Luis Fernández from Telemundo
Courtesy of Telemundo
NBCUniversal may have kicked off TV’s home week with the Evil trailer, Snoop Dogg and adorable penguins, but closed Monday with a speech more dedicated to one of its main divisions: Spanish-language company Telemundo.
Held in The Shed’s eight-story glass-enclosed McCourt space, Telemundo focused its concise presentation on its recent ratings wins over archrival TelevisaUnivision, with a few not-so-subtle jabs at its competitor.
“We constantly change and give our audience what they want, while others continue to do the same thing, night after night, week after week, year after year,” new Telemundo president Luis Fernandez told the crowd.
“We are known for being innovative and bridging the content gap to represent Latinos from all walks of life,” added Cesar Conde, head of NBCU News Group who also oversees Telemundo. “No other media company can do this because we are the only ones who create content made by us Hispanics, for us Hispanics.”
Colombian artist Manuel Turizo performed and Telemundo brought out its stars, news anchors and sports presenters to introduce the sizzlers, but the pace was faster than earlier in the day, allowing guests to return to the bar.
AND Saturday night live star Marcello Hernandez opened the event with a routine about growing up Latino.
“I grew up in Miami, which is a bubble. Definitely. It’s a very, very Latin place. We didn’t have Americans in Miami,” she joked. “The only Americans we had in Miami when I was growing up were the TV accident lawyers who tried to get us as clients.”
“Some things are more fun to watch in Spanish, okay? Football is better in Spanish. Without a doubt, which do you prefer? An American saying ‘and he scores’ or a man who shouts ‘goal’ until he loses consciousness.”
“Our music is better, that’s not my opinion. Shakira has more monthly Spotify listeners than Beyoncé, with all due respect to the Bey Hive. Don’t kill me, I love Beyoncé,” he continued. “Our sports are bigger, Lionel Messi has 33 times more followers than Tom Brady. I know, and Tom Brady married a Brazilian, in case you were wondering.
“And of course our food is better, right? That’s why salsa is outselling ketchup in supermarkets. Because remember, it’s always Taco Tuesday and it’s never Meat Loaf Monday.
But there was also a lot of sales.
“I was told this year that there are a lot of companies here that invest in the Latino community and a lot of people don’t know what Telemundo means, you know, and I’m happy to tell all of you, especially those of you who don’t speak Spanish, that Telemundo is actually Spanish for ‘an incredible advertising opportunity’.”
“As you heard, Marcelo, this market represents a great business opportunity,” Conde told the crowd after Hernandez left the stage. “And here at NBCUniversal we believe that Telemundo is our competitive advantage and we sincerely believe it can be yours too. This makes our company the only media company in America where we can reach the entire spectrum of Latinos.”
