A two-man investigative news operation that launched in April has become the go-to Web site for inside information about ethically questionable activities at the Telemundo- and Univision- owned and operated stations in Los Angeles.
"The Enterprise Report" has broken several stories related to how the management of Telemundo O&O KVEA dealt internally with the relationship between anchor Mirthala Salinas and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The site also broke the news of Salinas's previous relationships with other politicians including California State Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez while assigned to the political beat. Nuñez confirmed the story.
In one report, Eric Longabardi, the site’s co-editor and chief investigative reporter, quoted an unnamed NBC Telemundo source saying "everyone in the newsroom knew of the relationship with Nuñez including management and nothing was done about it." In an interview, Longabardi said "management not only turned a blind eye to [Salinas's previous relationships with politicians] and at one point us[ed] it to their benefit."
Longabardi, who is a longtime independent investigative television producer, wrote that "Salinas at the time was the political reporter and having a romantic relationship with the second most powerful politician in California (Nuñez) is certainly a breach of ethics and a violation of Telemundo/GE Ethics policy."
Last week, The Enterprise Report broke the story that Mayor Villaraigosa "was receiving written questions in advance, sometimes days in advance, before television interviews that were conducted on the Univision Los Angeles based television station KMEX-TV34. The questions sent to the Mayor were represented to the public as impromptu-unscripted questions. ERSNews had uncovered they were anything but that. According to sources familiar with the situation, the mayor’s office exerted extensive influence and sway in insuring the Mayor was not put in any light other than a favorable one, something Univision accommodated routinely."
"This activity is inconsistent with our editorial policies and once we learned it was happening, we took actions to ensure it does not happen again, a Univision spokesman said.
Telemundo president Don Browne has a new boss, Jeff Gaspin, but the same old problem of being a distant second in ratings and revenue to Univision. Last week, Gaspin was named president and COO of Universal Television Group with responsibility for NBCU's cable networks (Bravo, Sci-Fi, USA, etc.) and Telemundo.
Browne used to report to Jay Ireland, who recently left NBC to become president and CEO of GE Asset Management. Browne's previous boss was Randy Falco who left NBC to run AOL.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Gaspin acknowledged "There have been more bumps in the road than we expected ... But we all believe and understand how valuable Telemundo could and should be."
Hector Orci, chairman of La Agencia de Orcí & Asociados, reacted to the announcment saying, "Management changes happen all the time for reasons that have nothing to do with the brand itself. The concern that I have is not that there are changes but that it doesn’t seem like they have solved the marketing puzzle just yet. That marketing puzzle is how to get Latino consumers to tune into their stations in much bigger numbers."
Venevision International Films last week began distributing its movies for rent and sale through online retailer Amazon's video download service, Amazon Unbox. Amazon's digital video downloads cost $9.99 for a purchase while renting ranges between $2.99 and $3.99. Venevision films are also available for download at Akimbo, Jaman.com, Overdrive and Sivoo.
"We are at a point where going online is a viable alternative to the traditional rental and purchase. I wouldn't necessarily say it is on par or it will take over those sales" said Roy Meyeringh, director of multiplatform VOD film distribution.
Venevision International Films are also available through the Venemovies cable channel on Comcast with some four to six movies available on VOD per month. Selling the movies on a pay-per-view basis through various distributors including hotels is still the largest revenue generator.
Meyeringh highlighted the business appeal of renting and selling video downloads, "with VOD there is very little overhead. When you are looking at shelf space that you are fighting for at Wal-Mart with music and video games, which is pretty much what is taking over -- I don't necessarily have to deal with that in the long tail of the Web where it is virtual shelf space."
¡Sorpresa! Network president and COO Leonard Firestone sounds absolutely unfazed by the $1.49 million first quarter loss of parent company Juniper Content.
"The company is now doing exactly what was designed in the merger and that is to invest into ¡Sorpresa! and that is what you are seeing there reflected in the financials." Firestone said. "What Juniper Content Corp. has done since the time we closed the deal has been exactly what was designed in the deal which I am very happy about, and that is access to capital and resources and investment in resources."
He also referred to the recent hires of Tim Kelly as VP of affiliate marketing and Maria Badillo as VP of programming as "just the beginning. We are at about 24 people within ¡Sorpresa! and Firestone Communications, and by year end our budget calls for us to be at about 40 people."
SCP Worldwide and Gol TV are teaming up on the distribution, marketing and sales of ninety South American qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup. The partnership follows the breakdown of the attempted purchase of a controlling stake in Gol TV by SCP Worldwide.
The matches begin this October and continue through November 2009 with the top four teams going to the World Cup. Many of the matches will be available only through residential or commercial pay-per-view. However, at least one of the matches per round will be transmitted live on Gol TV. The exact breakdown of matches carried on Gol TV versus pay-per-view has not yet been determined.
Gol TV COO and Palmeiras fan Rodrigo Lombello said, "we are working together with SCP on the whole thing [including the] games and special shows. Gol TV is giving our market knowledge, production and distribution capabilities to support SCP on the pay- per-view distribution too. We are working together on the whole package. It is not as simple as we acquired [the rights]. It is finding the right way to exploit the 90 games."
Comcast to Carry HITN-TV in Chicago
(Excerpted from a July 30 article in Multichannel News)
Comcast linked up with Spanish-language educational and cultural network Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network to bring the channel to Chicago.
HITN-TV will be on channel 649 in Chicago as part of Comcast’s new 30-channel Selecto Completo service there.
“HITN-TV’s educational and entertaining programming will make a phenomenal addition to our menu of channels,” said Carlos Morales, Hispanic marketing manager for Comcast's Greater Chicago region, in a prepared statement. “Its cutting-edge coverage of the latest issues that affect our community, such as the live coverage from the National Council of La Raza’s Annual Conference, sets a standard of excellence we are proud to represent.”
Networks, Cable Operators Tout Relationship Efforts
(Excerpted from a July 30 article in Multichannel News)
With the cable marketplace growing more diverse, networks and multiple-systems operators alike are trying to stay ahead of the game when it comes to marketing to specific cultural demographics.
According to Cablevision Systems vice president of multicultural marketing Valerie Green, that Bethpage, N.Y.-based operator is doing more multicultural marketing than any other operator in the country.
An AP report in the International Herald Tribune stated, "The world's four biggest record companies are examining a possible acquisition of Univision Communications Inc.'s record labels and music publishing business, a person familiar with the Spanish-language media conglomerate's auction said." The AP states meetings will begin this week to negotiate the sale of Univision Music Group. Univision had previously announced its decision to sell its music division.
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