This article is about the terrestrial television network launched in 1984. For the Puerto Rican television station it was named after, seeWKAQ-TV. For the unrelated news program from Uruguayan channel Teledoce, seeTelemundo 12.
The channel broadcasts programs and original content aimed atHispanic American audiences in the United States and worldwide, consisting oftelenovelas,sports,reality television,news programming and films—either imported or Spanish-dubbed. In addition, Telemundo operatesUniverso, a separate channel directed towards young Hispanic audiences;[1] Telemundo Digital Media, which distributes original programming content acrossmass media, the Telemundo and Universo websites;Puerto Ricofree-to-air stationWKAQ-TV; and international distribution arm Telemundo Internacional.
Telemundo is headquartered inMiami and operates a studio and productions facility in the Miami suburb ofDoral, Florida, and has 1,900 employees worldwide.[2][3] The majority of Telemundo's programs are shot at an operated studio facility in Miami, where 85 percent of the network's telenovelas were recorded during 2011.[4] The average hourly primetime drama costs $70K to produce.[5]
History
Originally launched as NetSpan in 1984, the network was renamed Telemundo in 1987, after the network owners purchased the previous owner ofWKAQ-TV (channel 2), a television station inSan Juan, Puerto Rico, branded on air as Telemundo. On March 28, 1954, WKAQ-TV signed on. It was originally founded byÁngel Ramos – owner ofPuerto Rico's main newspaper at the time,El Mundo, and the U.S. territory's first radio station,WKAQ (also known as "Radio El Mundo"). Ramos wanted to maintain a consistent branding for his media properties based around the "mundo" theme (the Spanish word for "world"), and chose to brand his new television property as "Telemundo" (in effect, translating to "Teleworld" or "World TV"). On April 14, 1983, Ramos sold WKAQ-TV to John Blair & Co.[citation needed]
In 1987, Reliance Capital Group executivesSaul Steinberg andHenry Silverman merged all these stations into the Telemundo Group.[7] The new corporation quickly wentpublic, and in 1987, Reliance decided to rebrand NetSpan as Telemundo. Later that year, it purchased additional stations in San Francisco,Houston (KTMD, channel 47) andSan Antonio (KVDA, channel 60).
Telemundo Group, Inc. traded on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market tier of the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol TLMDW.
Relaunch as Telemundo (1988–1997)
Historic Telemundo logos
Between 1988 and 1993, Telemundo acquired or affiliated with television stations inTexas (KFWD channel 52, inDallas–Fort Worth, now aShopHQ affiliate),New Mexico (KTEL-CD channel 47, inAlbuquerque),Arizona (KHRR channel 40, inTucson) andWashington, D.C. (W64BW, channel 64; nowWZDC-CD on channel 25). The new network started producing telenovelas from Miami, ending a cycle that started in Puerto Rico in the 1950s. The first such production -Angélica, mi vida, centered around three families of varied Latino immigrant backdrops - was the first such production to be made in the US mainland for the new network.[8]
In May 1992, Telemundo underwent another management change, appointing former Univision president Joaquin Blaya – who resigned from that network after discovering in an FCC filing forJerry Perenchio's purchase of the network fromHallmark Cards that Univision would increase its reliance on programming fromTelevisa andVenevision to levels that resulted in him concluding that there would be fewer opportunities for the addition of local programs on Univision's stations, and was subsequently joined by four other Univision executives – to head the network.[9]
The following year in 1993, Telemundo underwent an extensiverebranding, introducing the signature framed "T" letter logo (which has been used by the network since that point in various design elements), and a promotional campaign using the slogan "Arriba, Telemundo, Arriba" ("Upwards, Telemundo, Upwards"). The network also began to produce its own original telenovelas, the first of which to premiere wereAngélica, mi vida ("Angelica, My Life"),Marielena,Guadalupe,Señora Tentación ("Lady Temptation") andTres Destinos ("Three Destinations"). International distributors soon approached the network for the syndication rights to air these programs on television networks in other countries. Telemundo's effort faced an initial setback when Mexico's leading broadcaster,Televisa, purchasedproduction company Capitalvision, which had been producing the telenovelas in conjunction with the network. Parent company Telemundo Group experienced major financial challenges during this time, filing forChapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1994, due to a debt load of more than $300 million that the company owed to its creditors.
In an effort to boost its tepid ratings and quell complaints from advocacy organizations such as theNational Hispanic Media Coalition that criticized both networks for not featuring content relatable to American Latinos, Telemundo outlined a new strategy to better compete against Univision by increasing production of domestically produced programs. In 1995, under the direction of executive vice president of programming Harry Abraham Castillo, Telemundo opened its first network studio on theWest Coast. Housed atRaleigh Studios inHollywood, the network began daily production of three shows on the lot that year:La Hora Lunática ("The Crazy Hour"), a daytime talk-variety show hosted by Los Angeles radio personality Humberto Luna, comediansMario Ramírez Reyes "El Comodín" and Hugo Armando, and producerJackie Torres;El y Ella ("He and She"), a daily talk show focusing on gender-related issues that was created and produced byGigi Graciette, who co-hosted the program withAntonio Farré; andDando y Dando ("Giving and Giving"), an audience and viewer participation game show hosted by Rafael Sigler.[10]
The first wave of major changes to Telemundo came on August 11, 1997, when the network revamped its prime time schedule by cutting an hour of its prime time telenovela lineup; concurrently, local newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated and affiliate stations were moved an hour earlier to 10:00 p.m. (or 9:00, depending on the time zone) – placing them directly against late-evening newscasts onFox,WB,UPN andindependent stations in many markets – followed by a late-evening national newscast produced bycable news channel CBS Telenoticias; movies were also added during the 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Eastern time slot on certain weeknights to help bolster its late newscasts.[11]
Liberty Media and Sony Pictures join in (1997–2001)
On November 25, 1997,Liberty Media andSony Pictures Entertainment purchased a majority interest in Telemundo from Reliance Capital Group for $539 million, beating out a bid made days earlier by an investment group led by Telemundo Group chairmanLeon Black, who had already owned 40.3 percent of the network throughApollo Global Management and remained a minority partner in Telemundo Group through the purchase;[12][13] under the deal, Liberty acquired a 40 percent interest and Sony (which made its entry into domestic broadcasting ownership with the deal) acquired a 35 percent stake in Telemundo, with the remaining interest held by investment firms Apollo Global Management and Bastion Capital Fund. On November 25, 1997, several investors who held shares in Telemundo Group filed an injunction to block the sale in aDelaware Chancery Court, in order to investigate whether executives were shortchanging shareholders in accepting the offer; that request, as well as a separate injunction request byUnivision Communications, were later rejected.[14]
After the sale received FCC approval on July 31, 1998,[15] Sony and Liberty formed a holding company that was operated as a 50/50joint venture between both companies, Telemundo Communications Group. Helmed by yet another management team under the leadership of former CBS entertainment president Peter Tortorici as president and CEO andNely Galán as president of entertainment, Telemundo explored avenues to attract the bilingual market.[16] The network then launched an image campaign using the slogan "Lo mejor de los dos Mundos" ("The Best of Both Worlds"), with several billboard ads being erected in cities such as Miami and San Francisco as part of the campaign, heralding a "new era" for Telemundo.
Tortorici dramatically overhauled Telemundo's schedule in an effort to boost its viewership among American Spanish language audiences, as its total audience share had slid from more than 40 percent early in the decade to less than 20 percent (and only a 13 percent share during prime time) by 1998. This "new era" broke from the conventional Spanish-language programming model, the changes made for the 1998–99 lineup included the complete removal of telenovelas from its prime time schedule, citing the inferior quality of theSouth Americanserial dramas that it had been acquiring compared to the Mexican serials fromTelevisa that were carried by Univision.[17] The revamped evening lineup that premiered on September 28, 1998, included several new sitcoms, traditional scripted dramas and game shows with higher production values, including several scripted shows that were remakes of English language series owned byColumbia TriStar Television (nowSony Pictures Television), to position the network as a younger-skewing alternative to Univision more acculturated to assimilated American Latinos. Among them wereAngeles ("Angels"), a remake ofCharlie's Angels;Un Angel en la Casa ("An Angel in the House"), a sitcom loosely based onWho's the Boss?;Solo en America ("Living in America"), a remake ofOne Day at a Time. Also added to the lineup were updated Spanish language versions ofThe Dating Game,The Newlywed Game andCandid Camera; and thepolice proceduralReyes y Rey ("Kings and King"). The network's existing prime time novelas were relegated to a three-hour block on weekday mornings, while movies were added in prime time on Tuesday and Thursday nights as part of the showcase "Cinemundo", featuring dubbed versions of recent American film releases (many of which were sourced from the Sony movie library).[18]
In addition, to better take advantage of the region's pool of writers and directors, Tortorici decided to migrate Telemundo's main base of operations – transferring its programming and management divisions – fromHialeah, Florida to a new facility inSanta Monica, California in December of that year, resulting in the hiring or transfer of approximately 45 employees; more than 300 other employees continued to be based at its Hialeah offices.[19] The changes proved to be disastrous as Telemundo's ratings for the overhauled prime time lineup sharply fell by 42 percent to an 8 percent audience share among Latino households against the telenovela-dominated lineup programmed by Univision (which held a roughly 91 percent share) in that slot by the February 1999 sweeps period; the network was even forced to air numerous commercials for free as part of contractual makegoods to advertisers, resulting in a loss of more than $1 million in potential revenue.[20]
After Tortoricci resigned from the network in July 1999, Telemundo tapped formerUniversal Television president Jim McNamara as its president andchief executive officer, and Alan Sokol aschief operating officer to helm its operations.[21] Their programming strategy reverted to a more traditional approach to Spanish-language television than the mainstream concept implemented by Tortoricci. The new team struck a programming agreement withTV Azteca for the U.S. rights to the Mexican broadcaster's novelas and other programming, and restored a two-hour block of telenovelas originating from Mexico,Colombia andBrazil – later expanded to three hours with the shift of its late local and national newscasts to the traditional 11:00 (or 10:00) p.m. time slot in 2000 – as part of its Monday through Friday prime time slate which resulted in the cancellation ofAngeles andReyes el Rey.Reality, entertainment and newsmagazine programs were also added to the schedule, while prime time movies were relegated to weekend evenings.[22]
In September 1999, Telemundo began transferring the bulk of its programming and marketing operations from its Santa Monica headquarters and consolidated all operations of the network at its offices in Hialeah. Most of the network's management staff migrated to the Hialeah facility including McNamara, Sokol and Galan, either on a temporary or long-term basis, with most other staff being given the option of either accepting the relocation offer or resigning from the network; some positions based at the Santa Monica facility were eliminated, with around a dozen workers remaining at the West Coast office.[19]
During McNamara's tenure, Telemundo premiered shows such asLaura en América ("Laura in America"), a "conflict talk" show hosted by Peruvian lawyerLaura Bozzo; the telenovelasYo Soy Betty, La Fea ("Ugly Betty", or literally translated as "I Am Betty, the Ugly"), starringAna Maria Orozco; and anovela adaptation of the Brazilian comedy filmXica, starringTaís Araújo;A Oscuras Pero Encendidos ("In the Dark, but Turned On"), the first Late Night talk show geared at the Hispanic market in the US hosted byPaul Bouche; a game showNúmeros Rojos ("Red Numbers"), hosted by Wilmer Ramirez; and the Argentine children's programAgrandaditos. It also acquired the rights to broadcast a weekly series from World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on Saturday nights. The network also entered into a co-production agreement withColumbia TriStar International Television (nowSony Pictures Television International) to produce original telenovelas for Mexican audiences.[22][23][24] The network also launchedProtagonistas ("Protagonists"), a staged, unscripted reality series that followed a group of 16 aspiring actors living together in a Miami television studio for several weeks, for the opportunity to win a role on one of the network's telenovelas.[25]
Second chance (2001–2009)
Telemundo's former logo used from 2000 to December 7, 2012. Telemundo's used as screen bug until December 8, 2013.
On October 11, 2001, National Broadcasting Company, Inc. (which itself would merge withVivendi Universal a year-and-a-half later to become the present-dayNBCUniversal) purchased Telemundo Communications Group from Sony and Liberty Media for $1.98 billion (increasing to $2.7 billion by the sale's closure) and the assumption of $700 million in debt, in an equal cash and stock split by NBC parentGeneral Electric. Upon the announcement, many media industry experts thought that NBC overpaid for Telemundo, given the network's lower Hispanic audience reach (attracting about 20 percent of all Hispanic viewers in the United States, while Univision had a reach of about 80 percent). Jim McNamara and Alan Sokol remained at the helm of the network after the acquisition was finalized on April 12, 2002.[26][27]
Under NBC, Telemundo brought greater emphasis to original programming andproduct placement, while the network's owned-and-operated stations in larger markets began producing their own early morning newscasts in an effort to become more competitive in their respective markets; the Telemundo "T" logo also received an overhaul, replacing the sphere with a curved outline which similarly represented a globe. Telemundo's main competitor, Univision, continued to beat the network in the ratings, although not in all time periods. In 2004, Telemundo Communications Group formed Telemundo Television Studios (now known as simplyTelemundo Studios) in Miami, as part of its expansion of original programming through the acquisition ofRTI Colombia's interest in their joint venture Telemundo-RTI, subsequently signing an agreement to acquire the operational assets of its international distributor, Tepuy International (now Telemundo International); the network spent $100 million per year on programming producing during the mid-2000s.[2]
After the NBC Universal merger, Telemundo ceased importing telenovelas from Latin America and started producing its own dramas, either independently or through co-production arrangements with other production companies. To that end, Telemundo partnered withColombian-based producerRTI Colombia and Mexican production companyArgos Comunicación. In an effort for its telenovelas – which follow theMexican model – to be recognized by U.S. and Latin American audiences, Telemundo hired well-known actors and actresses from Mexico, Colombia,Venezuela,Argentina and Puerto Rico to star in its dramas; over time, Telemundo also began to hire American-born Hispanic actors and actresses who are fluent Spanish speakers. In 2005, McNamara retired as CEO of the network; he was replaced by Don Browne, who had previously served as president and general manager of NBC's Miami O&O (and WSCV sister station)WTVJ.
In March 2007, NBC Universal announced that it would restructure Telemundo's entertainment division in an effort to narrow Univision's ratings dominance.[28] The company also announced its intention to sell the original Telemundo station in Puerto Rico, WKAQ-TV, and Spanishindependent stationKWHY-TV (channel 22) in Los Angeles in order to help finance its acquisition ofOxygen Media. On December 21, 2007, NBC Universal announced that it would no longer seek a buyer for WKAQ-TV, indicating thatTelemundo Puerto Rico would remain within the NBC corporate umbrella.[29]
Part of Comcast (2011–present)
In 2010,Comcast announced that it would acquire a 51 percent majority stake in NBC Universal for $6.5 billion; the deal was completed on January 28, 2011, with Comcast acquiring control of Telemundo as part of the deal.[30][31][32] In October 2011,Emilio Romano was appointed as president of Telemundo, a role he would handle until his abrupt resignation from the network in October 2013.[33]
First variant of the Telemundo's logo from December 8, 2012, to April 3, 2018.
On May 14, 2012, Telemundo announced that it would launch a new branding campaign that would include the debut of a new slogan and on-air identity, including the replacement of its framed "T" logo (a variant of the 1992-era design that had been introduced by the network in 1999), with a new logo featuring two partial red spheres forming the "T", described to "capture the duality of Telemundo's audience, balancing the strong connection to their Latin roots with their contemporary mindset of living in the U.S." The new logo and graphics package debuted on-air on December 8 of that year.[34] Telemundo achieved ratings success during 2012, with the telenovela seriesRosa Diamante ("Diamond Rose"; a remake of Enrique Torres'Perla Negra) and theCaracol TV-producedPablo Escobar. That year, Telemundo debuted the "social novela"Secreteando [es] onFacebook, with comments made on othersocial media websites.[35]
During the 2000s, Univision also lost several key on-air personalities to Telemundo, including longtime weekend news anchorMaría Antonieta Collins (who left to host the morning programCada Dia),Primer Impacto anchorMaría Celeste Arrarás (who became the host of a similarly formatted newsmagazine,Al Rojo Vivo) and sports announcersAndrés Cantor (known to many Americans for his exuberant announcement of "Goal!" during football matches[36]) andNorberto Longo. By the middle of the decade, Univision overtook UPN and The WB – which shut down in September 2006 and were replaced byThe CW, which Univision also outranks – as the fifth highest-rated network in total viewership; since then, it also sometimes posts higher viewership in the key age demographics of Adults 18–34 and Adults 18–49.
Continuing the momentum in 2013 were telenovelasLa Patrona ("The Return") andEl Señor de los Cielos ("The Lord of the Skies"),[37] and the musical competition seriesLa Voz Kids ("The Voice Kids"; a Spanish language adaptation ofThe Voice franchise featuring children as contestants), hosted byDaisy Fuentes and Jorge Bernal, featuring musical coachesPaulina Rubio,Prince Royce andRoberto Tapia. With the debut ofEl Señor de los Cielos that spring, Telemundo also launched the "Super Series" format, a slate of action-oriented telenovelas – which usually air during the final hour of the network's prime time novela block – designed as a reinvention of the genre using the multiple-season continuity model common with English language drama series, shorter episode runs (between 60 and 80 episodes per season, compared to traditional single-season novelas, which produce between 100 and 200 episodes on average) and the incorporation of storylines more relatable to American audiences.[38]
These programs helped Telemundo decrease its ratings gap in the key demographic of Adults 18–49, decreasing the gap between the two networks by 54 percent between 2010 and 2015, with Telemundo even beating Univision four times during the 2014–2015 television season on nights when the former aired sports events and specials; the network also narrowed the ratings differentials with Univision in total prime time viewership from a gap of 1.2 million viewers in July 2013 to 238,000 in July 2015.[38] Telemundo also began improving its ratings during the 10:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) hour, following its transition from traditional novelas to the "Super Series" format, withEl Señor de los Cielos posting some of the network's highest viewership for an entertainment program, when its second-season finale in 2014 drew 3.2 million total viewers.[37]
On May 13, 2014, during the network's 2014–15 upfront presentation atFrederick P. Rose Hall in New York City,Luis Silberwasser was named president of Telemundo Network, LLC, maintaining overall responsibilities for the Telemundo network and production division Telemundo Studios.[39]
On July 21, 2015, Telemundo beat Univision for the first time in a singular-night demographic, averaging 969,000 viewers and a .76 rating in the demographic (26K more viewers and a .2 higher share than the 943K and .74 earned by Univision'sprime-time schedule);El Senor de los Cielos 3 ("Lord of the Skies 3") also beat the Televisa-produced novelaYo No Creo En los Hombres ("I Don't Trust Men Anymore") on Univision in the demographic during the 10:00 p.m. hour, with a 1.4 rating (over the 0.7 rating earned byYo No Creo En Hombres) and was the most-watched television program among Adults 18–49 during the hour that evening. For the week of July 20–24, Telemundo came within 40,000 viewers of beating Univision in prime time viewership.[38] Overall, the network ended the 2014–15 season posting its highest average total prime time viewership against Univision with 1.46M, a 23 percent increase in total viewership yearly, compared to Univision's 2.29M and decrease of 21 percent yearly.[40][41]
As of 2015[update], Telemundo operates on a 147½-hour network programming schedule. Its base programming feed provides various types of general entertainment programming weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., Saturdays from 8:00 to 11:00 a.m. (the first three hours of which are occupied by the children's programming block, MiTelemundo, which features programs compliant with FCCeducational programming requirements), and Sundays from 11:00 to 1:00 a.m. Eastern andPacific Time. A separate block of feature films (and occasionally, other entertainment programs) also airs overnights on Monday through Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5:00 a.m., Thursdays and Fridays from 3:00 to 5:00 a.m., and weekends from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. Eastern and Pacific Time. All remaining time periods are filled with infomercials.
While Telemundo's owned-and-operated stations and affiliates largely rely on Telemundo's master schedule to fill their broadcast day, many of its stations also produce their own local programming (which may pre-empt certain programs within the base network schedule), usually in the form of newscasts andpublic affairs programs (production of localinfotainment programming, and leasing ofbrokered programs such asdirect response and religious content, is at the station's discretion). Many Telemundo stations usually air limited local news programming, which are commonly reserved for early and late evening timeslots on Monday through Friday nights; some Telemundo stations may also air newscasts on weekday mornings (these are mainly limited to the network's O&Os in larger markets) or on weekend evenings.
The majority of Telemundo's programming consists of first-run telenovelas and series, many of which are produced by the network itself through its Telemundo Studios unit; however, some shows broadcasts by the network are produced by outside companies (includingCaracol Television and Promofilm). Telemundo's schedule does not incorporatesituation comedies, although some comedy series have aired on the network in the past, particularly during the 1990s and early 2000s. Variety shows, a common format in Spanish language television in the U.S. and other countries, have had a limited presence on Telemundo's lineup in recent years; withLa Voz Kids being the only such show appearing on the network as of July 2013. Two additional variety series debuted in 2015:Si Se Puede, an adaptation of the Armoza Formats celebrity talent competition franchiseI Can Do That, and¡Qué Noche! con Angelica y Raul ("What a Night! with Angelica and Raul"), a family-oriented series using the traditional Saturday evening variety program model that was created to fill part of the void opened up by the cancellation of Univision'sSabado Gigante.[38][42]
From 2010 to 2013, Telemundo utilized an off-time scheduling format for its prime time programming (similar to the "Turner Time" format used byTBS from 1981 to 2000), in which programs that aired weeknights from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific Time) started on a three-minute delay – resulting from intentional overruns of the network's 7:00 p.m. program (Caso Cerrado: Edićion Estelar ("Case Closed: Special Edition")) into the 8:00 p.m. timeslot. As a result, until this format was discontinued, conventional "top-and-bottom" start times were not restored until the evening's final prime time program aired at 10:00 p.m. (Eastern and Pacific), allowing late local newscasts seen on some Telemundo stations to start at 11:00 p.m. (or 10:00 p.m. in theCentral andMountain Time Zones).
Daytime programming on weekdays features a mix of consisting of repeats of past Telemundo-produced telenovelas and acquired serials (which are re-edited as extended 90-minute and two-hour episodes) during the late morning and early afternoon hours, while newsmagazine, reality and court series (such asCaso Cerrado ("Case Closed") andSuelta La Sopa ("Tell Me What You Know")[43]) making up its afternoon programming. The network also regularly airs Spanish-dubbed English-language films (primarily those produced by American film studios such asUniversal Pictures,Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures andSony Pictures Entertainment) that make up much of the network's weekend afternoon and prime time lineup, as well as films natively produced in Spanish (imported from variousLatin American countries) that it usually airs daily during the overnight hours; the network also airs films in place of regularly scheduled programming on select national holidays (such asThanksgiving andChristmas).
English subtitles
On-screen bug used on programs captioned in Spanish and English.
Telemundo provides English subtitles viaclosed captioning primarily on weekdays from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time, during the network's prime time lineup. The subtitles are transmitted over theCC3 caption channel in standard definition and the CS2 caption channel available on most digital tuners inhigh definition. The network produces the translations in-house, and intends them to attract Hispanic viewers who may not be fluent in Spanish as well as other non-Spanish speakers.[44][45] Programs that include English captions are identified on-air by a specialdigital on-screen graphic seen at the start of each episode, denoting the specific caption channels in which viewers can receive subtitles in either Spanish or English (see right).
Telemundo was the first Spanish-language network in the United States to incorporate English captions during its programming, beginning with the premieres ofLa Cenicienta ("Cinderella") andAmor Descarado ("Barefaced Love") on September 8, 2003;[45] this generated a small, loyal fan base among English-speaking viewers.[46] The subtitles were briefly discontinued without notice on October 14, 2008, citing budget cuts made by NBC Universal and the network's switch from analog to digital broadcasts; representatives for Telemundo also cited the need to concentrate resources on its core Spanish-speaking audience. However, the network soon reversed its decision due to demand by viewers in favor of the English subtitles,[46] which returned on all prime time novelas on March 30, 2009.
Programs that include English-language captions during their original broadcast may also include them in repeat broadcasts airing outside of the network's prime time schedule after the program's original run on the network or, since 2012, as part of the network's late-night novela repeat block. Some programs (notably the defunct long-running erotic anthologyDecisiones ("Decisions"), which the network now airs only in reruns), include English captions only for certain episodes, depending on when they were produced. Programs that use English captions are primarily consist of telenovelas, though a few shows outside the genre (such as the prime time court showCaso Cerrado, and dating game show12 Corazones) are also transcribed in both languages. Availability of English subtitles is limited to the technical capacity of the local station, cable or satellite provider, or other outlet to disseminate them over the network feed.
Since then, other networks in the United States have utilized the practice of providing closed captions in both English and Spanish. On January 30, 2012,Univision began airing CC3 English captions on its evening programming (primarily with its weeknight telenovelas, along with select weekend prime time series).[47][48]Azteca also transmits English language captions on certain programs. And in an inverse manner, upon the launch of the now-defunctQubo Channel on January 8, 2007, most of its programming included CC3 Spanish subtitles in addition to its native CC1 English subtitles.[49]
The network operates a news division, Noticias Telemundo ("Telemundo News"), which produces a half-hour early evening flagship newscast,Noticiero Telemundo, that has aired daily for most of its run (Telemundo also produced a secondary newscast,Noticiero Telemundo Internacional, until 2011, which aired in place of late local newscasts on affiliates without their own news department or which opted to preempt regularly scheduled local newscasts on certain holidays). It also produces the morning news and lifestyle programUn Nuevo Día ("A New Day"), the late afternoon newsmagazine seriesAl Rojo Vivo con Maria Celeste ("Red Hot Live with Maria Celeste") and theSunday morning talk showEnfoque ("In Focus"); the network previously produced weekend editions ofAl Rojo Vivo andNoticiero Telemundo until 2007, which were replaced with feature films and reality-based series; the latter returned to a daily broadcast with the restoration of Saturday and Sunday editions on September 4, 2014.
The beginnings of the news division trace back to 1987, when the network debuted its first news programNoticiero Telemundo-HBC ("Telemundo-HBC News"), through an outsourcing agreement with theMiami-based Hispanic-American Broadcasting Corporation. The following year, Telemundo outsourced news production toCNN, which producedNoticiero Telemundo CNN ("Telemundo CNN News"), consisting of twoAtlanta-based daily newscasts that were anchored byJorge Gestoso andMaria Elvira Salazar.[50] When Salazar accepted a position as a reporter forNoticiero Univision in Miami,Chilean formerMiss UniverseCecilia Bolocco joined Gestoso on the Telemundo newscast. The final incarnation produced in Atlanta was co-anchored byPatricia Janiot. Following the sale of its cable news channel Telenoticias toCBS Cable in late 1996, Telemundo entered into a content partnership with the channel to produce early-evening and prime time newscasts that would air on the broadcast network.
FormerCBS News vice presidentJoe Peyronnin founded Telemundo's news division in 1999 and served as its executive vice president until 2006. Additional news programs were created in the wake of theSeptember 11, 2001 attacks:Hoy en el Mundo ("Today in the World") onABC News, anchored byMarian de la Fuente andJose Diaz-Balart (also ofNBC News), debuted to inform viewers of national and international events. This program and its companion showEn la Madrugada ("In Early Morning") were canceled due to the much heralded arrival ofMaría Antonieta Collins from Univision.Cada Dia with Maria Antonieta ("Every Day with Maria Antonieta") replaced these shows on October 10, 2005; Collins continued to host the program along with the much recycled Diaz-Balart – who anchored the network's morning news programNoticiero Telemundo: Madrugada ("Telemundo News: Early Morning"), later to be anchored by Ana Patricia Candiani – as co-host.Cada Dia was canceled in May 2008, after Collins announced that she would leave Telemundo when her contract expired in August of that year return to news anchoring and as a result of low ratings for the program;[51] it was replaced by a new morning show called¡Levántate! ("Get Up"), another hybrid news and lifestyle format, which was broadcast out of the studios of WKAQ-TV, and initially produced by Telemundo Puerto Rico. The hybrid program, which was retitledUn Nuevo Día in July 2012, originally included local participation of the network's Miamiowned-and-operated stationWSCV from its studios in the suburb ofMiramar, Florida, and bureaus located in New York City, Los Angeles andMexico City. The show was later revamped, dropping the local cut-ins and relocating its production operations to Telemundo's headquarters in Hialeah, Florida in February 2011.[52][53][54]
The network also maintains a sports division,Telemundo Deportes, which superseded the network-operated division Deportes Telemundo when NBCUniversal created the current division within itsNBC Sports Group in May 2015.[55] The division, which is responsible for the production of sports content on Telemundo andUniverso, producessoccer matches for the network fromLiga MX, as well as Olympic qualifying matches. Through broadcasting agreements withNBC Sports, Telemundo also holds the Spanish-language broadcast rights to theSummer andWinter Olympic Games, Spanish play-by-rights to soccer matches from thePremier League and the Spanish-language rights to the NFL primetime game"Sunday Night Football". The network also producesBoxeo Telemundo, a weekly late-nightboxing series that airs on most Friday nights (except during the summer) showcasing fights from up-and-coming boxing talents.
In addition, the division also produces two sports-related talk and magazine programs for Telemundo: flagship sports highlight/discussion programTitulares Telemundo ("Telemundo Headlines"), which airs on Saturday and Sunday evenings (and is offered to Telemundo stations on a half-hourtape delay to accommodate local late-evening newscasts); and the daily late-night sports talk showEl pelotazo.[56]
For much of its history, the bulk of NetSpan/Telemundo's children's programming has been derived of mainly live-action and animated programming from American and international producers, including Spanish-language dubs of programs produced in other languages, and Spanish-language programming acquired from other countries.
The network's first foray into children's programming, Telemuñequitos, was in partnership withWarner Bros., and featured Spanish-language dubs ofWarner Bros. Cartoons productions.[57] In September 1995, Telemundo launched a Saturday morning block, Telemundo Infantil ("Telemundo Kids").[10] On September 15, 1998, Telemundo introducedNickelodeon en Telemundo, a block featuring Spanish dubs ofNickelodeon programming.[58][59] The block ran on weekday mornings until September 5, 2000, when it was relegated to Saturday and Sunday mornings in order to accommodate a time slot forHoy En El Mundo. The Nickelodeon blocks were discontinued after September 30, 2001, ahead of the expiry of Telemundo's program supply deal with Nickelodeon. It was then replaced withTelemundo Kids, which featured a mix of acquired programming from various providers, includingSony Pictures Television and later Nickelodeon.[60]
In September 2006, Telemundo debutedQubo, a new weekend morning block of educational programming formed as a joint venture between NBC Universal,Ion Media Networks,Corus Entertainment,Scholastic, andClassic Media. The block carried Spanish-language dubs of programming acquired or produced for Qubo's English-language blocks on NBC and Ion, airing on Saturday and Sunday mornings in 90-minute blocks.[61]
On July 7, 2012, after the acquisition of NBC Universal by Comcast, the block was replaced by MiTelemundo; programmed bySprout, it consisted of Spanish dubbed versions of programs seen on its sister broadcast network's Saturday morning block,NBC Kids, which debuted on the same date.[62][63][64][65][66] With NBC Kids being replaced withLitton Entertainment'sThe More You Know block on NBC by September 25, 2016, MiTelemundo initially retained its existing programming until January 6, 2018, when MiTelemundo moved exclusively to Saturday mornings and became programmed by Litton. The relaunched MiTelemundo carries Spanish dubs of programming from The More You Know.[67][68]
Specials
Telemundo holds the broadcast rights to several annual specials and award show telecasts. From 2003 to 2014, the network held the Spanish language rights to two of the three pageants organized by theMiss Universe Organization: theMiss Universe andMiss USA pageants, through NBC's existing contractual agreement for the pageant. Although parent NBCUniversal held half-ownership in the organization at the time, the rights were obtained by Univision Communications in February 2015 with the intent to move the Miss Universe and Miss USA telecasts toUniMás (Univision later terminated the contract that July following now-former part-ownerDonald Trump's remarks in hisspeech declaring his Republican presidential campaign disparaging Mexicans immigrating into the United States as being mostly made up of those involved in criminal activity, later culminating in Trump's sale of the Miss Universe Organization toWME-IMG in September 2015, after NBCUniversal sold its interest).[69][70][71][72][73][74]
Since 1999, Telemundo has served as the official U.S. broadcaster of theBillboard Latin Music Awards ("Premios Billboard a la Música Latina"), an offshoot of theBillboard Music Awards honoring songs from Latin music artists during the previous year that are chosen by viewer voting.[75] In 2012, the network also debutedPremios Tu Mundo ("Your World Awards"), a viewer-decided awards show honoring the achievements of Hispanics and Latinos in media, maintaining a format similar to thePeople's Choice Awards with categories pertaining to television, film, music, fashion and sports.[76][77]
As of June 2018[update], Telemundo has 28 owned-and-operated stations, and current and pending affiliation agreements with 66 additional television stations encompassing 50 states, the District of Columbia and theCommonwealth of Puerto Rico;[80][81] this makes Telemundo the largest American Spanish language broadcast television network by total number of affiliates. The network has an estimated national reach of 57.23 percent of all households in the United States (or 178,837,113 Americans with at least one television set).
While Telemundo does not have any over-the-air stations in a few major markets with relatively sizable populations of Hispanic and Latino residents it conversely maintains affiliations in several markets where Univision currently does not have over-the-air availability, includingNew Orleans (KGLA-DT),Boise (KKJB) andRichmond (WZTD-LD). Telemundo maintains affiliations with low-power stations (broadcasting either in analog or digital) in a few markets, such asOrlando (WTMO-CD),Milwaukee (WYTU-LD),Tampa (WRMD-CD),Albuquerque (KTEL-CD and its repeaterK46GY) andMinneapolis (KMBD-LD). In some markets, including the former two mentioned, these stations also maintain digital simulcasts on a subchannel of a full-power television station, usually (though not in all cases) one owned or managed with the Telemundo outlet.
The network also maintains a sizable number of subchannel-only affiliations, consisting of a mix of stations in cities located within and outside of the 50 largest Nielsen-designated markets; the largest Telemundo subchannel affiliate by market size isWKTB-CD inNorcross, Georgia (serving theAtlanta market), which carries the network on its second digital subchannel. In other areas of the U.S., Telemundo provides a nationalcable network feed distributed directly to cable, satellite andIPTV providers as an alternative method of distribution in markets without either the availability or the demand for a locally based owned-and-operated or affiliate station.
Currently outside of the network's core O&O group,News-Press & Gazette Company is the largest operator of Telemundo stations by numerical total, owning or providing services to eight primary affiliates (all but one of which are simulcast on subchannels of the group'sBig Four network stations) and four additional subchannel-only affiliates). The formerZGS Communications was the largest operator of Telemundo stations in terms of overall market reach, owning ten Telemundo-affiliated stations (including affiliates in larger markets such as Tampa, Orlando,Boston,Hartford andWashington, D.C.); after the purchase of the ZGS stations at the start of 2018 by NBC's Telemundo Stations Group, they are now direct O&Os of the network.
Universo is an Americandigital cable and satellite television network aimed atLatinos between the ages of 18 and 49, featuring a mix of sports, scripted and reality series and music programming (including programs that originated on Telemundo and other NBCUniversal-owned cable networks). It was originally launched on October 10, 1993, as GEMS Television, under the ownership byEmpresas 1BC, featuring programs aimed at Latino females. The network was asGEMS Television by former owner and later co-owned withCox Communications the following year.
Telemundo parents Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media purchased GEMS in 2001, and relaunched it as mun2 (aportmanteau pun of Telemundo and "dos," the Spanish word for "2," but is intended to reflect the "two worlds" that Latino Americans live in), a network featuring a mix of Spanish and English language programs (including some Spanish-dubbed versions of American programs and series incorporatingSpanish language subtitles) aimed at adults ages 18 to 49.[82] On December 24, 2014, NBCUniversal announced that mun2 would be rebranded as NBC Universo – shifting it under the NBC umbrella – on February 1, 2015, to coincide with its Spanish-language broadcast ofSuper Bowl XLIX.[82]
Telemundo Puerto Rico is a digital cable and satellite network that originally launched in December 1994 as Telenoticias, a Spanish-languagecable news channel originally servingLatin America (and broadcasting inSpanish andPortuguese) that was developed by Telemundo in partnership withGrupo Clarín (owner ofArgentina-based broadcasterArtear), Spain-basedAntena 3 andReuters.[83] Due to struggles in obtaining sufficient viewership and disagreements between its co-owners, the partnership sold Telenoticias toCBS – which rebranded the network as "CBS Telenoticias" – in June 1996; with that sale, the network expanded acrossthe Americas, with distribution in 22 countries. In 1998, CBS later sold Telenoticias back to Telemundo parents Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media,[84] which subsequently relaunched the network as the bilingual entertainment channel Telemundo Internacional in 2000. In 2006, the channel was reformatted asTelemundo Puerto Rico, becoming a nationalsuperstation feed of San Juan O&O WKAQ-TV.
TeleXitos is adigital multicast network that was originally launched by the network's parent division Telemundo Television Group in January 2012 as Exitos TV. In its original format, the network primarily featured reruns of telenovelas previously aired on Telemundo, and was exclusive to Telemundo's owned-and-operated stations.[85] The network adopted its current name on December 1, 2014, when it was relaunched with a new focus toward Spanish-dubbed reruns of action and adventure series as well as feature films sourced primarily from the content library of corporate sisterNBCUniversal Television Distribution, in addition to featuring select programs from other distributors.[86]
Video-on-demand services
Telemundo maintains severalvideo on demand services for delayed viewing of the network's programming, including itsTV Everywhere service Telemundo Now; a traditional VOD service called Telemundo on Demand, which is carried on most traditional cable andIPTV providers (and like the video-on-demand television services provided by the other U.S. broadcast networks, disallowsfast forwarding of accessed content); and viaHulu andiTunes through content deals with those services. Through its ownership by Comcast, the network's programming is also available throughXfinity on Demand.[87] Cataloged episodes of past telenovelas seen on the network are also available onDramaFever, a streaming service that had originally exclusively focused on television shows and movies imported from various Asian countries, through a distribution deal signed on December 13, 2013.[88]
Telemundo's master feed is transmitted in1080ihigh definition, the native resolution format for NBCUniversal's U.S. television properties. However, some Telemundo-affiliated stations transmit the network's programming in720p HD, while some other affiliates owned by various companies carry the network feed in480istandard definition[80] either due to technical considerations for affiliates of other major networks that carry Telemundo programming on a digital subchannel or because a primary feed Telemundo affiliate has not yet upgraded their transmission equipment to allow content to be presented in HD. In the case of NBCUniversal-ownedWSCV, a 480i standard definition feed of the station is carried on a digital sub-channel with ads targeted at the nearby West Palm Beach market.
As of July 2019, Telemundo's network feed originates from NBCUniversal's corporate office inCentennial, CO (along with theNBC broadcast network), a technical operations facility shared with Comcast. The network utilizes threesatellite uplink facilities to distribute its signal. One inLittleton, CO, a short distance from the network'smaster control operation; a second inUniversal City, CA, near theUniversal Studios lot; and a third inEnglewood Cliffs, NJ at theCNBC building, which also houses master control operations for NBCUniversal's cable properties, including Universo.
Telemundo became the first national Spanish-language broadcaster in the U.S. to provide itsprime time programming inhigh definition through the network and its local stations (nine years after the major English language broadcast networks began their conversion to HD) with the launch of its simulcast feed, Telemundo HD, on April 23, 2009, with that year's edition of the Billboard Latin Music Awards as its inaugural HD broadcast. Concurrently, Telemundo's owned-and-operated television stations in nine markets (New York City,Los Angeles,Chicago,Dallas-Fort Worth,San Francisco,Houston,Miami,Las Vegas, andSan Juan) became the first to begin broadcasting the network's programming in HD; the remaining O&Os upgraded their digital signals to allow the transmission of high definition content over the next twelve months, while its affiliated stations gradually followed suit over a four-year period. The network's scripted prime time telenovelas became the first regularly scheduled Telemundo shows to upgrade to the format, beginning withMas Sabe El Diablo ("Falling Angel"), which premiered in September 2009.[92]
All of the network's first-run entertainment and sports programming, as well as specials and select acquired programs, have been presented in HD since 2012 (with the current exception of archived programs that were made prior to 2009 – such as dubbed versions ofCriss Angel Mindfreak andWorld's Most Amazing Videos ("Videos Más Asombrosos del Mundo") – and were originally produced in4:3standard definition, as well as most older Mexican-produced feature films). The weekend morningMiTelemundo E/I block has also been broadcast in HD since its debut in July 2012.
As of September 1, 2018, Telemundo has converted its presentation to a 16:9 presentation.Al Rojo Vivo became the first program to be presented in a 16:9 format, beginning Telemundo's transition to such presentation.
Controversies
SAG-AFTRA
On February 9, 2016,NBC Universal, Telemundo's parent company, faced claims bySAG-AFTRA of operating under a double standard between its Spanish-language and English-language talent at NBC and Telemundo. In their response, the network released a statement claiming they are "committed to making Telemundo a great place to work for our employees and will continue to invest in them to ensure their salaries and working conditions are competitive with the rest of the broadcasting industry in accordance with market size and station revenues."
A few days later on February 13, 2016,SAG-AFTRA came back and added that Telemundo had been treating its employees like "second-class professionals" given that many actors do not receive basic workplace guarantees thatSAG-AFTRA contracts provide, such as fair pay, water breaks, health insurance and residuals. At that time, Telemundo president Luis Silberwasser responded saying thatSAG-AFTRA asked for recognition of the union as the bargaining agent for employees — rather than seeking a vote by employees. However,SAG-AFTRA claimed that intimidation tactics had been taking place within the network to keep employees from unionizing and that they believe "there is no such thing as a 'fair vote' when workers are afraid for their careers and livelihoods, and live with the fear of retaliation if they are seen as actively wanting to unionize.SAG-AFTRA wants to ensure full protection forworkplace democracy and performers' rights to choose through a truly fair process."[93]
In August 2016, Telemundo once again found itself up against the union when the network refused to air an ad placed bySAG-AFTRA detailing the unfair wage gap and lack of benefits Telemundo employees face as opposed to unionized performers atNBCUniversal. The ad was set to air during the network's premiere people's choice awardsPremios Tu Mundo but was never placed into rotation. A Telemundo spokesperson responded saying, "After legal review, we have concluded the ad did not pass legal standards for issue-based advertisement." Meanwhile, other Spanish-language networks such asMegaTV andEstrella TV aired the ad nationwide.[94]
SAG-AFTRA continued to stand its ground, stating that "Telemundo's decision to censor 30 seconds of truthful commentary about its working conditions shows just how averse it is to having a transparent discussion about its refusal to fairly compensate Spanish-speaking performers."[94]
On July 12, 2018, SAG-AFTRA announced it had reached a first-ever tentative agreement with Telemundo Television Studios covering Spanish-language television performers, after fifteen months of negotiations.
Key elements of the three-year deal include:
Contributions to and participation in the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan and SAG–Producers Pension Plan for the first time
Residuals for both foreign and domestic exploitation and streaming platforms, based on a percentage of Telemundo's gross receipts
First ever guaranteed minimum rates for all covered performer categories (including actors, stunt performers, singers and dancers).
Annual increases in all newly-established minimums between 1–2% per year
Newly established working conditions and safety protections, including:
Minimum rest period between calls of 10 hours
Requirement for qualified personnel to coordinate stunts
Provisions regarding protection of minors
Overtime, holiday pay, and per diem when on location[95]
The agreement was renewed in 2021, including an increase in overnight rest periods from 10 to 11 hours, except for on-location work; additional language tackling sexual harassment and audition safety; and an increase in the current health and pension plan contribution rate by 0.5 percent once the contract ends.[96]
2016 presidential election
On May 28, 2016, filmmaker Andrew Marcus caught a cameraman from Telemundo filming a #NeverTrump protest inSan Diego. According to the filmmaker, the protest was staged.L. Brent Bozell III, the president ofMedia Research Center responded by demanding Telemundo to apologize toDonald Trump and to fire the crew involved with the incident. Meanwhile, Ken Oliver-Méndez, the director of MRC Latino, described that the incident as a "self-inflicted wound on Telemundo's credibility." Telemundo responded to Oliver-Méndez by claiming that "the integrity of the broadcast was not compromised since the material was not used by the Network news team." Telemundo also claimed that the network is "known for its balance and accuracy," and that it "did not, nor would it ask any full-time or temporary worker to stage events."[97]
On March 18, 2008,Grupo Televisa and NBC Universal announced a ten-year multiplatform agreement that would allow 1,000 hours of Telemundo programming, including news; entertainment; specials and sports, to be broadcast over both Televisa's free-to-air channels, as well as its co-owned cable providerSKY México starting that April. The deal also included plans to launch a Telemundo channel that would be operated as a joint venture between both companies; the Mexican cable-satellite version of the network launched in August 2009. NBC Universal had considered launching a Mexican version of Telemundo as early as 2005, which led to a legal battle between it and TV Azteca over allegations that Azteca "engaged in the wrongful use of force" to shut down production of the Telemundo-produced reality singing competition seriesQuinceañera: Mamá Quiero Ser Artista ("Sweet 15: Mom, I Want to Be an Artist") in Mexico and a news story featured on an Azteca news program that accused then-NBC Universal parent General Electric and Grupo Casa Saba of fraud and corporate corruption with the intent to prevent the approval of a license application by Telemundo and Grupo Xtra to operate a television network in Mexico.[98][99]
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Benamou, Catherine L. "Spanish-Language Television and Diaspora in Detroit and Los Angeles: Toward Latinx Media Enfranchisement."Television & New Media 24.3 (2023): 316–335.
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