Interep Launches Azteca America Television Sales Rep Firm.

Interep announced that it will enter the television representation business with the formation of its first television rep firm — Azteca America Television Sales. Bob Turner will serve as president of the new dedicated firm, representing Azteca America affiliate television stations.

Ralph Guild, Chairman and CEO of Interep, made the announcement, saying, “For the past few years, Interep has been looking into cross-media representation opportunities that were compatible with our core radio business. We found that opportunity with Azteca America.” He continued, “Hispanic media is an enormous growth market, and offers the perfect foundation for this expansion into television. Interep has always been a leader in multicultural radio marketing and we are excited to carry this commitment to another medium.”

Upon its launch, Azteca America Television Sales will represent all 12 television properties owned by Dallas-based Una Vez Mas (UVM) — the largest owner/operator of broadcast television stations affiliated with the Azteca America network. UVM has stations in Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix, McAllen, Brownsville, Austin, Las Vegas, Albuquerque, Tampa, Tucson, Corpus
Christi and Amarillo, and plans to build 12 additional stations in the next 18 months.

Terry Crosby, Chairman of UVM, said, “In our meetings with Interep, we discovered that both of our companies share an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion to succeed. We are particularly impressed with Bob Turner’s track record in starting up successful media sales companies, and are confident in his ability to create new growth opportunities for our stations. Under his leadership, we will hit the ground running.”

“From our first meeting with Interep, their passion and energy was beyond compare. By entering this partnership, there is no question that we have the right team in place to take our stations to the next level of success,” added Mark Paretchan, co-founder and President of Sales for UVM.

Turner said, “We’re proud to have UVM as our first affiliate client. Going forward, we plan to add a sizable number of Azteca station affiliates to our client roster in the next few weeks. This will increase the power and presence of the Azteca brand among the nation’s top marketers.”

Azteca America Television Sales will have sellers in seven cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, San Antonio and San Francisco. Tom Marsillo, former Vice President of National Sales for Univision and Telefutura, will serve as the company’s SVP/Director of Sales.