The Hispanic TV Summit has thrived for 22 years by focusing on lucrative opportunities in the Hispanic TV industry

The Annual Hispanic Television Summit is commemorating its 22nd consecutive year in 2024. Joe Schramm, Managing Partner and President of Schramm Marketing Group, the event organizers in collaboration with the Future Group, believes this enduring success signifies the ongoing demand for an annual conference dedicated to the Hispanic television industry. This year’s event will be held on Wednesday, September 11th in etc. venues on Madison Avenue in New York City.

“This is further evidenced by the continued loyalty of our sponsors and attendees who return year after year. We’re also proud of the growing number of new sponsors and the increasing participation of senior-level executives. These executives hail from diverse sectors of the Hispanic television industry, encompassing advertising, media, research, marketing, production, programming, and distribution,” says Schramm.

Another key highlight of the event is the increasing prestige of the Annual Hispanic Television Awards, presented each year at noon during the Summit. For the 22nd edition, Isabel Rafferty, Founder and CEO of Canela Media; Sean Cunningham, President and CEO of VAB (Video Advertising Bureau); Michael Roca, Executive Director of the Cross-Cultural Center of Excellence at Omnicom Media Group; Chiqui Cartagena, Executive Director of CUNY TV; and Javier Saralegui, Founder and CEO of DangerTV, have been selected as this year’s honorees.

EVOLUTION

For its initial two years, the Summit spanned a day and a half. “Despite a robust content agenda, we observed low attendance on the second day. The two-day format inadvertently divided our audience, attracting distinct attendee groups. To address this, we consolidated the program into a single-day event. The outcome was a surge in delegate numbers and significantly improved attendee retention throughout the day,” he explained.

Another evolution has been the expansion of the awards ceremony categories. Initially, as Schramm noted, only one award was presented, the legacy of the Summit called the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Hispanic Television. “The current awards program also includes Awards for Leadership in Hispanic Television, given to executives, corporations, and organizations for their leadership, and the Rafael Eli Awards for Pioneers in Hispanic Television, which recognize those executives or organizations with a minimum of 20 years of dedicated service to the Hispanic TV business,” he explains.

Looking ahead, Schramm indicated that attendees can anticipate discussions and sessions exploring the expanding ways Hispanics consume video content, including broadcast, cable, and digital streaming. “Additionally, they can expect to learn about brands’ dedication to new original productions, heightened media support, greenlit projects, and increased exposure to their favorite stars and personalities,” he stated.

This year’s event will showcase new original programming designed for Hispanic audiences worldwide. “We will closely examine shifts in the television media landscape. Furthermore, we will delve into the expanding realm of partnerships between Spanish-language programmers and primarily English-language ‘urban’ content providers.”

KEY CHALLENGES OVERCOME

One of the Summit’s greatest challenges arose from the pandemic, which necessitated a digital, remote format in both 2020 and 2021.

Another significant challenge was the decision to continue the Summit following the loss of co-producer Rafael Eli to COVID-19 in 2020. The event transitioned back to an in-person format in 2022.

IMPACT OF THE ANNUAL HISPANIC TV SUMMIT

Schramm noted that the Hispanic TV Summit serves as a “unique” complement to the existing series of industry conferences.

“We occupy a niche that prioritizes the end-user: Hispanic viewers. While other conferences concentrate on B2B relationships involving brands, agencies, digital influencers, content creators, or content deals, the Hispanic Television Summit emphasizes the revenue-generating aspects of delivering television directly to Hispanic consumers. Our focus is on media buying, viewership, subscriptions, and content distribution to the viewer. Consequently, we provide business leaders in the Hispanic media and entertainment industry with a crucial component of the broader industry dialogue,” he said.

Among the trends and innovations highlighted at the Summit, Schramm identified streaming as the “hottest topic,” followed closely by the development of original productions for international distribution and media planning strategies for the expanding market.

“Streaming has significantly contributed to the growth and evolution of the Hispanic TV industry. The Summit has included streaming platforms on panels and has recognized outstanding achievements by streaming and digital platforms, such as Pluto TV and YouTube, as well as innovative industry leaders. Notably, two of this year’s award winners are directly involved in streaming businesses,” he noted.

Schramm emphasizes that the Summit will directly capitalize on the current television market’s unprecedented growth and the golden age of original content. “I am confident the Summit will continue to prioritize these pivotal areas,” he asserts.

FEATURED SPEAKERS, CELEBRITIES AND PANELISTS

Over these 22 years, the Hispanic Television Summit has featured prominent speakers, panelists and celebrities including Sunny Hostin from ABC’s The View; Gio Benítez from ABC’s Good Morning America; Juan Williams from Fox News’ The Five; Andrés Cantor from Telemundo; Cristina Saralegui; Don Francisco; María Celeste Arrarás; Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Productions; Maria Elena Salinas; Lucero; Lili Estefan and Raul de Molina, Univision presenters; Ana de la Reguera, actress; Diego Luna, actor; Ana Jurka, sports commentator; Julio Vaqueiro and Miguel Gurwitz, Telemundo.

Among the brand executives: Edgar Sandoval of P&G; Enrique Sanz, Secretary General of Concacaf; Michael Sprague of KIA Motors; Don Garber, commissioner of Major League Soccer; Kathy Carter of Soccer United Marketing; Yvette Peña of AARP; Emma Velez Lopez of T-Mobile and Javier Farfan of Verizon.

Isabella Sánchez of Zubi Advertising

Among the executives: Daisy Exposito, Louis Maldonado, Gloria Constanza, and Fernando Fernandez of dex; Jorge Fiterre of Condista; Luis Caballero of Cox; Tom Montemagno of Charter; Gonzalo Del Fa of Group M; José Vélez Silva of Comcast; Isabel Rafferty of Canela; Isabella Sánchez of Zubi Advertising; Enrique Perez of ET Media; Sean Cunningham of VAB; Jaime Davila of Campanario Entertainment; Romina Rosado and Mónica Gil of Telemundo; Cesar Conde of NBCU and Tom Ryan, Pluto TV/Paramount.