Former ViacomCBS Americas’ Rita Herring to lead int’l distribution at TelevisaUnivision

Former ViacomCBS Americas exec Rita Herring has joined Miami-headquartered TelevisaUnivision in the role of senior VP of international distribution, as longtime exec Fernando Muniz prepares to leave the company next month.

Rita Herring

Herring will lead pay TV distribution for linear networks for all markets outside the US, splitting her time between TelevisaUnivision’s offices in Miami and Mexico. She will also oversee distribution of the company’s new ViX streaming app to multichannel video programming distributors, alongside her counterpart Adam Waltuch, senior VP, streaming partnerships.

She will report to Michael Schwimmer, president, global platform strategy and revenue.

Recently merged Spanish-language media giant TelevisaUnivision said Muniz, who serves as general director of sales for Televisa Networks and Televisa International, will transition out of the company by the middle of May.

Herring will assume Muniz’s channel distribution responsibilities, while Carlos Castro, general director of sales, will manage Televisa International’s content licensing and coproduction work on an interim basis.

“We are very grateful for Fernando’s steadfast dedication to the company. He has been an impeccable leader and played a critical role in positioning TelevisaUnivision’s channel and content portfolio in priority markets for the last 17 years,” said Patricio Wills, president of TelevisaUnivision-owned W Studios.

Herring arrives at TelevisaUnivision from ViacomCBS Americas, where she led a team across Miami, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Brazil that secured all content distribution deals for its brands in the region. Prior to that she held positions at Telemundo and MTV Networks Latin America, where she opened and oversaw the company’s operations in Mexico.

“With Rita’s strong understanding of our markets, she’ll lead the efforts to ensure the company’s Spanish-language networks continue to reach the growing Spanish-speaking audience worldwide,” said Schwimmer.