Maria Celeste Arrarás @ Telemundo ‘Al Rojo Vivo’.

The Telemundo Network announced it has signed popular, award-winning TV anchorwoman María Celeste Arrarás to host a major, daily, news and information program. The announcement, made by Jim McNamara, Telemundo’s president and Chief Executive Officer, ends weeks of speculation concerning the future of the noted broadcast journalist, who was being courted by several organizations in the industry.

Ms. Arrarás’ debut on the Spanish-language network is scheduled for Monday, April 29 when Telemundo introduces a new program, “Al Rojo Vivo con María Celeste.” The program, a one-hour news magazine, will be anchored by Ms. Arrarás, who also will serve as managing editor. The show will air Monday through Friday at 5 pm/4 pm CST.

“After keeping abreast of María Celeste’s career and admiring her as a professional, we’re proud that she has decided to join our team,” McNamara said. “The arrival at Telemundo of someone of her stature is a graphic illustration of our commitment to provide our viewers with the brightest, most respected news journalists and performers, and the best in programming.”

Ms. Arrarás comes to Telemundo from its Spanish-language television competitor, Univision, where she served as anchor for 10 years, building a reputation as America’s most popular Hispanic news personality. Her decision to join Telemundo was influenced by the network’s rapidly-growing influence and the chance for a greater role in shaping the direction of her show.

“I love Telemundo’s energy and I’m very excited about this new challenge,” Ms. Arrarás said. “For the network and for me, this is the beginning of an exciting period.”

In addition to anchoring and serving as managing editor of “Al Rojo Vivo,” Ms. Arrarás also will be executive producer of several Telemundo specials, and will make occasional appearances in various NBC Network productions. Peter Jones will be senior executive producer of “Al Rojo Vivo.”

“We are delighted to combine the extraordinary talents of Maria Celeste with one of the most experienced and successful executive producers in Spanish-language television,” said Joe Peyronnin, Executive Vice-President of News and Information Programming for Telemundo Network. “The results of the pedigree of that team will be obvious to viewers from the start.”

“Al Rojo Vivo” has evolved from the successful news magazine format that María Celeste has mastered through the years. In addition to informing viewers about daily news, the new program also will offer several feature segments, such as “Boletín de la Migra,” which will provide current information about subjects related to immigrants and their struggle in this
country.

Another “Al Rojo Vivo” special segment will be “Palabras con Eco,” which will feature newsmakers’ statements from the heart. The idea, in addition to presenting dramatic and unusual video, is, for the first time in news programming, to emphasize the audio factor. This segment will introduce the “unforgettable” quote of the week, selected because of its content, the intensity with which it was said, its repercussions, or because it touched us emotionally or made us laugh.

Other new segments that will be part of this “news paella”are “¿Qué pasó con…?” which will report on new developments in the lives of personalities who were in the news at some point but have been out of the public eye for a long period. “Un Día en la Vida de…” will allow viewers to share the experiences of different ordinary people for 24 hours, searching for interesting details of their lives, hidden behind their work routines.