainment formats for record-setting shows like Mira Quien Baila, Premios Juventud and Nuestra Bellaza Latina. In addition, Valls led the team that commercialized the first Univision-produced novela, Eva Luna, which ranks as their highest-rated domestically produced telenovela to date.

“This is an exciting time to be in the Hispanic cable business,” said Valls. “I believe that Hemisphere is extremely well-positioned to dramatically grow its business and I’m eager for the opportunity to bring my experience in broadcast television and multiplatform sales to help drive sales opportunities for Hemisphere’s television networks.”