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Univision Pulls Out All the Stops in Final Mile of DTV Education Effort; Latin Grammy® Awards Program to Play Role in Efforts
Company Leverages TV, Radio and Online Platforms for Massive Campaign to Mark 100-Day Countdown to DTV Transition
New York, NY -- Univision Communications Inc., the nation’s leading Spanish-language media company, today announced the last phase of the Company’s massive multi-platform education campaign to raise awareness about the upcoming transition to digital television (DTV). The announcement immediately followed a press conference hosted by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in Washington, D.C. at which various broadcasters and senior government officials urged Americans to get their homes ready for the digital broadcasting television transition.
“As we approach the final mile on the road to the DTV transition, Univision is energized by the substantially increased levels of awareness among Hispanic viewers, but we recognize that there is still a significant amount of work to be done to ensure our audiences are prepared,” said Joe Uva, chief executive officer, Univision Communications Inc. “Over the next 100 days we are focused on reaching our audiences through our top programs, including the Latin GRAMMY®s, to help our viewers take action.”
As part of the 100-day countdown, Univision will leverage the Latin GRAMMY broadcast on November 13th from Houston, Texas as part of this multi-platform effort. The strong message integration will also be seen in some of Univision and TeleFutura’s most popular network programs, which include “Al Punto” (To The Point), “Despierta América” (Wake Up America), “El Gordo y La Flaca” (The Scoop and the Skinny), “Primer Impacto” (First Impact), “República Deportiva” (Sports Republic), “Sábado Gigante” (Giant Saturday) and “Escándalo TV” (ShowBiz TV).
In addition, Univision is launching a series of public service announcements (PSA’s) focusing on the deadline, explaining the impact and advising viewers on the proper steps necessary to ensure a smooth DTV transition. The new PSA’s feature some of the network’s most popular personalities, including co-host of “Despierta América” Fernando Arau; squad captain for “Escuadrón Digital” (Digital Squad) Carlos Calderón; co-hosts of “El Gordo y La Flaca” Lili Estefan and Raul de Molina; the legendary host of “Sábado Gigante” Don Francisco; host of TeleFutura’s “Escándalo TV” and digi diva for “Escuadrón Digital” Lilia Rodriguez Luciano; and Cristina Saralegui, the popular host of “El Show de Cristina.”
Univision kicked off the 100-day countdown on Sunday, November 9th, with its fourth DTV network special, “TV Digital: ¡Falta Poco!” (Digital TV: It’s Almost Here), hosted by Carmen Dominicci and Fernando Arau. The half-hour special included an exclusive interview with the renowned Don Francisco, who shared with viewers a first-hand testimony on the evolution of television and the benefits of digital broadcasting. The program also included guidance from Elena Chavez, the Spanish-language outreach manager for the Consumers Union, who answered questions from viewers across the U.S. about applying for government funded coupons, buying and installing converter boxes.
Univision television and radio stations across the country will include interviews on local public affairs programs, local news segments, community calendars and customized PSA’s featuring TV and radio personalities. Community outreach efforts will include on-going Town Hall events hosted by local stations and “Escuadrón Digital” missions that will help people apply for coupons and demonstrate the installation of converter boxes.
In addition, Univision.com (keyword: TV Digital) will provide extensive daily coverage that includes a daily countdown, video clips from Univision TV shows, photo albums, educational articles and technical information on where to purchase and how to install converter boxes.
Univision launched the first and most aggressive, multi-media digital transition awareness campaign in October 2007. Since the campaign’s launch, Univision has broadcast four 30-minute DTV specials, as of September 30th aired more than 70,000 DTV educational PSA’s, covered the issue through local and national news and public affairs programs, produced a comprehensive DTV mini-site on Univision.com that has received over 5.5 million page views, and has hosted more than 190 events across the nation to facilitate the DTV transition process for Hispanics. Univision also has participated in seven soft analog tests in markets across the country. Educational efforts include Town Halls with representatives from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the NAB.
In a recent survey conducted by the NAB, Hispanic residents have shown a significant increase in awareness of the transition to digital television broadcasting. The poll found that 92 percent of Hispanic respondents were aware that broadcast television signals will be switching to an all-digital format, a four point jump since NAB’s May survey.
About 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 97% of U.S. Hispanic Households; TeleFutura Network, a general-interest Spanish-language broadcast television network, which was launched in 2002 and now reaches 85% 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; and Univision Online, the premier Spanish-language Internet destination in the U.S. located at http://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
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