Darfield named Executive VP of Research & Strategic Insights at Telemundo.

Telemundo Media announced that Douglas Darfield has been named to the newly-created position of Executive Vice President of Research and Strategic Insights. A veteran media researcher, Darfield will start in March and report to Jacqueline Hernández, Chief Operating Officer at Telemundo Media, and Tony Cardinale, Executive Vice President, Brand Planning and Strategic Insights, Entertainment & Digital Networks and Integrated Media, NBCUniversal.

In his new role, Darfield will synthesize all consumer, media and marketplace intelligence into strategic recommendations for Telemundo Media leadership. He will manage all phases of research and insights production, and represent the voice of the consumer to help drive the programming, marketing and scheduling strategies. In addition, he will oversee a team of 15 researchers based in Hialeah, FL and New York City.

“Coming off our best year ever in 2011, Doug’s vast knowledge and extensive experience in research, particularly within the Hispanic market, are a tremendous addition to the Telemundo Media research team,” said Hernández. “As a research-focused media organization operating in a high-growth market, his expertise is extremely valuable to help us better serve our clients and strategically drive our decision-making process at critical time in our industry.”

With over two decades of research experience, Darfield served since 2007 as Senior Vice President of Multicultural Measurement at The Nielsen Company. In this role, he consulted regularly with clients on both the watch and buy side of Nielsen on effective strategies to reach the U.S. Hispanic Market, monitored sample quality of Nielsen syndicated properties to ensure accurate representation of multicultural communities, and represented the company in various industry forums and organizations on multicultural marketing issues. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President of Hispanic Services from 2001 to 2007, securing Media Rating Council (MRC) accreditation for Nielsen’s National Hispanic Television Index (NHTI), the first accreditation of any service targeted at a multicultural community.

“Doug’s unique research background in the Hispanic market, both on the Nielsen and the broadcast side, make him the perfect candidate for this new role as we support the Telemundo Media leadership in taking its programming and marketing to the next level,” added Cardinale.

Prior to that, Darfield held the title of Vice President of Network Research for Hispanic Broadcasting, initially responsible for bringing up Hispanic Broadcasting’s radio network (now Univision radio network). Before that, Darfield served as Vice President of Research at Univision from 1988 to 1998, where he oversaw research efforts both nationally and locally, including purchases of both syndicated and custom research to develop Univision’s sales positioning, as well as developed strategic planning options in terms of marketing, distribution and programming.