Univision restructures entertainment

Spanish-language content company Univision has restructured its entertainment division in a move centred around growing its influence in the US market.

Wade Davis

President of entertainment Jessica Rodriguez has been promoted to chief brand and impact officer. Her new role will see her responsible for Televisa-Univision’s creative strategy, after the two companies merged in April.

Ignacio Meyer will be promoted to executive VP for music and non-scripted entertainment, up from senior VP for entertainment and music. After 10 years at the company, Meyer has been given the task of supervising long-running franchise El Gordo y La Flaca.

Leonor Sotillo joins Univision from NBC-owned Telemundo as senior VP of scripted strategy. With 25 years in the industry under her belt, she will oversee the scripted entertainment strategy for Univision’s US Hispanic audience.

Elisa Segovia, who currently oversees content strategy and scheduling for Univision, will be transitioning to a new role as senior VP of creative strategy and insights, working under Rodriguez. Segovia will also temporarily continue in her role leading programming and scheduling for the networks and will work with Univision Television Networks Group president, Luis Silberwasser, to ensure a smooth transition.

Jorge Dominguez, senior VP of creative services, will continue to oversee all creative design and production for the networks’ physical sets. Nathan Smith, VP of content management, will join the broadcast operations and technology team.

Univision is also making changes to its news and sports setup, with president of news Daniel Coronell stepping down as of August 1 after 10 years at the company and five years in his current role. He will be replaced by Leopoldo Gomez, former head of news at Televisa. Maria Martinez-Guzman will be promoted to executive VP of news, overseeing editorial and production.

In sports, Juan Carlos Rodriguez has been picked to lead Univision forward as president of global sports enterprises, with Olek Loewenstein promoted to president of sports content.

Wade Davis, CEO of Univision, said: “The new structure of our entertainment, sports and news divisions is critical to driving our business forward and expanding what we can offer to audiences globally. As demonstrated by this and other recent announcements, we are building the industry’s best team across all of our platforms to help fulfil our incredible potential.

“One of our key principles during this transformation is to ensure that the best talent, ideas and business processes come together to drive success and achieve our ambitious goals.”