Lopez Alvarez named Sr VP of Alternative Programming at Telemundo Media.

Telemundo Media announced that Maria Lopez Alvarez has been named senior vice president of alternative programming. Alvarez, a 26-year industry veteran from Univision, will report to Alina Falcon, executive vice president, news and alternative programming, effective immediately.

In her new role, Alvarez will oversee day-to-day operations of Telemundo’s alternative and reality programming including current non-scripted productions and specials. She also will supervise new program development.

“Maria’s broad knowledge and extensive experience in programming and production make her a tremendous addition to our team,” said Falcon. “Her expertise as the executive-in-charge of many successful programs and understanding of our audience will be a strong asset as we build on the success of our programming.”

With more than 25 years of experience in television production, Alvarez most recently served as vice president of alternative programming and vertical platforms at the Univision Network prior to joining Telemundo. In this role, she developed and implemented new shows and business plans across all vertical assets of the company, including the television networks Univision, TeleFutura, and Galavisión, as well as Univision Radio, Univision Móvil, and Univision Interactive Media. Notably, Alvarez launched “Nuestra Belleza Latina,” one of the network’s most successful reality competition programs, now in its sixth season.

Previously, she held the title of vice president and director of news/entertainment for Univision Network, a position she held from 2002-2010. In her role, Alvarez built synergies between news and entertainment properties. During this time, she developed and oversaw the network’s daily entertainment news show, “El Gordo y La Flaca,” and its daily news magazine program, “Primer Impacto.” She also launched the weekend and primetime editions of “Primer Impacto.” She led all initiatives in the development of “Jugando al Amor,” Univision’s first dating reality show. In addition, Alvarez oversaw production of the network’s “red carpet” entertainment awards specials.

From 1991-2002, Alvarez was an executive producer for Univision. Alvarez’s career with Univision began in 1983, when she joined the company as associate and line producer for WLTV 23 in Miami, Florida.