Cisneros revamps distribution arm

Cisneros Media, owner of Venezuelan network Venevision, is revamping its global distribution arm, bringing it in line with its own branding ahead of Natpe.

Venevision’s 30,000 hours of TV content has been sold globally by Venevision International for the last 35 years – commercialised in more than 100 countries and 20 languages during this time, according to the company.

But now Venevision International is being replaced by Cisneros Media Distribution (CMD), a newly-formed Miami-based distributor, which will also promote the catalogues of independent producers worldwide.

Cesar Diaz, formerly VP of sales at Venevision International, will be at the helm of CMD, supported by a team that includes Miguel Somoza and Daniel Rodriguez, both in the position of director of sales and business development.

The launch follows a spate of senior management appointments for Cisneros at the end of last year.

In November, Juan Carlos Sosa was appointed VP of operations at the company’s Venevision Studios production outfit following the retirement of the division’s president and CEO Peter Tinoco.

In the same month, Adriana Cisneros took over from Steven Bandel as CEO of the Venezuelan company.

Prior to this appointment, Jonathan Blum was named president of Cisneros Media in September.

Speaking of the launch, Blum said CMD marked a “new era for its programming.”

“It’s a natural progression as we evolve with the times, staying in-tune with the advances in technology, the development of new platforms, the ever-growing need for content, and the transformation of the manner it is delivered,” Blum added.

CMD will make its debut at the forthcoming Natpe market, which runs from January 27 to 29.