Multiethnic TV Leadership Awards.

The business of Multiethnic TV is getting its due recognition on April 17 at the Hilton Hotel in New York City, when two leading industry publications, Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News, will present the first-ever Multiethnic TV Leadership Awards. The event, scheduled from 8 a.m.-2 p.m., is a celebration of the leaders who are responsible for the impressive growth, viability and sustainability of television intended for specific ethnicities, nationalities or cultures. It starts with a Morning Program of keynote interviews, roundtable discussions and a special presentation by two leading TV news anchors of the nominees for the upcoming NAMIC Vision Awards. This is followed by the Awards Luncheon, featuring celebrity presenters, in honor of 11 executives who represent Condista, Comcast Cable, Dish, Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Hispanic Media, Sesame Workshop, SMG/Tapestry, Telemundo, TV One, Univision and Verizon within the fields of advertising, programming, marketing, digital and pay television.

The keynote guests offer a rare opportunity for conference attendees to hear from both of the top pay TV programming decision-makers in the Multiethnic TV industry. Rubén Mendiola is VP & GM of Multicultural Video Services at Comcast Cable, the largest cable TV operator, and Dave Shull is EVP & Chief Commercial Officer at DISH, the largest satellite TV provider to multiethnic consumers.

A third keynoter is Debra Lee. She is one of the highest-ranking women in television and serves as the Chairman and CEO of BET Networks. Lee has been a pioneer in the business of Multiethnic TV and will speak about the important role that quality television intended for African American audiences will play in the future growth of the Multiethnic TV business.

The program opens at 8:45 am with a special announcement of NAMIC Vision Awards Nominees by two network morning news anchors. CNN’s Early Start co-anchor Zoraida Sambolin will join Richard Lui, the anchor of NBC News’ Early Today Show and MSNBC’s Dayside, to announce the nominees of NAMIC’s upcoming Vision Awards in June, which will acknowledge the creative and production elements of Multiethnic TV.

The first panel session features some of Multiethnic TV’s leading advertisers, including Raquel “Rocky” Egusquiza, AARP; José Vélez-Silva, Comcast Cable and Alvaro Saralegui, NFL. Each commits millions annually to target multiethnic audiences.

The second panel session features a rare assembly of the leading executives from top advertising agencies dedicated to serving advertisers who want to reach multiethnic TV viewers. This is the only event that gathers agencies from within the African American, Asian, Hispanic, South Asian and other national markets, including Doris Huang, Admerasia; Maria Lopez-Knowles, GlobalHue; Alain Groenendaal, Grey Latin America and Wing; Steven Wolfe Pereira, Mediavest; Tiffany R. Warren, Omnicom Group; and Ryan Gordon, Prime Access.

The third and last roundtable discussion includes executives from pay TV providers such as Adrian Adriano of Comcast Cable, Alessandra Otero Reiss of Time Warner Cable and Joe Lawson of Verizon.

The Awards Luncheon will recognize 11 leaders who have contributed to the viability of the Multiethnic TV business.
Four awards will be presented at the Luncheon to executives who have led the way in advertising and marketing: Chiqui Cartagena, author and VP of Corporate Marketing, Univision; Tom Maney, EVP Ad Sales, Fox Hispanic Media; Alfredo Rodriguez, VP Marketing at Dish Network; and Lia Silkworth, EVP & Managing Director of SMG/Tapestry.

Five awards will be presented to executives in the area of programming distribution including Erica Branch-Ridley, VP & Executive in Charge of Production of Sesame Learning at Sesame Workshop; Jorge Fiterre, partner at rep firm, Condista; Michelle Rice, EVP Affiliate Sales and Marketing at TV One; Michelle Webb, Executive Director of Content Strategy and Distribution at Verizon FiOS; and Inae Wilson, SVP Broadcast Distribution for Fox Broadcasting Company.

Two of the industry’s leading executives will be recognized for their contributions to the viability of Multiethnic TV in management. They are Emilio Romano, President of Telemundo Media, and Rubén Mendiola, VP and GM of Multicultural Video Services at Comcast Cable.

This event is produced by the Schramm Marketing Group of New York City on behalf of Broadcasting & Cable and Multichannel News.

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