LATV's Bentivoglio Named COO
Programming Chief Takes On Day-to-Day Role
by Laura Martinez -- Multichannel News, 5/13/2009 5:03:22 PM
Luca Bentivoglio has been promoted to chief operating officer of LATV, replacing Howard Bolter, who this month left the company to "pursue new opportunities," according to a company spokesperson.
Bentivoglio, who joined the Los Angeles-based network in 2008 as vice president of programming, will now be charged with the day-to-day operations, including the oversight of advertising and affiliate sales, programming, business development and production, among other duties.
"This is a great privilege, and a great opportunity," Bentivoglio tells Hispanic TV Update. His position will not be immediately filled.
Two of LATV's current programming executives, Eduardo Marrón and Luis Cárdenas, will continue to be in charge of in-house productions and program acquisition, respectively.
A longtime programming executive, Bentivoglio is now also charged with fostering ties with the advertising community to increase product-integration deals within the network's programming. An ongoing promotion for Honda via Hispanic advertising shop La Agencia de Orcí features LATV's L-Flik presenter José Marcelino Ortiz driving around in a Honda looking for unusual places to watch a film.
Also on Bentivoglio's plate: Continuing LATV's transition from a bilingual channel to one that will broadcast programming mostly in Spanish, something the former Telemundo executive considers a strategy that "makes sense." With national distribution secured via digital multicast, LATV can now focus on offering an alternative to Univision and Telemundo in Spanish while its syndicated arm, American Latino, which was acquired in 2008 for an undisclosed amount, targets the second-generation, English-dominant crowd.
"It's the best of both worlds," said Bentivoglio. "An ideal combination."
