Media

Over the last couple of years, Puerto Rico has been caught in an economic recession that has not only regulatory and financial institutions worrying about the financial stability of the island’s economy, but also the average islander is looking to leave the island for better opportunities on the US mainland.  Once gain, the economy in Puerto Rico is not growing, but has been contracting according to all international and national sources.  This has not only impacted the quality of life on the island for its inhabitants and the crime rate, but has also affected the advertising industry on the island as a whole.

Digital video is the bread and butter of internet users in Mexico. Three-quarters of the country’s online population will consume digital video content at least once per month in 2015, eMarketer estimates, putting Mexico ahead of the UK and nearly on par with the US for this key metric of web usage, according to a new eMarketer report, “Mexico Digital Video 2015: A Medium Best Served with a Focus on Demographics.”

As 2014 saw the maturation of mobile as a marketer’s medium, one thing became ever more apparent to me: Mobile is not a strategy unto itself.  It is a channel and should be treated as such.

Americans are now spending almost as much on smartphone and tablet entertainment as at the box office.

There were a lot of fits and starts, and mistakes were made in every era, leaving me to wonder, will the players leveraging YouTube learn from the mistakes of yesteryear to deliver value and reach an audience that has been traditionally nearly impossible to market to directly?

Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) announced the appointment of Chiqui Cartagena to the position of vice president in the Political and Advocacy Group, effective immediately.

Radio Caracol 1260 AM in Miami announced the addition of Juan Fina as General Sales Manager of the station.

Telemundo Phoenix announced today that Andrew Deschapelles has been named Vice President of Sales, effective immediately.

Univision Networks announces the world premiere of Televisa production “Que te Perdone Dios”, an epic story about secrets and sins. The primetime novela will air first in the United States starting on January 19, 2015.

FOXLife announced the premiere of ‘Heston: Supercomidas,’ an original television series starring world renewed chef Heston Blumenthal.

Arrepentidos returns with seven new original episodes premiering on Nat Geo Mundo on Sunday, January 18 at 10PM ET/PT.

In a new survey conducted in September 2014, the Pew Research Center finds that Facebook remains by far the most popular social media site. While its growth has slowed, the level of user engagement with the platform has increased. Other platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn saw significant increases over the past year in the proportion of online adults who now use their sites.

The number of mobile phone users in Latin America is growing at an increasingly slower pace. eMarketer estimates the number of individuals of any age who owned at least one mobile phone and used it at least once per month inched up a mere 4.2% in 2014 to reach 395.5 million. Roughly one-third of those users lived in Brazil, with an additional 78.2 million in Mexico. Colombia (31.7 million) came in third, ahead of Argentina’s 30.0 million users during the same period.

Desktops’ smaller-screen counterparts—laptops—saw a tiny decline in usage, as did smartphones, somewhat surprising considering their ever-growing relevance in consumers’ day-to-day lives. However, the reason for this may be due to increased usage of another touchscreen device: tablets.

Telemundo 60 San Antonio announced that Arlena Amaro has been named co-anchor for Noticias 60 Telemundo weekdays at 4:30 PM, 5 PM and 10 PM.

The NFL Network announced it has hired Steven Graciano as VP of marketing.

Consumers are dancing to the beat of Pandora. In an RBC Capital Markets study conducted in November 2014, 51% of US internet users reported listening to music via Pandora—nearly double those who did so in December 2013. This put the music streaming platform in the top spot as it surpassed more traditional FM/AM radio as well as CDs.

If social media is the new water cooler, U.S. viewers certainly had their share of “let’s discuss” moments in 2014. From someone kind of getting devoured by an anaconda to the U.S. Men’s World Cup soccer squad trying to make a go of it to, well, zombies, there’s no shortage of Twitter activity during programs—and even in the days after.

Gabriel Coronel, Kimberly Dos Ramos, Sissi Fleitas, Judith Grace, Fabián Ríos, Don Pedro Rivera, Maripily Rivera, Henry Santos, Fernando Vargas and Gabriela Vergara are ready to kick-off the new season of the culinary competition, “Top Chef Estrellas,” this Sunday, January 11th at 9pm/8c on Telemundo.

Adding to ESPN Deportes’ 11th anniversary celebration today, the network announces the addition of Hugo Sanchez to its lineup of distinguished on-air talent. Sánchez joins ESPN Deportes to serve as an analyst for Futbol Picante and other platforms, starting January 15.