Television

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.

Leading into its exclusive Spanish-language telecast of Super Bowl XLIX when it rebrands to become NBC UNIVERSO on Feb. 1, NBCUniversal’s Hispanic cable network mun2 will air in Spanish this Saturday’s Divisional Playoff matchup between AFC powerhouses the Baltimore Ravens and the New England Patriots.

DIRECTV introducedYaveo, a Spanish-language streaming entertainment service available with an Internet connection (first on PCs, MACs and Android devices, closely followed by iPhone, iPad, Xbox 360, and other devices).

NBCUniversal’s Hispanic Enterprises and Content announced the appointment of Jeff Mayzurk to Senior Vice President, Operations and Technology.  He will be based in Miami and will be responsible for developing and executing technology strategy across all business units, including Telemundo Network and Studios, Telemundo International and mun2. He will oversee all operations, technology and facilities teams and be tasked with evolving network architecture, including supporting systems and technologies.

ESPN Deportes will provide exclusive Spanish-language coverage of the first-ever Football Playoff. The new post-season format will feature four teams in the semifinals followed by a championship game between the winning programs – ESPN Deportes will provide complete coverage of the highly anticipated doubleheader semifinal Rose Bowl and Allstate Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Local television broadcasting companies FOX, Tribune Media, and Univision have joined forces with Timeline Labs to announce NewCoin LLC., a new data venture aimed at addressing deficiencies in local market television audience measurement.  The mission of NewCoin is to harness the data gathering power of currently available and emerging technologies, in order to create a broader based measurement tool that will accurately measure audiences across the entire spectrum of linear and digital platforms.

NBCUniversal rolled out Telemundo Now on Xbox One®from Microsoft, joining USA Now and Syfy Now.

Telemundo 40 in McAllen, TX announced that Miguelángel López has been promoted to News Director. In this role, he will be responsible for the overall performance of the news department and all other local productions across multiple media platforms.

NBCUniversal announced the promotion of Meara Abramson Valenzuela to Senior Vice President, Planning and Strategy, Hispanic Enterprises and Content. She is based in New York and will report to Marlene Sanchez Dooner, Executive Vice President, Hispanic Enterprises and Content.

Univision Communications Inc. announced a new commitment in partnership with Too Small to Fail, a joint effort of the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation and Next Generation, to help Hispanic parents and caregivers boost early brain development and improve early learning among Hispanic children from birth to age five. 

Mexicanal has created and produced its second original docu-reality program, “Son Mariachis.”

GolTV has secured broadcast rights to all home matches of Benfica, current league champions of Portugal’s top Premeira Liga.  GolTV also has signed a new deal to broadcast Everton TV, featuring matches of the English Premier League.

One recurring theme in the Pew Research Center’s journalism research over the last two years has been that of newsroom collaborations. In its examinations of nonprofit news outlets, newspaper innovations, statehouse reporting and digital startups, The center has encountered news providers teaming up in new ways. Legacy media outlets are looking more than ever for ways to augment what they can produce with a depleted staff, and news startups are eager to place their work before a wider audience and figure out roads to sustainability.

The next five to 10 years are a transition period for television, and what lies at the end of this transition is pretty amazing for advertisers.  Consider this period the “middleware” stage for TV.

Hemisphere Media Group, Inc. launched three of its Spanish-language cable networks on Cablevision’s Optimum TV throughout the New York tri-state area

The Telemundo Station Group announced the launch of TeleXitos, a new network that offers viewers a mix of popular action and adventure television series and feature films in Spanish.

While digital media players clearly enable use of streaming video and other platforms that enhance viewer control, new GfK research suggests that they may actually provide a net gain for traditional TV viewing.

Roberto Gomez Bolaños, the iconic Mexican actor and screenwriter whose unforgettable comedic characters — a day-dreaming waterboy, a scaredy-cat superhero and a boy who lived in a barrel — were staples of Latin American television, died Friday at his home in Cancun. He was 85.  Courtesy of LA Times