Making Univision Into a Studio

Q&A With Univision Studios President Luis Fernandez

by Laura Martinez -- Multichannel News, 12/16/2009 12:49:29 PM

When Cesar Conde, Univision Networks' newly tapped president, decided to set up the network's first production studio, turning to Luis Fernandez for the top job was a no-brainer. A native of Spain, Fernandez was no stranger to the world of U.S. Hispanic television. Between 2000 and 2005, as general manager of Plural Entertainment, he had produced several Spanish-language programs, including Univision's first fiction series, Al Filo de la Ley. Prior to joining the network, the former journalist had served as executive president of Corporacion Radio Television Espanola, Spain's state broadcaster, where he oversaw its television, radio and online divisions. From his office in Miami, Fernandez spoke to Hispanic TV Update about the challenges of producing in a tough environment and what viewers and distributors can expect from the new venture.

 
MCN: Everybody talks about the new Univision Studios, but does this mean you will be building additional facilities to what you already have? Where are these studios going to be based?


 

MCN: But how is this different from, say, what Univision already produces?

LF: A very important aspect of this new initiative is that Univision Studios will be there to work on the production needs of Univision, TeleFutura, Galavision, Univision.com and Univision Movil. This is going to be a studio producing and co-producing content for all our platforms, not only television. The idea is that if Univision.com wants to produce a Web novela, they will turn to us for content, and so on.

 

MCN: Are there any plans to produce outside Miami? say, open studios in Latin America as Telemundo has been doing now for years?

LF: Univision Studios will be based in Miami, Florida, but it's premature to discuss any other details at this time.

 

MCN: How much original content do you already produce?

LF: We produce more than 4,000 hours a year, which represent somewhere around 60% of our total content. Establishing our own studios is only a natural extension of our programming strategy.

 

MCN: What would you say is the main objective of these studios?

LF: Well, beyond the mandate of Cesar [Conde], who created the division, is to serve our customers as best as possible. The point is to be intimately connected to the lives of U.S. Hispanics. To really cater to their needs - what they want to watch on TV, how they want to surf the Web and what they want to get on their mobile devices ... wherever they are, that is where Univision Studios will have to be.

 

MCN: What would you say is the biggest opportunity in terms of content... what is really missing out there that Hispanic viewers really want to watch?

LF: Well, I would have to say that is the million-dollar question...

 
MCN: Can you use the feedback from your offer via UnivisionOnDemand to determine what your audiences really want more of?

LF: That's an excellent question. I don't have the figures in front of me, but we will definitely use the Univision On Demand platform as a source for feedback to determine what our audiences really want.

 

MCN: Producing your own content is a very expensive proposition, at a time when Univision has a heavy debt load. How does the company plan to finance these productions?

LF: We are not disclosing financial details but can tell you that we are confident that this is the right time to launch Univision Studios and are confident of our success.