The Spanish-language Univision this summer is launching a digital network that will enable viewers to tap into its programming on computers, smartphones and tablets.
The new service is called the UVideos Digital Network, the company said Friday. It will have special content and social media links designed to encourage people to use handheld computers while they’re watching television, called second-screen viewing.
The Univision broadcast network, by far the most popular among the Spanish-speaking audience in the United States, will premiere two new telenovelas next year. One is a comedy involving a macho man forced to dress as a woman occasionally to win the heart of the woman he loves. The other is a love story about a man who is unjustly accused and wants to clear his name and who falls in love with a veterinarian whose fiance was killed.
Telenovelas, prime-time soap operas that run five nights a week, are the bread and butter of Univision’s programming. Much of it comes through its exclusive U.S. distribution deal with Televisa, the Mexican production company. Two-thirds of Univision’s audience is of Mexican descent.
Televisa and Univision this fall will begin making the network’s first Internet-only novela, Univision said. Mexican movie star Kate del Castillo, who has appeared on CBS’s “CSI: Miami,” also is making two Web novelas for Univision.
Largely because of telenovelas, 94 percent of Univision viewers watch the programming live, said Randy Falco, Univision Communications Inc.’s president and CEO. At English-speaking networks, DVR and video on demand usage has reduced live viewing to 85 percent and falling, the Nielsen ratings company says. Advertisers prefer live viewing because their commercials can’t be skipped.
Besides the Univision network, Univision Communications owns the broadcast network Telefutura and the cable network Galavision and an expanding collection of Internet-only channels.
“If marketers want to tap into the growth that the Hispanic community offers,” Falco said, “they have to come to us.”
Director Lucrecia Signs With PRETTYBIRD For Her 1st U.S. Representation
PRETTYBIRD, the production company helmed by Paul Hunter, Kerstin Emhoff, and Ali Brown, has added award-winning filmmaker Lucrecia to its roster for U.S. commercial and music video representation. This marks the director’s first representation in the U.S. market.
Lucrecia has been signed to PRETTYBIRD UK since 2021, soon after winning UKMVA’s Best Pop Newcomer award for her Tarantino-esque music video for rapper/singer-songwriter Ashnikko--which the director pitched, prepped, and shot in only four days. Since joining PRETTYBIRD UK, Lucrecia has quickly made a name for herself. Her striking narratives, combined with a hyper-real aesthetic and iconic world creation, have been the centerpieces of her filmmaking and photography.
Her work has gone viral on more than one occasion. Her commercial for bibigo, “Live Delicious,” was widely admired and even recreated on an episode of Jimmy Kimmel. She has won awards from Kinsale Shark, Creative Circle, and UKMVA, as well as recognition at the Cannes Lions Young Directors Awards and Ciclope Awards.
Candice Dragonas, VP, talent strategy/executive producer PRETTYBIRD US, said of Lucrecia, “She brings a uniquely stylish approach to storytelling with the perfect splash of humor and playfulness. I admire her extreme passion for her craft and the drive to create at the top of her game.”
In addition to Lucrecia’s cinematic visual aesthetic, she routinely engages in another unique form of self-expression: nail art. She has had everything from whipped cream and cherries to chrome flames adorning her nails.
At PRETTYBIRD, Lucrecia joins a roster of filmmakers including Academy Award-winning duo Daniels (Everything Everywhere All At Once), A.V. Rockwell (A Thousand... Read More