Univision

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(Redirected from Univision.com)
Jump to: navigation, search
For the similar-sounding film format, see Univisium.
Univision
Type Spanish Broadcast Television Network
Country Flag of the United States United States
Availability    National
Founded 1955
(Through KWEX-TV)
Founder Raoul A. Cortez
Area Miami, Florida, USA
Owner Univision Communications, Inc.
Launch date 1961 as SIN
1987 as Univision
Past names Spanish International Network
(1961-1987)
Website www.univision.com

Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest Hispanic audience, largely due to repurposed telenovelas and other Mexican programs produced by Grupo Televisa. Joe Uva is the CEO of Univision Communications, Inc.

Univision is headquartered now in New York City, after years of being in Los Angeles, [1] and its major production facilities/operations are in Miami. It is available on cable in most of the country, with local stations in several markets with large Hispanic populations. Most of these stations air full local news and programming in addition to network shows. Univision's major programming is closed-captioned in Spanish, but unlike main competitor Telemundo, it almost never provides English subtitles.

The network was sold in March, 2006, to a consortium led by Californian billionaire Haim Saban, TPG Capital, L.P. and Thomas H. Lee Partners for $12.3 billion or $36.25 per share plus $1.4 billion in acquired debt. On March 12, 2006 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. [2]

Contents

Univision dates its origins to 1955, when KCOR-TV, (later KWEX-TV), began broadcasting to the Hispanic community in San Antonio, Texas. That station was part of the Spanish International Network (SIN), Univision's predecessor. SIN was owned by Telesistema Mexicano, Mexico's largest private broadcaster and the forerunner of Televisa.

Today's most-watched Univision affiliate, KMEX-TV channel 34 of Los Angeles went on air in 1962. In the next 20 years, SIN would acquire other high-rated Spanish language television throughout the Western United States, then expanded the market to Florida, New York City, and Chicago.

1986 was a pivotal year for the station group and the network. Emilio Nicolas, Sr., President of SICC sold the television station group to Hallmark Greeting Cards and Azcarraga, the owner of SIN changed the name from SIN 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. Under Hallmark's ownership, Joaquin Blaya, 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.

Lucy Peraida with Gabriel Traversari on the set of TVMujer in 1988
Lucy Peraida with Gabriel Traversari on the set of TVMujer in 1988

In 1988, the network began to produce television shows with a national audience in mind. The first production was titled "TV Mujer" (Woman TV). The program was a magazine styled show aimed to the Hispanic woman living in the United States. Anchored by Lucy Pereda during its first year and Gabriel Traversari, the program consisted of a melange 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 a 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, according to Strategy Research Corporation's (SRC) 1989 fall sweeps performed from May to November 1989, outperforming its time period competition by 33 percent. Telemundo's Dia a Dia, launched before the arrival of TV Mujer, saw its rating diminishing.

A model from Sábado Gigante became the add-on host in its last year, hired to sit in while Flores was on maternity leave -- Jackie Nespral. Jackie became a formal host during the show's final season. TV Mujer begat a series of other programs: "Hola, America", "Al Mediodia" before they were all canceled never really getting the ratings of the original concept.

Univision then decided to expand news programming in the afternoon and launched "Noticias y Mas" with the before mentioned Nespral and a team of three other anchors: Ambrosio Hernandez, Myrka de Llanos and Raul Peimbert. In 1990, Hernandez bolted for the local Telemundo station, WSCV to anchor its evening news programming, being joined by Peimbert shortly after that being wooed to anchor the new Telemundo evening news. Nespral left to join the weekend edition of the "Today" show leaving De Llanos on the anchor desk by herself. Univision had other plans for the moribund show. They revamped it, changed the name, the theme music and installed a weekend reporter to be De Llanos' partner: Puerto Rican born Maria Celeste Arraras who joined the now tabloid news program called "Primer Impacto".

In 2002, Univision entered into a local marketing agreement (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 where acquired from USA Broadcasting and had previously been affiliated with the Home Shopping Network. Both WLII and WSUR were sold to Univision in 2005.

In 2003, WIIH in Indianapolis, Indiana began broadcasting, owned and operated by LIN TV affiliated with Univision.

In late 2004, a feud began between Univision's chairman, 78-year old entertainment guru Jerry Perenchio, and the 36-year old 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 Maria Celeste Arraras, and sports announcer Andres 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.

On February 9, 2006 Univision Communications confirmed that it was putting itself up for sale. Rupert Murdoch, chairman of the News Corporation, stated that his company was considering buying Univision, but backed off that position [3]. Other expected bidders announced were Time Warner, CBS, Disney, Grupo Televisa of Mexico (under a partnership due to foreign ownership laws), Bill Gates, and several private equity firms. Tribune Company was rumored to be interested in buying Telefutura. [4]

Then on June 27, 2006, Univision announced that it accepted a $12.7 billion dollar bid from a group of private equity investors led by TPG Capital, L.P. and Thomas H. Lee Partners. The investor group also included Madison Dearborn, Providence Equity, and children's television mogul Haim Saban -- founder of Saban Entertainment. This marks Saban's return to broadcast ownership, as Saban (minus partner Shuki Levy) was 50% owner, along with News Corporation, of the Fox Family Channel (now known as the Disney-owned ABC Family Channel). On March 27, 2007, federal regulators approved the sale. [1] According to the Los Angeles Times, the deal was closed and the ownership change was made official on that same day. [2]

However, Univision's shareholders filed two class-action lawsuit 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 from a winner of a "Despierta America" $30,000 makeover contest for breaking its own rules and cancelling the makeover right in the middle of it. [5]

Also, Univision yet again 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, Univision made history in the television ratings with the finale of La Fea Mas Bella, which beat all English-language television broadcasting networks with a 3.0 rating out of 9 share, making it the most watched show for the night and the 2nd most watched show of the week. [3]

On September 9, 2007 Univision hosted the first Spanish-language presidential debate in the United States at the University of Miami.[4]

News/News Investigation shows are in red; Reality/Game Shows are in green; Primetime Talk Shows are in blue; Telenovelas are in purple.

7:00 PM 7:30 PM 8:00 PM 8:30 PM 9:00 PM 9:30 PM 10:00 PM 10:30 PM
Sunday La Hora Pico Bailando Por Un Sueño: 1er Campeonato Internacional de Baile
Monday Yo amo a Juan Querendon Amar Sin Limites Pasion Cristina
Tuesday Ver Para Creer
Wednesday Don Francisco Presenta
Thursday Aquí Y Ahora
Friday La Familia P.luche Retro P.Luche
Saturday Una Familia de Diez La Parodia Sábado Gigante

Univision's shows include:

Various prime-time telenovelas and specialty shows from Mexico also air. They are edited to fit U.S. as well as Univision broadcast standards. (see below)

Univision has contracts with Venezuela's Venevisión and Mexico's Televisa to showcase some of their novelas and other shows. They are listed by the year in which they first went on the air in their respective countries. On July 6, 2006, Univision and Televisa reached an exclusive program licensing agreement in which the network and its sisters, Telefutura and Galavisión would lose all rights to all programs produced by or for Televisa after 2017, unless a new agreement is reached before then. [5] Meanwhile, at this time little is known about Univision's agreement with Venevisión. Also, on May 14, 2007, Univision signed a deal with Walt Disney and ABC to produce programs for the network. Programs include a Spanish version of ABC's Desperate Housewives. [6]

Eastern /
Pacific
Central /
Mountain
Title
(English Translation)
Distributor(s)
(Country, Year)
Cast First Premiered Projected /
Scheduled Finale
12:00 PM 11:00 AM Bajo la Misma Piel
(Under The Same Skin)
Televisa
(Mexico, 2003)
Kate Del Castillo
Juan Soler
Laisha Wilkins
Sergio Catalan
October 15, 2007 February 2008
1:00 PM 12:00 PM Nunca Te Dire Adiós
(I'll Never Say Goodbye)
Venevision
(Venezuela / Peru, 2007)
Paola Toyos
Luis Caballero
Wanda D'Isidoro
Harry Geithner
September 17, 2007 January 2008
2:00 PM 1:00 PM Bajo las Riendas del Amor
(Under The Reins Of Love)
Televisa /
Fono Video
(Mexico / USA, 2007)
Adriana Fonseca
Gabriel Soto
Adamari Lopez
Victor Gonzalez
October 8, 2007 April 2008
3:00 PM 2:00 PM Código Postal
(Postal Code)
Televisa
(Mexico, 2006)
Africa Zavala
Jose Ron
Gabriela Goldsmith
Imanol
April 9, 2007 January 2008

Eastern /
Pacific
Central /
Mountain
Title
(English Translation)
Distributor(s)
(Country, Year)
Cast First Premiered Projected /
Scheduled Finale
7:00 PM 6:00 PM Yo amo a Juan Querendon
(I Love Juan Querendon)
Televisa
(Mexico, 2007)
Mayrin Villanueva
Eduardo Santamarina
Florencia De Saracho
Alexis Ayala
June 11, 2007 June 2008
8:00 PM 7:00 PM Amar Sin Limites
(Love Without Limits)
Televisa
(Mexico, 2006 / 2007)
Karyme Lozano
Valentino Lanus
Monika Sanchez
Rene Strickler
July 17, 2007 January 2008
9:00 PM 8:00 PM Pasion
(Passion)
Televisa
(Mexico, 2007)
Susana Gonzalez
Fernando Colunga
Daniela Castro
Sebastian Rulli
December 4, 2007 April 2008

Eastern /
Pacific
Central /
Mountain
Title
(English Translation)
Distributor(s)
(Country, Year)
Cast First Premiered Projected /
Scheduled Finale
1:00 AM 12:00 AM Salomé
(Salome)
Televisa
(Mexico, 2001 / 2002)
Edith Gonzalez
Guy Ecker
Monica Sanchez
Sebastian Ligarde
August 13, 2007 February 2008

Eastern /
Pacific
Central /
Mountain
Title
(English Translation)
Distributor(s)
(Country, Year)
Cast First Premiered Projected /
Scheduled Finale
12:00 PM 11:00 AM Besos Robados
(Stolen Kisses)
Iguana Produciones / Venevision Int'l
(Peru / Venezuela, 2004)
Stephanie Cayo
Juan Carlos Garcia
Veronica Schneider
Julian Legaspi
August 25, 2007 August 2008

Title
(English Translation)
Distributor(s)
(Country, Year)
Cast Projected /
Scheduled Debut
To Replace
(Broadcast Time Slot)
Amor Comprado
(Love Contract)
Venevision
(USA, 2008)
Elizabeth Gutierrez
Jose Angel Llamas
Marjorie De Sousa
Zully Montero
January 2008 Nunca Te Diré Adiós
Muchachitas como tú
(Young Ladies Like You)
Televisa
(México, 2007)
Ariadne Diaz
Begoña Narvaez
Gabriela Carrillo
Gloria Sierra
January 2008 Código Postal
Al Diablo con los Guapos
(Down with the Gallants)
Televisa
(México, 2007 / 2008)
Allison Lozz
Eugenio Siller
Cesar Evora
Laura Flores
January 2008 Amar Sin Limites
Lola...Érase una vez
(Lola... Once Upon A Time)
Televisa
(México 2007 / 2008)
Eiza Gonzalez
Aaron Díaz
Lorena Herrera
Grettell Valdez
May 2008 Amor sin Maquillaje
Amor sin Maquillaje
(Love Without Makeup)
Televisa
(México, 2007)
Marlene Favela
Sergio Goyri
Helena Rojo
Cesar Evora
April 2008 Bajo Las Riendas del Amor
Tormenta en el Paraiso
(Storm in the Paradise)
Televisa
(México, 2007 / 2008)
Sara Maldonado
Erick Elias
Mariana Seoane
Alejandro Tommasi
2008 Al Diablo con los Guapos
Palabra de Mujer
(Women's Word)
Televisa
(México, 2007 / 2008)
Edith Gonzalez
Yadhira Carrillo
Ludwika Paleta
Lidia Avila
2008 TBA

Title
(English Translation)
Distributor(s)
(Country, Year)
Cast Projected /
Scheduled Debut
Day/Hour
Amas de Casas Desesperadas
(Desperate Housewives)
Univision
(Usa, 2007)
Gabriela Vergara
Lucia Mendez
Scarlett Ortiz
Ana Serradilla
January 10, 2008 Thursdays at 10pm
El Pantera
(The Panther)
Televisa
(Mexico, 2007)
Luis Roberto Guzman
Iran Castillo
Alicia Machado
2008 (P) Weekly at 10pm
13 Miedos
(13 Fears)
Televisa
(Mexico, 2007)
Sara Maldonado
Alejandra Barros
2008 (P) Weekly at 10pm
¿Y Ahora Que Hago?
(And What Do I Do Now?)
Televisa
(Mexico, 2007)
Adal Ramones 2008 (P) Weekly at 10pm

In addition to the Univision network, Univision Communications owns several other properties. They include:


Advanced Search
Included Web Search Engines


Safe Search

close

Top Matching Results

Occasionally Search.com will highlight specialized results that are based on the context of your query. Examples of specialized results include specific links to news, images, or video.

Top Matching Results may highlight information from other Search.com pages, content from the CNET Network of sites, or third party content. The listings are based purely on relevance. Search.com does not receive payment for listings in this section but our partners that provide this data may get paid for listing these products.

Sponsored Links

This section contains paid listings which have been purchased by companies that want to have their sites appear for specific search terms and related content. These listings are administered, sorted and maintained by a third party and are not endorsed by Search.com.

Search Results

Search.com sends your search query to several search engines at one time and integrates the results into one list which has been sorted by relevance using Search.com's proprietary algorithm. You can customize the list of search engines included in your metasearch from the preferences.

The search engines that are used in your metasearch may allow companies to pay to have their Web sites included within the results. To view the Paid Inclusion policy for a specific search engine, please visit their Web site. Search.com does not accept payment or share revenue with any search engine partner for listings in this section.