UNIVISION A BIG STORY; SPANISH-LANGUAGE TV NETWORK IS WALL STREET STAR.Byline: Lynn Elber Associated Press All Federico Subervi had to do was channel surf to make his point. A deadly earthquake had rocked central Mexico, and he expected it to be the top story on the evening news the following day. Not on NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. , whose top story was a report on Kosovo. Or CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. , which began its broadcast with a '70s fugitive arrested. On ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. , the threat of terrorism was the lead story. But the disaster dominated Univision, the Spanish-language TV network. ``If you're a Latino, Mexican or otherwise, you'll go to Univision's national newscasts to see what's happened,'' said Subervi, a University of Texas media professor. ``Univision provides Latino images you do not find on general market television.'' Univision, serving one of the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. population, has a business savvy that has made it a Wall Street star and the envy of other broadcasters whose audiences have shrunk as Univision's has grown. Offering a mix of news, talk and entertainment shows produced domestically and in Mexico and Venezuela, Univision has become the leading Spanish-language television network in the United States and the fifth most-watched network overall. It has a 92 percent share of the Spanish-speaking audience. ``Despierta America'' (``Wake Up America,'' which Univision describes as ``Today'' with a salsa beat) and telenovelas
Univision's prime-time viewership in the premium 18-to-49 age group swelled by 334,000 during 1998-99, a 25 percent increase, according to Nielsen Media Research. The network draws more teen-agers per hour than MTV MTV in full Music Television U.S. cable television network, established in 1980 to present videos of musicians and singers performing new rock music. MTV won a wide following among rock-music fans worldwide and greatly affected the popular-music business. and more prime-time male viewers than ESPN ESPN Entertainment and Sports Programming Network . Front-runner NBC, by comparison, had a 1.4 million loss among key prime-time viewers, part of the erosion that has accompanied multiplying TV choices. Univision's target audience is part of the reason the network is bucking the trend. The U.S. population is now about 11 percent Latino, according to U.S. Census figures; by 2050, Latinos are expected to make up a quarter of the country. ``Univision has this wonderful tail wind behind them,'' said analyst Gordon Hodge of San Francisco-based Thomas Weisel Partners Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWPG), often shortened to just TWP or TWeisel, is a U.S. middle-market and growth focused investment banking firm based in San Francisco, California. . ``It's got a potential audience that's growing about 3 percent each year.'' Advertisers are taking notice. Univision is winning more Fortune 500 clients. ``Anybody who's in any kind of a numbers business, whether it be politics or business or finance, has to acknowledge this is 31 million people, larger than the population of Canada,'' said Henry Cisneros, president of parent company Univision Communications Inc. Although Latino Americans have a per capita annual income about $10,000 lower than the $39,900 national average, they tend to be younger, just entering their peak earning years Peak earning years refers to the time in life when workers earn the most money per year. US perspective Given their initial lack of experience, workers' earnings start out low. Earnings peak when workers hit middle age, then begin to fall as retirement approaches. and willing to spend. By 2010, their buying power is expected to more than double to $940 billion. ``The very distinctive audience that Univision captures is gold for advertisers,'' said Wall Street analyst John Graves of the banking company Paribas. UNIVISION'S RISE Highlights of Univision Communications Inc., parent company of Spanish-language network Univision: Corporate headquarters: Los Angeles. Chairman and chief executive officer: A. Jerrold Perenchio. President and chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. : Henry Cisneros. Operations: Miami-based Univision broadcast TV network; Univision Television Group, with 21 owned-and-operated stations; Galavision, Spanish-language cable network. Employees: 1,700. First-quarter 1999 net revenues: $138 million. New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. ticker: UVN. CAPTION(S): Photo, Box PHOTO (Color) Program host Raul de Molina, right, and Lili Estefan kid around while taping the show ``El Gordo Gordo, the Spanish word for fat, may refer to:
Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press BOX: UNIVISION`S RISE (see text) |
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