Media

Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. announced that its popular New York morning comedy show, “El Vacilon De La Manana”, hosted by morning show leader Luis Jimenez, has extended its hours to 11:00 a.m. The one-hour extension of the morning show is appropriately named “Vacilon on Overtime” and will feature comedy, entertainment and a taste of Salsa and Merengue music.

In anticipation of its February 25th launch, the Latino-themed, English-language network Sí TV has announced five new shows to premiere on the network, and has hired award-winning producer Edward R. Leon as vice president of production.

While players like Argentine guard Manu Ginóbili of the San Antonio Spurs provide a Latin flavor on the court, the NBA will highlight its Hispanic outreach initiatives off the court during NBA All-Star 2004, with a week-long slate of events throughout greater Los Angeles that will recognize the league’s Hispanic players, fans and business partners.

Telemundo’s most memorable music special, Celia Cruz: ¡Azúcar!, the tribute to the undisputed queen of salsa, was launched in stores on January 27th. Net proceeds will be donated to The Celia Cruz Foundation, which offers music scholarships to low-income students and supports entities dedicated to find a cure for cancer.

Border Billboard announced its operation of a state-of-the-art, multi-media overhead billboard at the Mexican border crossing into San Diego, California.

Puerto Rico and Venezuela will open the 55th Caribbean World Series, that is being televised live and exclusively, on Fox Sports en Español starting on Sunday, February 1, 2004 at 3:00 p.m. (ET)/12:00 p.m. (PT). The 2003 Caribbean World Series champions Dominican Republic and Mexico are featured in the second game of the six-day series starting at 7:00 p.m. (ET)/4:00 p.m. (PT). Venezuela returns to compete this year following last year’s absence that was attributed to social and political tension in the country.

VOY announced the launch of its feature film division, VOY Pictures, LLC. In partnership with top Latino talent, VOY will produce twelve to fifteen films over the next three years, establishing VOY as the hub for Latino film in Hollywood.