Television

Estrella TV launches June 19 on Verizon FiOS TV in Maryland, northern Virginia and Washington D.C.

By Gonzalo López Martí @LopezMartiMiami

The World Cup is here. If you’ve been watching the games on Univision like yours truly, you might have been exposed to the barrage of fútbol-related ads. Let’s rate and dissect a few of them.

Methodology? Unaided recall filtered by sixteen long years in the ad business. I just sat through a bunch of games and then proceeded to write what popped in my mind sans rhyme or reason.

Disclaimer: I coined the names of each spot solely for reference purposes. They are NOT the actual names given them by the brands or agencies behind them.

New consumer research from Leichtman Research Group, Inc. (LRG) finds that 49% of all US households have at least one television set connected to the Internet via a video game system, Blu-ray player, smart TV set, and/or stand-alone device (like Roku, Apple TV, or Google Chromecast) — up from 38% in 2012, and 24% in 2010. Overall, 24% of adults watch video from the Internet via a connected TV at least weekly, compared to 13% two years ago, and 5% four years ago.

Fusion announced a new slate of original series including “Drug Wars” (from the producers of the critically-acclaimed series “Whale Wars”), “The Dukes of 2 Square,” and “Rootas”; the English-language version of Vik Muniz’s feature doc “This is Not a Ball” in time for the opening of the 2014 World Cup; and “Daily Show” correspondent Al Madrigal will host and report a one-hour primetime comedy special for the network on the power and influence of the booming Latino community in America, which will air in advance of the 2014 midterms.

Among Hispanic soccer fans, filling the World Cup “sticker album” is a time-honored tradition. ESPN Deportes’ marketing team pays tribute to that ritual in its latest marketing campaign promoting the network’s news and information coverage around the World Cup.

MundoFox announced the U.S. premiere of ‘Los Simuladores’ (‘The Pretenders’), the original television series about a small team of con artists for hire who put their intelligence towards solving the day to day conflicts of their clients.

El Rey Network executives announced hat Austin, Texas will be home to the production and corporate headquarters for the new English-language cable network founded by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. 

Long considered an up-and-coming sport to both watch and play, the popularity of soccer has been growing steadily since the rise of the soccer mom. In fact, advertisers and programmers looking for a unique opportunity to connect with fans outside well-established American sports, such as football or basketball, take note: the World Cup could be that space. After all, the sport’s fans are dedicated to the teams they root for, avid spenders and quite social when it comes to digital dialogue. Soccer’s fans are also a pretty diverse lot, which isn’t surprising considering it’s the preeminent sport throughout much of the world.

Digital video advertising will make up nearly 12% of all digital ad spending in the US this year and is projected to grow significantly faster than search or overall display advertising for the next several years, according to a new eMarketer report, “50 Best Practices for Digital Video: Do’s and Don’ts for More Effective Advertising.”

Cinelatino is joining in on the World Cup excitement by presenting a collection of action-packed soccer-themed movies from Mexico and Latin America, as well as the exclusive world television premiere of La H No Es Muda, a documentary about the Honduran National Soccer Team as they prepare for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

DISH expanded its programming lineup with the addition of Fusion Network.

When people speak of “digital kids,” the novelty of the adjective may obscure the importance of the noun. Above all, kids—those ages 12 or younger—are still just kids. Their engagement with technology is limited by the immature interests and capabilities that go with being very young, and further limited by restrictions their parents impose. In important respects, kids are digital natives who aren’t all that digital, according to a new eMarketer report, “Digital Kids: ‘Digital Natives’ with Analog Tendencies.”

Univision Television Group announced the appointment of Karl Alonso Meyer as regional vice president of National Sales. Karl will be responsible for leading the West & South West National Sales Operations. Karl will report to Antonio Roman, senior vice president, National Sales, Univision Television Group.

Two critically-acclaimed, award-winning animated series from Disney Junior –“Mickey Mouse Clubhouse” and “Handy Manny” – have begun airing exclusively in Spanish on Univision Network’s Saturday children’s programming block, “Planeta U.” Both series premiered during Planeta U on Saturday, May 31.

NUVOtv announced five new hires and two promotions that will strengthen its executive team as well as advertising sales, marketing, programming and human resources. This announcement arrives as the network continues to build off of the momentum since its re-launch last year.   

Univision Communications, Inc. announced the appointment of Dominic Fails to the position of vice president and director of Sales for Univision’s WGBO and UniMás WXFT in Chicago.

From family feuds to office backstabbings to actual stabbings in the back, American viewers love to watch the drama unfold on their TVs. According to Nielsen’s latest Advertising and Audiences report, there are more dramas on primetime TV this season than any other genre—accounting for 37 percent of all programming across broadcast and cable. Meanwhile, the sports genre was a close second, making up nearly a third (31%) of all primetime programming.

Telemundo announced it will premiere “Miss Latina Universo,” the first-ever reality show in television history to send its winner to the world’s most prestigious beauty pageant, Miss Universe®, on Sunday, June 15 at 8PM/7C. 

Starting this year, Nielsen will increase the sample size in 15 Local People Meter markets. Five previously announced markets – Dallas, Washington, D.C., Houston, Miami, and Denver – will see an increase of 200 homes this year. The two largest markets, New York and Los Angeles, will have their sample sizes increased by 300 homes next year.  In addition, the following eight markets will each have their sample size increased by 200 homes in 2015: Charlotte, St. Louis, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, and Phoenix. These sample increases represent on average a +30% increase in sample size.

The film chronicles the compelling and inspirational story of four teenage boys, the sons of Mexican immigrants, who entered a sophisticated underwater robotics competition, going up against the likes of engineering powerhouse MIT.