Media

From the producer who set the pace for the US mariachi explosion and who pioneered the Hispanic entertainment industry, Rodri J. Rodriguez now debuts her new creation, “M”…Mariachi Passion & Tradition, on the Las Vegas strip.

mun2 television is offering Latino singers and independent filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their work in two of its upcoming new shows. “La Familia Perfecta,” a one-hour reality show that profiles the lives of six new artists, is casting singers between the ages of 18 to 25, while “The Reel Project”, a show that exposes independent film makers and their movies, is looking for up-and-coming filmmakers.

While observers in the general market tussle about network and cable’s haul in the looming upfront, there’s another part of the TV spectrum that’s almost assured to increase when all is said and done: Hispanic TV.

Last year’s Hispanic upfront took in about $1 billion of the $3 billion overall Spanish-language television marketplace, further evidence of the explosive growth of Hispanics in the United States and the television networks that serve them. Most experts don’t think the growth will slow down in 2004-05, as more networks come into the market, both on broadcast and cable.

The worldwide market for mobile phones slowed slightly in the first quarter of 2004 due to expected seasonal effects, but still managed to post impressive growth year-on-year. According to IDC’s Worldwide Mobile Phone QView, worldwide mobile phone shipments decreased sequentially by 5.9% in 1Q04 and increased by 29.3% year-over-year to 152.7 million units. Additionally, the nascent market for converged mobile devices, or “smartphones,” posted a sequential decrease of 5.5% but a year-over-year increase of 85.8%.

Fox Sports en Español continues to set new ratings records with its live, mid-week telecasts of the prestigious South American soccer competition Copa Toyota Libertadores. Fox Sports en Español’s telecasts of the 2004 Copa since the end of January have given the channel the top spot in delivery of Hispanic households for live sports programming in all of Spanish-language cable television for the broadcast 2004 year to date, according to Nielsen Media Research.

The Latin Recording Academy announced that its celebration of the 5th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards will take place on September 1 and will originate from Los Angeles’ landmark Shrine Auditorium. The show – which features performances from some of the genre’s most important and exciting artists – will broadcast on the CBS Television Network from 9-11 p.m. (ET/PT). In addition to its U.S. broadcast, the 5th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards will be broadcast in approximately 100 countries worldwide.