03-05-2008

Printable Version

“Univision has been an important partner of NCLR with the ‘Ya es Hora’ campaign, mobilizing a million of eligible Latinos to become U.S. citizens and encouraging the civic participation of many more.  We applaud Univision for its contributions as it continues to promote naturalization and voter engagement efforts that inspire so many to participate in the democratic process,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR president and CEO.

In its more than 40 years of operation, as part of its public service, Univision Communications has created award-winning programs and initiatives that address the issues and challenges faced by Hispanics, including the Peabody award-winning program “Salud es Vida…¡Entérate!” (Lead a Healthy Life…Get the Facts!) and the national engagement campaign for which it is being honored, “Ya es Hora.” In addition, in 2007 Univision launched a massive multi-platform campaign to educate the country’s Hispanic population on the upcoming congressionally mandated transition from analog to digital television broadcasting (DTV). Univision, as the first broadcaster to implement a comprehensive, multi-platform DTV education campaign, has taken a leadership role in the DTV education efforts to ensure that all Hispanics in the U.S. and Puerto Rico are appropriately informed about this complex and important issue. Univision is also committed to continue to set the bar in the amount of time dedicated to public service announcements, which according to a recent Kaiser Family Foundation study, is unmatched by English-language broadcast companies or cable networks.

“We are honored to be the first broadcaster to be recognized by NCLR with the public service award,” said Joe Uva, CEO of Univision Communications Inc. “At Univision we pride ourselves on the unique connection we have with our audiences.  For so many people, Univision is more than a network; it is an indispensable nexus between Hispanic families and their proud and vibrant culture. This is a direct result of our quality programming as well as our public and community service efforts on issues that are most important to our community, including: education, health, financial literacy, the impending transition to digital television in early 2009, the path to citizenship and the right to vote.”

In addition to the “Ya es Hora” initiative, Univision continues with its extensive coverage of the upcoming caucuses and primaries, national conventions, local and statewide elections, as well as the presidential campaign through its television, radio and online platforms. Univision’s innovative and extensive 2008 election coverage also has included two historic forums, with Democratic and Republican presidential candidates and one debate co-hosted with CNN. These events were broadcast in Spanish, attracted millions of viewers and focused on the issues impacting Hispanics.

NCLR’s Capital Awards gala is one of the premier annual Hispanic events in Washington, DC, often attracting more than 800 elected and appointed officials, Hispanic leaders, community activists, executives from Fortune 500 companies, philanthropic leaders and scholars. In addition to honoring Democratic and Republican members of Congress for addressing issues vital to Hispanic Americans, NCLR also honors others who courageously and tirelessly advocate on behalf of the Hispanic community with the Public Service Award. In addition to Univision, this year’s honorees also include Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart (R-FL) and Representative Hilda Solis (D-CA).

“Ya es Hora” is an unprecedented national civic engagement campaign developed to inform, educate and motivate Hispanics to participate in the American political dialogue. The campaign has been an important driver of naturalization applications.  Since January 2007, the campaign has mobilized one million eligible immigrants to apply for citizenship, secured more than 400 local community based organizations as partners, generated more than 40,000 calls to the 888-Ve-Y-Vota  toll free number, driven more than 94,000 unique visits to www.yaeshora.info, distributed more than 110,000 brochures and conducted more than 200 citizenship workshops. Univision, NCLR, National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), ImpreMedia and more than 400 organizations are partners in this effort.

Univision Communications Inc.
Univision Communications Inc. is the premier Spanish-language media company in the United States.  Its operations include Univision Network, the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network in the U.S. reaching 99% of U.S. Hispanic Households; TeleFutura Network, a general-interest Spanish-language broadcast television network, which was launched in 2002 and now reaches 89% of U.S. Hispanic Households; Galavisión, the country’s leading Spanish-language cable network; Univision Television Group, which owns and operates 64 television stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico; Univision Radio, the leading Spanish-language radio group which owns and/or operates 70 radio stations in 16 of the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets and 5 stations in Puerto Rico; Univision Music Group, which includes Univision Records, Fonovisa Records, La Calle Records and Mexico-based Disa Records as well as Fonomusic and America Musical Publishing companies; and Univision Online, the premier Spanish-language Internet destination in the U.S. located at www.univision.com.  Univision Communications also has a 50% interest in TuTv, a joint venture formed to broadcast Televisa’s pay television channels in the U.S. Univision Communications has television network operations in Miami and television and radio stations and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States.

For more information, please visit www.univision.net.