Maribel Ramos-Weiner
In his inaugural Upfront presentation as Chairman of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, Luis Fernández emphasized to the assembled agencies, advertisers, and media at The Shed in New York that the network has maintained its lead in the US Hispanic primetime television for 11 consecutive weeks. “This achievement is due to the hard work of hundreds of Telemundo employees who strive to deliver the best and most relevant content in entertainment, sports, news, and both scripted and unscripted formats in Spanish every day. This team innovates in Hispanic media, fearlessly and creatively. We continuously evolve and provide audiences with what they desire, while others stick to the same formula night after night, week after week, year after year—but not us. We have completely transformed primetime,” Fernández emphasized during the presentation.
The Telemundo Upfront celebration, branded with the slogan Next Level, also featured remarks from César Conde, Chairman of NBCUniversal News Group.
“It’s a special day. I get to do one of my favorite things, which is to talk about Telemundo and the power of the Hispanic consumer. This market represents a tremendous business opportunity, and at NBCUniversal, we believe Telemundo is our competitive edge and can be yours too. This makes our company the only US media company where you can reach the entire spectrum of Latinos: eight out of ten Hispanics every month. Telemundo redefined Hispanic media, and today is no different. We are known for being innovative and for filling the gap with content that represents all Latinos. No other company can do that because we are the only ones creating content for US Hispanics made by US Hispanics. That’s why Telemundo is not just a leading media company but the number one brand in the hearts and minds of Latinos,” Conde expressed.
The event kicked off with a performance by Hispanic-American comedian Marcello Hernández, only the fourth Hispanic actor to join the cast of NBCUniversal’s Saturday Night Live.
The stage also featured Telemundo’s talent from news, sports, fiction, and entertainment, including journalists Julio Vaqueiro and Arantxa Loizaga from Noticias Telemundo; Miguel Gurwitz and Carlota Vizmanos from Telemundo Deportes; and actors Danilo Carrera, Isabella Castillo, and Carmen Aub. They introduced the audience to the network’s new original offerings, such as Sed de Venganza, Dinastía Casillas, A Great Day with J. Balvin, and Reggaeton.
The evening concluded with a concert by Colombian singer Manuel Turizo, who performed his major hits.
