Television

Broadcasters need to stop trying to regulate other industries and instead promote free over-the-air (OTA) broadcasting to consumers if they want their industry to survive, advised Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) President and CEO Gary Shapiro.

Telemundo announced that it has completed its acquisition of the Las Vegas based KBLR from Summit Media Limited Partnership and will formally assume ownership of the full-power television station.

Univision Communications Inc. announced the appointment of Cristina Schwarz to Vice President, Government and Community Relations for Univision Communications. Ramon J. Pineda replaces Schwarz as Vice President and General Manager of Univision Television Group’s New York stations, which include WXTV-Channel 41 and WFUT-Channel 68, effective immediately.

At a press conference during the Univision Upfront activities, top executives of Univision Communications downplayed the rift between Univision and Televisa.

Spanish-language cable network Galavisión today announced its 2005-2006 programming lineup. Galavisión, which recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.

Spanish-language broadcast network TeleFutura today unveiled an expanded 2005-2006 programming schedule at its fourth annual Upfront presentation. This season, TeleFutura’s total day viewership levels reached record highs among the coveted Adult 18-34 and 18-49 demographics.

Univision today unveiled its programming schedule for the 2005-2006 season. This season has been exceptional for Univision, with Adult 18-49 viewership up 25% and Adult 18-34 viewership up 38%. Univision continues to be the 5th largest network — in any language — averaging 2.2 million Adults 18-49 and 1.4 million Adults 18-34 in primetime. On 146 out of the 231 nights so far this season, Univision beat either ABC, CBS, NBC or FOX, drawing a larger total Adult 18-34 audience. In addition, on 21 nights this season, Univision attracted more total Adult 18-34 viewers than any other network, ranking as the #1 television network in the entire country.

Telemundo unveiled its 2005-2006 programming line-up including novelas, talk and reality shows, news, sports, drama series, and entertainment specials at its Upfront presentation held at New York City’s Fredrick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. The Upfront presentation was hosted by Don Browne, President, Telemundo, Ramon Escobar, Executive Vice President of Programming and Production, Telemundo, and Steve Mandala, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Telemundo and NBC Universal Networks.

Buoyed up by significant gains in distribution, viewership and advertising sales over the past year, Fox Sports en Español, the largest and by far the most watched Spanish-language sports network in the U.S., today unveiled its 2005-2006 programming line-up to hundreds of advertisers at New York’s Rainbow Room. Offering more than 1,500 hours of live sports programming a year, the leading all-sports network now reaches 3.2 million Hispanic cable and satellite households and is the second most widely distributed Spanish-language cable network in the country.

Sí TV executives released ratings information at their upfront presentation today in New York City reporting that the network scored an impressive 2.1 rating with Hispanics 18-24 and a 1.7 rating among Hispanics 18-34 during primetime

TV Azteca announced that its fully-owned subsidiary for the US Hispanic market, Azteca America, has reached official national network status with a Nielsen coverage of around 70%.

Recent pay TV carriage agreements with Comcast, Cox, Time Warner, Echostar and DirecTV in several different markets have strengthened Azteca America’s affiliate distribution, which now stands at 39 markets, 30 of them with pay TV coverage: cable or direct broadcast satellite. The 39 market figure is due to the recent addition of a McGraw Hill station in Colorado Springs. These markets are home to 77% of the total US Hispanic population.