Mike Nieves of HITN: “The New Vida y Salud Demonstrates The Value Of Having A Channel That Educates While It Entertains”

A politician and media executive, Puerto Rican Mike Nieves, CEO and President of Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network, Inc. (HITN), spoke on #PRODUprimetime with Ríchard Izarra about the launch of the Vida y Salud channel in the U.S. and Latin America.

“I am diabetic, and I’m sure I would have paid attention to the Vida y Salud portal when I was doing other things, specifically working at the New York City Mayor’s Office, when I wasn’t eating well, I would have had more information. When I see our product and what people are watching and the response we get in the e-mails we receive every week, I realize the value of having a channel that educates people and at the same time entertains them. That’s evident when you watch Vida y Salud,” said Nieves.

He also mentioned Edye, the premium Spanish-language SVOD for preschoolers. “These two projects have come out of the effort of our employees in Miami with our support from New York.”

He noted that, like Edye, Vida y Salud will be available in the U.S. and in Latin America. “For us it’s important because we’re not thinking only about the U.S. audience, but also about our roots as Hispanics, in Spanish-speaking countries,” he said.

Nieves also referred to HITN-Go. “I hope that the Go will be what brings Vida y Salud to the people,” he noted.

A CALLING FOR SOCIAL GOOD

Besides his experience in politics and media management, Nieves has a strong calling for social good and for helping others.

“That is the responsibility of all of us: to help the people. What you do for one, you do for the Lord. It’s important,” said Nieves, who has devoted 50 years to this cause.

“I came to the church where I became involved in 1967 and I went to mass yesterday at that same church. It has always been part of my life. I don’t live in the neighborhood where I grew up, but I do attend mass where I grew up,” he said.

He added the importance of putting in the effort to raise money for social causes and for ventures such as HITN. “Our community doesn’t understand that we need to put in the effort to raise money. Sometimes it’s easier for our people to ask for money for someone else than for themselves. I learned when I was at the Mayor’s Office that you have to ask—if you don’t ask, there won’t be money, nothing will come. If someone tells you there’s no money, they’re telling you there’s no money for you. But there is money, there’s money in every government, in foundations, in communities, everyone gives. But if you don’t find a way to make them understand that you need to receive that money and put it to work for the good of the community, no one is going to give you the money,” he said.

45 YEARS OF HITN

Nieves, along with two other Puerto Ricans, José Luis Rodríguez, and assemblyman José Rivera, who donated US$3 million, were the ones who gave the initial push for the creation of HITN. “I started with José Luis 45 years ago and helped raise the money to build this place. For me it was important to have an organization created by Hispanics, particularly by Puerto Ricans.”

Nieves was the one who found the site for the channel’s headquarters in Brooklyn. “Back then I was from Brooklyn, I knew Brooklyn. I told them there’s a place you can go. This was an empty little box with nothing in it, and now you can see a place here that I’m very proud of. These offices, the ones we have in Miami and the ones in Puerto Rico, all have the same look. For me that’s important, we’re all one team,” he said.

Although Nieves took part in the founding of HITN, it was 11 years ago that he took over the reins of the company, and it is precisely in these 11 years that HITN has achieved major expansion.

“When I arrived I understood one thing: government and money. I didn’t know anything about TV. Now I know a little more, but I knew I could manage and lead this organization where it needed to go, that’s why we have so many awards, and that happens because we understood how to run a TV channel. I’ve learned a lot about how people work within a channel and how a channel is made, and I’ve learned how audiences watch TV. For us it’s important to listen to what the audience is saying. That’s how you learn,” he said.

To conclude, he highlighted the importance of Hispanics in the U.S. “We are going to be the largest minority group in this country in 20 to 25 years, Hispanics are going to have the power to change an election. In these midterm elections, Hispanics are going to be, in many areas, the vote that carries the winning candidate, because it’s a new vote, they’re learning, and it’s needed,” he said.