Univision
Encyclopedia
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings
. Randy Falco, (CEO as of June 29, 2011) COO
, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications
president and CEO Joe Uva in April 2010. In recent years the network has reached parity with the U.S.'s five major English language television networks, and is often a strong fifth, outranking The CW
, with some fourth-place weekly placings during the summer months due to the network's consistent schedule of new telenovelas all 52 weeks of the year.
Univision is headquartered in New York City
, after years of being in Los Angeles
, and has its major studios, production facilities, and operations in Doral, Florida
, a suburb of Miami. In 2009, another television studio was announced, Univision Studios, to be built in Doral. Univision is available on cable and satellite in most of the country, with local stations in over 50 markets with large Hispanic and Latino
populations and a national cable network
feed distributed in markets without either the availability or the demand for a locally-based station. Most of these stations air full local news and other local programming in addition to network shows, and in major markets such as Los Angeles, New York, and Miami, Univision owned-and-operated station
(O&O) newscasts are equally competitive with their English-language counterparts ratings-wise.
Univision was acquired on March 29, 2007 by a consortium led by Haim Saban
's Saban Capital Group
(who had previously owned the entity Saban Entertainment), TPG Capital, L.P., Providence Equity Partners
, Madison Dearborn Partners, and Thomas H. Lee Partners
for $13.7 billion or $36.25 per share plus $1.4 billion in acquired debt. The buyout left the company with a debt level of twelve times its annual cash flow, which was twice the norm in buyouts done over the previous two years.
, Channel 41, in San Antonio, Texas
. The call letters were later changed to KUAL-TV. The station was not profitable, and in 1961 Cortez sold it to a group headed by his son-in-law Emilio Nicolas, Sr. and Mexican entertainment guru Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta
. Nicolas had helped produce channel 41's variety shows, while Azcárraga was the owner of Telesistema Mexicano, forerunner of Televisa.
The new owners turned the station around, and in 1962 signed on KMEX-TV
, channel 34 in Los Angeles and in 1968 signed on WXTV
channel 41 in Paterson, New Jersey
, serving the New York metropolitan area
. This was the beginning of the Spanish International Network, the first non-English-language television network in the United States.
Over the next 20 years, SIN would acquire other high-rated Spanish language television stations throughout the Western United States
, and then expand the market to WLTV in Florida
, KDTV in San Francisco, and WSNS-TV
in Chicago
. In the mid-1970s the network also began to distribute their national signal via satellite, first as a 'super-station'-type feed of KWEX-TV San Antonio, then as a general feed allowing cable television
operators to carry the network at little cost on their systems.
and Televisa
. The FCC had long wondered (and competitors to SIN had long proposed)that the relationship between SIN/SICC and the owners of Televisa was impermissably tight. Questions were asked and answered and the outcome was that the FCC and Justice department encouraged a sale of the service to a properly consitituted domestic organization. Thus began talks that ended with Hallmark Cards buying the stations, and forming a new relationship withg Televisa for programs.
The new group changed the network's name to Univision. Univision's new CEO, Joaquin Blaya, was to sign the contracts for two programs that would change the network. Blaya signed Cristina Saralegui
, who became a famous talk show host, and Mario Kreutzberger, better known as Don Francisco
, who brought from Chile his famous program Sábado Gigante
. Also, the network began production of its first morning television show. The program was Mundo Latino, anchored by Lucy Pereda and Frank Moro, who were both Cuban. Moro left for Mexico to continue his career as a soap opera actor and the network brought in Jorge Ramos.
In 1988, the network began to produce television shows with a national audience in mind. The first production was titled TV Mujer (Woman TV), a magazine-styled show aimed at Hispanic women in the United States. At first anchored by Lucy Pereda and Gabriel Traversari
, the program was a mix of cooking and entertainment segments.
Pereda was replaced shortly after finishing her first year by Mexican-American Lauri Flores, who hailed from KXLN-TV
in Houston, Texas, where she was director of programming, promotions, special events, and public information as well as producer and host of the local community affairs show Entre Nos. During Ms. Flores' time as host of TV Mujer, the show remained the number one daytime show on Spanish-language television, outperforming its time period competition by 33 percent. Telemundo's Dia a Dia, launched before the arrival of TV Mujer, saw its ratings diminishing.
A model from Sábado Gigante, Jackie Nespral
became the add-on host in TV Mujer's last year, hired to sit in while Flores was on maternity leave. Nespral became a formal host during the show's final season. TV Mujer begat a series of other programs, namely Hola, America and Al Mediodia, which never got the ratings of the original concept and were cancelled.
, while Nespral joined the weekend edition of NBC
's Today show. Univision had other plans for the moribund show—They revamped it, changed the name and the theme music, and installed a weekend reporter to be Dellanos' partner: Puerto Rican born María Celeste Arrarás
, who joined the now news program called Primer Impacto
.
In 1993, having purchased Univision from Hallmark
a few months earlier, Jerry Perenchio
appointed Miguel Banojian to turn around the operations of KMEX-34 in Los Angeles, the company's flagship station, which generated a big portion of the company's revenue. Banojian was then a 25-year-old executive from Univision's New York City headquarters, where he helmed WXTV
's (channel 41) newscasts. His outstanding results in Los Angeles positioned KMEX as the first Spanish language television station ever to outperform the English language networks, including NBC
, CBS
, ABC
, and Fox
, and overcame what had been Telemundo's competitive edge against Univision.
(LMA) with Raycom Media
to operate two television stations in Puerto Rico: WLII
in Caguas
and WSUR in Ponce
. At the time, WLII had a longtime LMA with another Puerto Rican station, WSTE
, which Univision honored. It was also around this time that Univision resumed broadcast expansion by signing affiliation agreements with stations in Raleigh, North Carolina
(WUVC
), Cleveland, Ohio
(WQHS
), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
(WUVP
), and Atlanta, Georgia
(WUVG
), among many others — most of which were acquired from USA Broadcasting
and had previously been affiliated with the Home Shopping Network
. Both WLII and WSUR were sold to Univision in 2005. Plans for the network are that Univision will resume broadcast expansion by signing affiliation agreements with new stations in Indianapolis, Indiana
, Detroit, Michigan
, New Orleans, Louisiana
, and Nashville, Tennessee
.
In June 2002 it was announced that Univision would acquire Dallas, Texas-based Hispanic Broadcasting Corp., a multiple-station operation specializing in Spanish Radio stations like WADO New York, KLVE Los Angeles, KGSX San Antonio, and KESS Dallas. The approval was long and hard. The acquired group was renamed Univision Radio. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Univision_Radio) The negotiations to merge the two companies followed years of on again/off again negotiations in which each company would make a run at the other, as well as occasional stabs at other groups (HBC once attempted to broker a deal to merge with Spanish Broadcasting System, and HBC once tried to acquire Telemundo outright before Sony and Liberty actually pulled off a deal).
In late 2004, a feud began between Perenchio and the head of Televisa, Emilio Azcárraga Jean
. The dispute was about Univision's continual editing of Televisa's programming, and failure to pay for transmission of Televisa-produced sports and specials. The feud intensified to the point where Televisa's most famous stars have been banned from appearing on any Univision-produced shows and specials. In addition, Televisa has filed a lawsuit against Univision for breach of contract
. In recent years, Univision also lost several key on-air personalities to Telemundo, including long time weekend news anchor Maria Antonieta Collins
, tabloid news anchor María Celeste Arrarás
, and sports announcer Andrés Cantor.
Univision previously overtook the now-defunct English-language networks UPN
and the WB
, now the CW Television Network, as the fifth-most popular network overall, and in the 18-to-34-year-old and 18-to-49-year-old demographics
it sometimes ranks higher than that. More advertising on TV is targeted toward those age groups than toward any other part of the viewing audience.
In the first week of September 2010 the network reached a milestone with a first-place ranking in the 18-49 demographic among all networks, English and Spanish, assisted by a primetime Mexico/Ecuador match and the finale of a popular telenovela, along with the English networks having traditionally weak programming that time of year.
On April 7, 2005, Univision held a three-hour tribute concert for singer Selena
, entitled Selena ¡VIVE!
. The concert would earn a 35.9 Nielsen household rating
, not only being the highest rated show of the night, but also being the highest-rated and most-watched Spanish-language program in American television
history.
On February 9, 2006, Univision Communications confirmed that it was putting itself up for sale. Rupert Murdoch
, chairman of News Corporation
, stated that his company was considering buying Univision, but backed off that position. Other expected bidders announced were Time Warner
, CBS
, Disney, Grupo Televisa of Mexico (under a partnership, due to foreign ownership laws in the U.S.), Bill Gates
, and several private equity firms. Tribune Company
was rumored to be interested in buying TeleFutura
, a subsidiary network of Univision.
On June 27, 2006, Univision announced that it accepted a $12.7 billion bid from a group of private equity investors led by TPG Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners
. The investor group also included Madison Dearborn
, Providence Equity, and children's television mogul Haim Saban
. On March 27, 2007, federal regulators approved the sale. According to the Los Angeles Times
, the deal was closed and the ownership change was made official on that same day.
However, Univision's shareholders filed two class-action lawsuits against the company and its board members to stop the buyout. One lawsuit claims that the board members structured the deal to only benefit the company's insiders and not the average stockholders. The other lawsuit was filed on behalf of a shareholder identified as L A Murphy, who claims that the board put its own personal interests and the interests of the winning bidder ahead of shareholders, and also failed to adequately evaluate the company's worth. In the meantime, more lawsuits were filed: one against Univision's records division for heavy-handed tactics, and the other by a winner of a ¡Despierta América! $30,000 makeover contest who alleged that Univision broke its own contest rules. A long-awaited trial, it's expected to start in April 2008, at a Los Angeles court.
Univision continues to gain broadcast penetration and has done so since 2004, with stations in Detroit, Seattle
, Portland, Oregon
, Minneapolis
and Nashville, among many others.
On June 25, 2007, with the finale of La Fea Más Bella
, Univision led all U.S. television broadcasting networks, including English-language ones, with a 3.0 rating out of 9 share, which also made the show the second most watched of the week. Later that year, Univision hosted the first Spanish-language presidential debate in the United States at the University of Miami
.
On April 5, 2008, Univision introduced a new Saturday morning cartoon
block, Planeta U
, which features "educational and informative
" programming such as Dora the Explorer
, Go, Diego, Go!
, Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks
, Inspector Gadget's Field Trip
, and Beakman's World
, all dubbed in Spanish. The following month, Univision Music Group
was sold to Universal Music Group
and combined with the latter's Latin music label to become Universal Music Latin Entertainment
.
In 2009, the network sponsored a countdown in Times Square
, similar to the New Year's Eve
event. On the night of June 12, at 11:59 PM (23:59) EDT, the Jumbotron
-size screen ticked off the last 60 seconds of full-power analog TV in the Eastern time zone
, culminating in the message "BIENVENIDOS A LA ERA DIGITAL" ("welcome to the digital era"). This was aired live by the network during Ultima Hora: Una Nueva Era. The ball was lighted in white but was not dropped, remaining at the bottom where the lighted "2009" sign also remained, despite the four-month delay from February 17.
In October, 2010, Televisa agreed to take a 5% stake in Univision, which it can grow in the future, and to extend and expand the companies' long-term program license agreement. The new program license agreement will include Internet and mobile rights and cover key Mexican football (soccer) rights. The agreement will run through at least 2020, but more likely 2025 or later, compared with the previous deal's 2017 expiration.
high definition simulcast feed of the main Univision network that began operations on January 1, 2010 at 12:02 a.m./ET on its New York and Los Angeles affiliates WXTV-DT and KMEX-DT, respectively. Univision's first program to be televised in high definition was the Tournament of Roses Parade
, later that day. On January 18, 2010 Univision began airing Hasta que el Dinero nos Separe in high definition, it becoming the first telenovela on the network to be so transmitted. The telenovelas Un Gancho Al Corazon and Sortilegio also began airing in high definition on that date. Most other telenovelas now air in HD as well. All of Univision's 2010 FIFA World Cup
coverage was also in HD. Noticiero Univision
, Primer Impacto
, ¡Despierta América!, Al Punto
, Mira Quien Baila, and ¡Viva la Familia! have began airing in HD as well. Some movies also air in HD. DirecTV added the East Coast HD feed on April 28, 2010. Dish Network has been broadcasting the HD feed since May 12, 2010.
and Venezuelan broadcast network Venevision
, however much of Univision's telenovelas are produced by Televisa. The network's signature program, the Saturday night variety show Sabado Gigante
, hosted by Don Francisco, has aired on Univision since 1989; as such, Univision is one of only three American television networks that airs a first-run program during Saturday primetime (Fox and CBS
are the only others). Situation comedies and variety shows largely make up Univision's weekend lineup.
Univision does produce a moderate amount of original programming including Sabado Gigante, the talk shows El Show de Cristina and Casos de Familia
, the daily morning music video program Tu Desayuno Alegre
, the reality competition series Nuestra Belleza Latina
, and national news programming including the flagship Noticiero Univision
newscast, Primer Impacto
and the morning news program Despierta America
; Univision also operates its own television production firm launched in 2009, called Univision Studios, which produces original content for the network. The network's weekend daytime schedule features a morning children's program block called Planeta U
, consisting of Spanish-dubbed versions of American children's programs that comply with the FCC
's E/I
guidelines; and also typically airs telenovelas that appeal to teen or pre-teen audiences on early Saturday afternoons. The network also airs some films, generally in weekend timeslots; but unlike Telefutura and Telemundo, Univision does not air Spanish-dubbed English-language films. While Univision largely programs its affiliates schedules in a sense since the network's affiliates air the large majority of its programming, some Univision affiliates do produce locally-produced programs such as local evening newscasts and public-affairs programs; many affiliates that do produce newscasts generally air them only on Monday through Friday evenings and with only a few exceptions, do not carry weekend newscasts.
In 2004 Univision had a list of words it edited from programming to comply with United States federal regulators. The words affected had no negative connotations in some Spanish-speaking countries, but had obscene connotations in other countries. In June 2005 Grupo Televisa filed a lawsuit against Univision in a U.S. federal court accusing the network of several actions, including "unauthorized editing" of Televisa programming.
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. Randy Falco, (CEO as of June 29, 2011) COO
Chief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications
Univision Communications
Univision Communications is an American Spanish language media company in the United States. Its headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Prior to 2007, the headquarters were in Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA.- History :...
president and CEO Joe Uva in April 2010. In recent years the network has reached parity with the U.S.'s five major English language television networks, and is often a strong fifth, outranking The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
, with some fourth-place weekly placings during the summer months due to the network's consistent schedule of new telenovelas all 52 weeks of the year.
Univision is headquartered in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, after years of being in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, and has its major studios, production facilities, and operations in Doral, Florida
Doral, Florida
Doral is a city located in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. A suburb of Miami, it lies north-west of Miami International Airport. It takes its name from the famous golf and spa resort located within its municipal boundaries. The Doral Golf Resort & Spa was originally built...
, a suburb of Miami. In 2009, another television studio was announced, Univision Studios, to be built in Doral. Univision is available on cable and satellite in most of the country, with local stations in over 50 markets with large Hispanic and Latino
Hispanic and Latino Americans
Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
populations and a national cable network
Cable network
A cable channel is a television channel available via cable television. Such channels are usually also available via satellite television, including direct broadcast satellite providers such as DirecTV, Dish Network and BSkyB...
feed distributed in markets without either the availability or the demand for a locally-based station. Most of these stations air full local news and other local programming in addition to network shows, and in major markets such as Los Angeles, New York, and Miami, Univision owned-and-operated station
Owned-and-operated station
In the broadcasting industry , an owned-and-operated station usually refers to a television station or radio station that is owned by the network with which it is associated...
(O&O) newscasts are equally competitive with their English-language counterparts ratings-wise.
Univision was acquired on March 29, 2007 by a consortium led by Haim Saban
Haim Saban
Haim Saban is an Egyptian born Israeli-American television and media proprietor. With an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion, he is ranked by Forbes as the 104th richest person in America.-Biography:...
's Saban Capital Group
Saban Capital Group
Saban Capital Group is a global private investment firm based in Los Angeles, California focused on media, entertainment, and communications investments. Formed in 2001 by Haim Saban, Saban Capital Group owns Saban Brands, part of Univision Communications, and part of Tiger Gate Entertainment...
(who had previously owned the entity Saban Entertainment), TPG Capital, L.P., Providence Equity Partners
Providence Equity Partners
Providence Equity Partners is a global private equity investment firm focused on media, entertainment, communications and information investments...
, Madison Dearborn Partners, and Thomas H. Lee Partners
Thomas H. Lee Partners
Thomas H. Lee Partners is a private equity firm based in Boston, Massachusetts specializing in leveraged buyouts, growth capital, special situations, industry consolidations, and recapitalizations....
for $13.7 billion or $36.25 per share plus $1.4 billion in acquired debt. The buyout left the company with a debt level of twelve times its annual cash flow, which was twice the norm in buyouts done over the previous two years.
Beginnings as Spanish International Network
In 1955, Raul Cortez founded KCOR-TVKWEX-TV
KWEX-DT, channel 41, is the local Univisión owned and operated station in San Antonio, Texas. The station is the first commercially-based Spanish language television station in the United States.- History :...
, Channel 41, in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
. The call letters were later changed to KUAL-TV. The station was not profitable, and in 1961 Cortez sold it to a group headed by his son-in-law Emilio Nicolas, Sr. and Mexican entertainment guru Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta
Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta
Emilio Azcárraga Vidaurreta or Emilio Azcárraga Sr. was a Mexican businessman son of Basque immigrants Mariano Azcárraga and Emilia Vidaurreta....
. Nicolas had helped produce channel 41's variety shows, while Azcárraga was the owner of Telesistema Mexicano, forerunner of Televisa.
The new owners turned the station around, and in 1962 signed on KMEX-TV
KMEX-TV
KMEX-DT, "Univisión 34 Los Angeles", is the Univision owned-and-operated station in Los Angeles and the network's flagship station for the West Coast. KMEX, first broadcast in 1962, opened the way for other Spanish-language stations and networks in the United States...
, channel 34 in Los Angeles and in 1968 signed on WXTV
WXTV
WXTV-DT channel 41 is a Univisión owned-and-operated television station, licensed to Paterson, New Jersey and serving the New York metropolitan area. WXTV's studios are located in Teaneck, New Jersey, and its transmitter in on the Empire State Building in Manhattan...
channel 41 in Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...
, serving the New York metropolitan area
New York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...
. This was the beginning of the Spanish International Network, the first non-English-language television network in the United States.
Over the next 20 years, SIN would acquire other high-rated Spanish language television stations throughout the Western United States
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
, and then expand the market to WLTV in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, KDTV in San Francisco, and WSNS-TV
WSNS-TV
WSNS-TV, channel 44, is an owned-and-operated station of the Spanish-language Telemundo network, located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. This station is owned by NBCUniversal, which is also the parent company of Telemundo...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. In the mid-1970s the network also began to distribute their national signal via satellite, first as a 'super-station'-type feed of KWEX-TV San Antonio, then as a general feed allowing cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
operators to carry the network at little cost on their systems.
Rename to Univision
1986 was a pivotal year for the station group and the network. Nicolas sold his stake in the network to a partnership of Hallmark CardsHallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards is a privately owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards in the United States. In 1985, the company was awarded the National Medal of Arts....
and Televisa
Televisa
Televisa is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate, the largest mass media company in Latin America and in the Spanish-speaking world. It is a major international entertainment business, with much of its programming airing in the United States on Univision, with which it has an exclusive contract...
. The FCC had long wondered (and competitors to SIN had long proposed)that the relationship between SIN/SICC and the owners of Televisa was impermissably tight. Questions were asked and answered and the outcome was that the FCC and Justice department encouraged a sale of the service to a properly consitituted domestic organization. Thus began talks that ended with Hallmark Cards buying the stations, and forming a new relationship withg Televisa for programs.
The new group changed the network's name to Univision. Univision's new CEO, Joaquin Blaya, was to sign the contracts for two programs that would change the network. Blaya signed Cristina Saralegui
Cristina Saralegui
Cristina Saralegui is a Cuban American journalist, actress and talk show host of the Spanish-language eponymous show, Cristina. She also has her own fashion line of accessories and comforters for bed and bath....
, who became a famous talk show host, and Mario Kreutzberger, better known as Don Francisco
Don Francisco (television host)
Mario Luis Kreutzberger Blumenfeld , better known by his stage name, Don Francisco, is a Chilean television personality, and a popular television personality on the Univision network reaching Spanish-speaking viewers in the United States...
, who brought from Chile his famous program Sábado Gigante
Sábado Gigante
Sábado Gigante is a Spanish-language television show that is Univision's longest-running program and the longest-running variety TV show in the world. Sábado Gigante is an eclectic and frenetic mix of various contests, human-interest stories, and live entertainment...
. Also, the network began production of its first morning television show. The program was Mundo Latino, anchored by Lucy Pereda and Frank Moro, who were both Cuban. Moro left for Mexico to continue his career as a soap opera actor and the network brought in Jorge Ramos.
In 1988, the network began to produce television shows with a national audience in mind. The first production was titled TV Mujer (Woman TV), a magazine-styled show aimed at Hispanic women in the United States. At first anchored by Lucy Pereda and Gabriel Traversari
Gabriel Traversari
Gabriel Traversari is a Nicaraguan American actor, director, writer, singer, songwriter, painter and photographer.-Early life:...
, the program was a mix of cooking and entertainment segments.
Pereda was replaced shortly after finishing her first year by Mexican-American Lauri Flores, who hailed from KXLN-TV
KXLN-TV
KXLN-DT, channel 45, is a television station in Houston, Texas, and its surrounding area.- History :Founded in 1984 by businessmen A.C. Pena and J. Adan Trevino, KXLN was the first Spanish language television station in the Houston area. From the beginning, it has been affiliated with the Univision...
in Houston, Texas, where she was director of programming, promotions, special events, and public information as well as producer and host of the local community affairs show Entre Nos. During Ms. Flores' time as host of TV Mujer, the show remained the number one daytime show on Spanish-language television, outperforming its time period competition by 33 percent. Telemundo's Dia a Dia, launched before the arrival of TV Mujer, saw its ratings diminishing.
A model from Sábado Gigante, Jackie Nespral
Jackie Nespral
Jackie Nespral is an American television anchor for WTVJ-TV, the NBC owned and operated station in Miramar, Florida.-Early years and education:Nespral grew up in the Little Havana area of Miami, attended St...
became the add-on host in TV Mujer's last year, hired to sit in while Flores was on maternity leave. Nespral became a formal host during the show's final season. TV Mujer begat a series of other programs, namely Hola, America and Al Mediodia, which never got the ratings of the original concept and were cancelled.
Revamp and competition with Telemundo in the 1990s
Univision then decided to expand its news programming in the afternoon and launched Noticias y Mas (News and More), with Nespral, Ambrosio Hernandez, Myrka Dellanos, and Raul Peimbert. In the early 1990s, Hernandez and Peimbert left Univision and joined TelemundoTelemundo
Telemundo is an American television network that broadcasts in Spanish. The network is the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world, and the second-largest Spanish-language network in the United States, behind Univision....
, while Nespral joined the weekend edition of NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's Today show. Univision had other plans for the moribund show—They revamped it, changed the name and the theme music, and installed a weekend reporter to be Dellanos' partner: Puerto Rican born María Celeste Arrarás
María Celeste Arrarás
Maria Celeste Arrarás is a Puerto Rican journalist and actress and the host and producer of Spanish language news program Al Rojo Vivo Con Maria Celeste.- Biography :...
, who joined the now news program called Primer Impacto
Primer Impacto
Primer Impacto is a Spanish language television news program broadcast by Univision in the USA weekdays at 5pm ET. A later program at 11pm ET/PT airs on Univision affiliates without a local news department , leading into the network's 11:30pm newscast, Noticiero Univision Edicion Nocturna.The...
.
In 1993, having purchased Univision from Hallmark
Hallmark
A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of precious metals — platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium...
a few months earlier, Jerry Perenchio
Jerry Perenchio
Andrew Jerrold "Jerry" Perenchio was the former chairman and CEO of Univision, the largest Spanish-language company in the United States.-Early life:...
appointed Miguel Banojian to turn around the operations of KMEX-34 in Los Angeles, the company's flagship station, which generated a big portion of the company's revenue. Banojian was then a 25-year-old executive from Univision's New York City headquarters, where he helmed WXTV
WXTV
WXTV-DT channel 41 is a Univisión owned-and-operated television station, licensed to Paterson, New Jersey and serving the New York metropolitan area. WXTV's studios are located in Teaneck, New Jersey, and its transmitter in on the Empire State Building in Manhattan...
's (channel 41) newscasts. His outstanding results in Los Angeles positioned KMEX as the first Spanish language television station ever to outperform the English language networks, including NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, and Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
, and overcame what had been Telemundo's competitive edge against Univision.
2000s
In 2002, Univision entered into a local marketing agreementLocal marketing agreement
In U.S. and Canadian broadcasting, a local marketing agreement is an agreement in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another licensee...
(LMA) with Raycom Media
Raycom Media
- History :Although Raycom Media dates its birth to 1996, the core of the company was formed in 1992 when Atlanta native Bert Ellis formed Ellis Communications. He eventually controlled 13 television stations and two radio stations....
to operate two television stations in Puerto Rico: WLII
WLII
WLII-DT is a full-power television station licensed to Caguas, Puerto Rico. Transmitting its analog signal on channel 11 and digital signal on channel 56, the station is owned and operated by Univision and is branded as Univision Puerto Rico...
in Caguas
Caguas, Puerto Rico
Caguas , founded in 1775, is a city and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Central Mountain Range of Puerto Rico, south of San Juan and Trujillo Alto, west of Gurabo and San Lorenzo, east of Aguas Buenas, Cidra, and Cayey....
and WSUR in Ponce
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
. At the time, WLII had a longtime LMA with another Puerto Rican station, WSTE
WSTE
WSTE-DT is a full-power television station licensed to Ponce, Puerto Rico. It transmits on digital channel 7 over a four-site distributed transmission system.WSTE is owned by Univision and is operated by the network as well through WLII in Caguas...
, which Univision honored. It was also around this time that Univision resumed broadcast expansion by signing affiliation agreements with stations in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
(WUVC
WUVC-TV
WUVC-DT is the Univision owned and operated station based and licensed in Fayetteville, North Carolina and serving the Triangle television market. It broadcasts in digital on UHF channel 38...
), Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
(WQHS
WQHS-TV
WQHS-DT is a Spanish-language television station owned and operated by Univision. It is licensed to serve the Cleveland, Ohio television market, and broadcasts on UHF channel 61 with studios and offices in Parma...
), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
(WUVP
WUVP-TV
WUVP-DT, virtual channel 65, is the Univisión owned and operated station licensed to Vineland, New Jersey. WUVP-DT offers a Spanish programming format featuring news, talk shows, dramas, movies and other first-rate Spanish programming.- History :...
), and Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
(WUVG
WUVG-TV
WUVG-DT is the Univision owned and operated TV station in the greater Atlanta area, on DTV channel 48. WUVG-DT offers a Spanish-language programming format featuring TV news, talk shows, dramas, movies and other first-rate Spanish programming...
), among many others — most of which were acquired from USA Broadcasting
USA Broadcasting
USA Broadcasting was an American media company owned by veteran entertainment industry executive Barry Diller. This network was the over-the-air broadcasting arm of USA Network....
and had previously been affiliated with the Home Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network
Home Shopping Network or HSN began in 1977 as a 24-hour/7 day a week home shopping television network televised via cable, satellite, and some terrestrial channels in the Philippines. HSN can also be shopped online at hsn.com...
. Both WLII and WSUR were sold to Univision in 2005. Plans for the network are that Univision will resume broadcast expansion by signing affiliation agreements with new stations in Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, and Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
.
In June 2002 it was announced that Univision would acquire Dallas, Texas-based Hispanic Broadcasting Corp., a multiple-station operation specializing in Spanish Radio stations like WADO New York, KLVE Los Angeles, KGSX San Antonio, and KESS Dallas. The approval was long and hard. The acquired group was renamed Univision Radio. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Univision_Radio) The negotiations to merge the two companies followed years of on again/off again negotiations in which each company would make a run at the other, as well as occasional stabs at other groups (HBC once attempted to broker a deal to merge with Spanish Broadcasting System, and HBC once tried to acquire Telemundo outright before Sony and Liberty actually pulled off a deal).
In late 2004, a feud began between Perenchio and the head of Televisa, Emilio Azcárraga Jean
Emilio Azcárraga Jean
Emilio Fernando Azcárraga Jean or Emilio Azcarraga III, is a Mexican businessman and the son of Emilio Azcárraga Milmo and his third wife, Nadine Jean a French citizen....
. The dispute was about Univision's continual editing of Televisa's programming, and failure to pay for transmission of Televisa-produced sports and specials. The feud intensified to the point where Televisa's most famous stars have been banned from appearing on any Univision-produced shows and specials. In addition, Televisa has filed a lawsuit against Univision for breach of contract
Breach of contract
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance....
. In recent years, Univision also lost several key on-air personalities to Telemundo, including long time weekend news anchor Maria Antonieta Collins
María Antonieta Collins
María Antonieta Collins Flores is a Mexican journalist, TV host and best seller author of seven books , and winner of four Emmy Awards, , and the Edward Murrow Award.- Biography :Collins became known to viewers in her native Mexico as a reporter of "Televisa 24 horas" ,...
, tabloid news anchor María Celeste Arrarás
María Celeste Arrarás
Maria Celeste Arrarás is a Puerto Rican journalist and actress and the host and producer of Spanish language news program Al Rojo Vivo Con Maria Celeste.- Biography :...
, and sports announcer Andrés Cantor.
Univision previously overtook the now-defunct English-language networks UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
and the WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
, now the CW Television Network, as the fifth-most popular network overall, and in the 18-to-34-year-old and 18-to-49-year-old demographics
Demographics
Demographics are the most recent statistical characteristics of a population. These types of data are used widely in sociology , public policy, and marketing. Commonly examined demographics include gender, race, age, disabilities, mobility, home ownership, employment status, and even location...
it sometimes ranks higher than that. More advertising on TV is targeted toward those age groups than toward any other part of the viewing audience.
In the first week of September 2010 the network reached a milestone with a first-place ranking in the 18-49 demographic among all networks, English and Spanish, assisted by a primetime Mexico/Ecuador match and the finale of a popular telenovela, along with the English networks having traditionally weak programming that time of year.
On April 7, 2005, Univision held a three-hour tribute concert for singer Selena
Selena
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez , known simply as Selena, was a Mexican American singer-songwriter. She was named the "top Latin artist of the '90s" and "Best selling Latin artist of the decade" by Billboard for her fourteen top-ten singles in the Top Latin Songs chart, including seven number-one hits...
, entitled Selena ¡VIVE!
Selena ¡VIVE!
The tribute concert was followed up with the release of the album of the performance, released on May 10, 2005. Though it did not include many of the songs performed, it does include many of the highlights.-Track listing:# "Tú Sólo Tú" - Ana Gabriel...
. The concert would earn a 35.9 Nielsen household rating
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, not only being the highest rated show of the night, but also being the highest-rated and most-watched Spanish-language program in American television
Television in the United States
Television is one of the major mass media of the United States. Ninety-nine percent of American households have at least one television and the majority of households have more than one...
history.
On February 9, 2006, Univision Communications confirmed that it was putting itself up for sale. Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
, chairman of News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
, stated that his company was considering buying Univision, but backed off that position. Other expected bidders announced were Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, Disney, Grupo Televisa of Mexico (under a partnership, due to foreign ownership laws in the U.S.), Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
, and several private equity firms. Tribune Company
Tribune Company
The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
was rumored to be interested in buying TeleFutura
TeleFutura
TeleFutura is a U.S. Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by Univision with headquarters in Miami, Florida.-Overview:TeleFutura Is America’s #2 Spanish-Language Network in prime time...
, a subsidiary network of Univision.
On June 27, 2006, Univision announced that it accepted a $12.7 billion bid from a group of private equity investors led by TPG Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners
Thomas H. Lee Partners
Thomas H. Lee Partners is a private equity firm based in Boston, Massachusetts specializing in leveraged buyouts, growth capital, special situations, industry consolidations, and recapitalizations....
. The investor group also included Madison Dearborn
Madison Dearborn
Madison Dearborn Partners is a private equity firm specializing in leveraged buyouts of privately held or publicly traded companies, or divisions of larger companies; recapitalizations of family-owned or closely held companies; balance sheet restructurings; acquisition financings; and growth...
, Providence Equity, and children's television mogul Haim Saban
Haim Saban
Haim Saban is an Egyptian born Israeli-American television and media proprietor. With an estimated net worth of $3.5 billion, he is ranked by Forbes as the 104th richest person in America.-Biography:...
. On March 27, 2007, federal regulators approved the sale. According to the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, the deal was closed and the ownership change was made official on that same day.
However, Univision's shareholders filed two class-action lawsuits against the company and its board members to stop the buyout. One lawsuit claims that the board members structured the deal to only benefit the company's insiders and not the average stockholders. The other lawsuit was filed on behalf of a shareholder identified as L A Murphy, who claims that the board put its own personal interests and the interests of the winning bidder ahead of shareholders, and also failed to adequately evaluate the company's worth. In the meantime, more lawsuits were filed: one against Univision's records division for heavy-handed tactics, and the other by a winner of a ¡Despierta América! $30,000 makeover contest who alleged that Univision broke its own contest rules. A long-awaited trial, it's expected to start in April 2008, at a Los Angeles court.
Univision continues to gain broadcast penetration and has done so since 2004, with stations in Detroit, Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
and Nashville, among many others.
On June 25, 2007, with the finale of La Fea Más Bella
La fea más bella
La Fea Más Bella is a Mexican telenovela produced by Televisa. It is the second Mexican version of the popular Colombian telenovela: Betty la fea...
, Univision led all U.S. television broadcasting networks, including English-language ones, with a 3.0 rating out of 9 share, which also made the show the second most watched of the week. Later that year, Univision hosted the first Spanish-language presidential debate in the United States at the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
.
On April 5, 2008, Univision introduced a new Saturday morning cartoon
Saturday morning cartoon
A Saturday morning cartoon is the colloquial term for the animated television programming that has typically been scheduled on Saturday mornings on the major American television networks from the 1960s to the present; the genre's peak in popularity mostly ended in the 1990s while the popularity of...
block, Planeta U
Planeta U
Planeta U , usually called Tu Planeta U , is a three hour block of children's programming that airs on Saturday mornings on the Spanish language Univision network. Debuting on April 5, 2008, Planeta U features programming that comply with federal E/I content rules as mandated by the Federal...
, which features "educational and informative
E/I
E/I, which stands for "educational and informative," refers to a type of children's television programming shown in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission requires that every full-service Terrestrial television station in the U.S. show at least three hours of these television...
" programming such as Dora the Explorer
Dora the Explorer
Dora the Explorer is an American animated television series created by Chris Gifford, Valerie Walsh, and Eric Weiner. Dora the Explorer became a regular series in 2000. The show is carried on the Nickelodeon cable television network, including the associated Nick Jr. channel. It aired on CBS until...
, Go, Diego, Go!
Go, Diego, Go!
Go, Diego, Go! is a children's television series created by Chris Gifferd and Valerie Walsh, and is a spin-off of Dora the Explorer. The show premiered on September 6, 2005, on Nickelodeon. It also aired as part of the Nick Jr. on CBS block from September 17, 2005, to September 9, 2006. On...
, Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks
Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks
Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks is a children's television series. The show is animated using computer-generated imagery and broadcast in the United States on PBS Kids from 2003–2008, currently WMBC, and Univision ; in Ireland on RTÉ Two, as part of The Den; in Australia on...
, Inspector Gadget's Field Trip
Inspector Gadget's Field Trip
Inspector Gadget's Field Trip is a spin-off incarnation of Inspector Gadget, produced by DiC Entertainment, and aired on The History Channel from 1996 to 1998, with over 26 episodes with live-action sequences produced. Don Adams returned as the voice of Inspector Gadget. It currently airs in reruns...
, and Beakman's World
Beakman's World
Beakman's World is an educational children's television show produced by ELP Communications, Columbia Pictures Television, Universal Belo Productions, and Columbia TriStar Television Distribution....
, all dubbed in Spanish. The following month, Univision Music Group
Univision Music Group
For the successor to this company, go to Universal Music Latin Entertainment.Univision Music Group was a Latin music company in the United States with approximately 45% market share...
was sold to Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
and combined with the latter's Latin music label to become Universal Music Latin Entertainment
Universal Music Latin Entertainment
Universal Music Latin Entertainment is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. The music label was created with the acquisition of Univision Music Group and combining it with Universal's top Latin artists, along with much of the Latin back catalog of UMG.UMLE includes famous Latin music...
.
In 2009, the network sponsored a countdown in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, similar to the New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
event. On the night of June 12, at 11:59 PM (23:59) EDT, the Jumbotron
Jumbotron
A JumboTron is a large-screen television using technology developed by Sony, typically used in sports stadiums and concert venues to show close-up shots of the event. Although JumboTron is a registered trademark owned by the Sony Corporation, the word jumbotron is often used by the public as a...
-size screen ticked off the last 60 seconds of full-power analog TV in the Eastern time zone
Time zone
A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
, culminating in the message "BIENVENIDOS A LA ERA DIGITAL" ("welcome to the digital era"). This was aired live by the network during Ultima Hora: Una Nueva Era. The ball was lighted in white but was not dropped, remaining at the bottom where the lighted "2009" sign also remained, despite the four-month delay from February 17.
In October, 2010, Televisa agreed to take a 5% stake in Univision, which it can grow in the future, and to extend and expand the companies' long-term program license agreement. The new program license agreement will include Internet and mobile rights and cover key Mexican football (soccer) rights. The agreement will run through at least 2020, but more likely 2025 or later, compared with the previous deal's 2017 expiration.
Univision HD
Univision HD is a 1080i1080i
1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels...
high definition simulcast feed of the main Univision network that began operations on January 1, 2010 at 12:02 a.m./ET on its New York and Los Angeles affiliates WXTV-DT and KMEX-DT, respectively. Univision's first program to be televised in high definition was the Tournament of Roses Parade
Tournament of Roses Parade
The Tournament of Roses Parade, better known as the Rose Parade, is "America's New Year Celebration", a festival of flower-covered floats, marching bands, equestrians and a college football game on New Year's Day , produced by the non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.The annual...
, later that day. On January 18, 2010 Univision began airing Hasta que el Dinero nos Separe in high definition, it becoming the first telenovela on the network to be so transmitted. The telenovelas Un Gancho Al Corazon and Sortilegio also began airing in high definition on that date. Most other telenovelas now air in HD as well. All of Univision's 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
coverage was also in HD. Noticiero Univision
Noticiero Univision
Noticiero Univision is the nightly 6:30 p.m. ET/PT/5:30 p.m. CT/MT newscast on United States Spanish language television network Univision. It is produced by Noticias Univision, the network's news division....
, Primer Impacto
Primer Impacto
Primer Impacto is a Spanish language television news program broadcast by Univision in the USA weekdays at 5pm ET. A later program at 11pm ET/PT airs on Univision affiliates without a local news department , leading into the network's 11:30pm newscast, Noticiero Univision Edicion Nocturna.The...
, ¡Despierta América!, Al Punto
Al Punto
Al Punto is a Sunday morning talk show hosted by Noticiero Univision anchor Jorge Ramos on the Univision network and its sister network Galavisión. It is the only show of its type in the United States that broadcasts in the Spanish language....
, Mira Quien Baila, and ¡Viva la Familia! have began airing in HD as well. Some movies also air in HD. DirecTV added the East Coast HD feed on April 28, 2010. Dish Network has been broadcasting the HD feed since May 12, 2010.
Programming
The majority of Univision's programming consists of series produced and broadcast by Mexican broadcast network TelevisaTelevisa
Televisa is a Mexican multimedia conglomerate, the largest mass media company in Latin America and in the Spanish-speaking world. It is a major international entertainment business, with much of its programming airing in the United States on Univision, with which it has an exclusive contract...
and Venezuelan broadcast network Venevision
Venevisión
Venevisión is one of Venezuela's largest television networks and a Venezuelan cable and terrestrial television network, which is owned and presided over by Gustavo Cisneros...
, however much of Univision's telenovelas are produced by Televisa. The network's signature program, the Saturday night variety show Sabado Gigante
Sábado Gigante
Sábado Gigante is a Spanish-language television show that is Univision's longest-running program and the longest-running variety TV show in the world. Sábado Gigante is an eclectic and frenetic mix of various contests, human-interest stories, and live entertainment...
, hosted by Don Francisco, has aired on Univision since 1989; as such, Univision is one of only three American television networks that airs a first-run program during Saturday primetime (Fox and CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
are the only others). Situation comedies and variety shows largely make up Univision's weekend lineup.
Univision does produce a moderate amount of original programming including Sabado Gigante, the talk shows El Show de Cristina and Casos de Familia
Casos de Familia
Casos de Familia is a Spanish language American television series which began airing on Univision in 2004. The series is hosted by Judith Grace and is based in Miami, Florida....
, the daily morning music video program Tu Desayuno Alegre
Tu Desayuno Alegre
Tu Desayuno Alegre is a Spanish language music television series airing on Univision since 2001, and based in Miami Beach, Florida. The show features a wide variety of Latin American music including jazz, hip hop, reggae, rap, and Mexican music. Guest stars on the show have included Jessica Fox,...
, the reality competition series Nuestra Belleza Latina
Nuestra Belleza Latina
Nuestra Belleza Latina is a reality TV show revolving around 12 young women competing title of Nuestra Belleza Latina also win a cash price and become a personality for the Spanish television network Univision....
, and national news programming including the flagship Noticiero Univision
Noticiero Univision
Noticiero Univision is the nightly 6:30 p.m. ET/PT/5:30 p.m. CT/MT newscast on United States Spanish language television network Univision. It is produced by Noticias Univision, the network's news division....
newscast, Primer Impacto
Primer Impacto
Primer Impacto is a Spanish language television news program broadcast by Univision in the USA weekdays at 5pm ET. A later program at 11pm ET/PT airs on Univision affiliates without a local news department , leading into the network's 11:30pm newscast, Noticiero Univision Edicion Nocturna.The...
and the morning news program Despierta America
Despierta América
¡Despierta América! is a popular Spanish language morning show which has aired on the Univision television network since 1997. It is broadcast from the network's studios in Miami, Florida, and is hosted by Chiquinquirá Delgado, Poncho de Anda, Raúl González, and Karla Martínez. Satcha Pretto and...
; Univision also operates its own television production firm launched in 2009, called Univision Studios, which produces original content for the network. The network's weekend daytime schedule features a morning children's program block called Planeta U
Planeta U
Planeta U , usually called Tu Planeta U , is a three hour block of children's programming that airs on Saturday mornings on the Spanish language Univision network. Debuting on April 5, 2008, Planeta U features programming that comply with federal E/I content rules as mandated by the Federal...
, consisting of Spanish-dubbed versions of American children's programs that comply with the FCC
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
's E/I
E/I
E/I, which stands for "educational and informative," refers to a type of children's television programming shown in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission requires that every full-service Terrestrial television station in the U.S. show at least three hours of these television...
guidelines; and also typically airs telenovelas that appeal to teen or pre-teen audiences on early Saturday afternoons. The network also airs some films, generally in weekend timeslots; but unlike Telefutura and Telemundo, Univision does not air Spanish-dubbed English-language films. While Univision largely programs its affiliates schedules in a sense since the network's affiliates air the large majority of its programming, some Univision affiliates do produce locally-produced programs such as local evening newscasts and public-affairs programs; many affiliates that do produce newscasts generally air them only on Monday through Friday evenings and with only a few exceptions, do not carry weekend newscasts.
In 2004 Univision had a list of words it edited from programming to comply with United States federal regulators. The words affected had no negative connotations in some Spanish-speaking countries, but had obscene connotations in other countries. In June 2005 Grupo Televisa filed a lawsuit against Univision in a U.S. federal court accusing the network of several actions, including "unauthorized editing" of Televisa programming.
See also
- List of Univision affiliates
- List of United States television networks
- TeleFuturaTeleFuturaTeleFutura is a U.S. Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by Univision with headquarters in Miami, Florida.-Overview:TeleFutura Is America’s #2 Spanish-Language Network in prime time...
- Univision CommunicationsUnivision CommunicationsUnivision Communications is an American Spanish language media company in the United States. Its headquarters are in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Prior to 2007, the headquarters were in Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA.- History :...
External links and sources
(in Spanish)- Official Corporate Site (in English)
- Spanish International Network Historical site (in English)
- Univision, from the Museum of Broadcast CommunicationsMuseum of Broadcast CommunicationsThe Museum of Broadcast Communications is an American museum that currently exists exclusively on the Internet and not in any physical capacity. Its stated mission is "to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform and entertain...
website - Univision Blows Competition Away with Explosive February Sweep Results, a March 2005 press release