Eck named Chief Local Media Officer at Univision, Cuddihy steps down

Univision Communications, Inc. (UCI) named John W. Eck as Chief Local Media Officer, effective immediately. His responsibilities will now include oversight of UCI’s local business including the Company’s 128 television and radio stations in key markets across the country.  Eck will remain based in New York and continue to report to Randy Falco, president and chief executive officer. He will replace Kevin Cuddihy, who previously served as president of Local Media, who has decided to step down. Cuddihy will work with Eck in the next few months to support him in the transition.

“Since joining UCI, John has transformed our operations and technology, making us a world class organization. His extensive industry experience, work with our local affiliates, leadership on our local digital spectrum efforts and passion for innovation, combined with his deep knowledge of UCI’s operations in our local markets, make him the ideal leader to amplify the strength of our local platform,” said Falco. “Our 128 TV and radio stations across the country are the ties that bind Univision to Hispanic America, and we have both a tremendous responsibility and opportunity to do even more to inform and empower our audience on a local level – especially leading up to the 2016 election season.”

Commenting on his appointment, Eck added, “I look forward to working even more closely with our exceptional leadership team, and building on the many successes we have achieved in our local markets to date. Many of our Company’s TV and radio stations consistently draw larger audiences than their English- and Spanish-language competitors, and I am committed to building on this to solidify our competitive positioning and further deepen our ties in the Hispanic communities across the country.”

Eck joined UCI in 2011 as executive vice president of Technology, Operations and Engineering, responsible for the Company’s technology, engineering, on-air operations, production and project management functions. Previously, he worked at NBC Universal for 18 years, most recently serving as president of Media Works. During his tenure at NBCU, Eck was responsible for leading various digital initiatives, including spearheading the digitization of NBCU’s production processes, executing NBCU’s enterprise digital asset management system and facilitating the adoption of standards for digital mobile broadcasting as a founding partner of the Open Mobile Video Coalition.  

Falco added, “We want to thank Kevin for his many contributions to the Company and are grateful for the work he has done to make our stations the go-to source for local news and entertainment.”