“Fusion Live,” the nightly newscast of the 14-month-old ABC-Univision network has been canceled, TVNewser has learned. This is the second cancellation this week of a nightly newscast geared toward millennial viewers. On Monday, Pivot shelved “Take Part Live.”
“Fusion Live” had been a part of the network’s primetime since March. Anchored by Mariana Atencio, Pedro Andrade and Yannis Pappas, who had been the hosts of “The Morning Show,” “Fusion Live” aired at 8pmET.
Pappas left the network in August. Atencio and Andrade will turn their attention to specials produced by a new production team headed by VP of news Mark Lima. Show EP Javier Guzman will be leaving the network while other staffers will shift to other show units. “Alicia Menendez Tonight” and “No You Shut Up” are the remaining originally-produced, daily programs on Fusion.
“2015 is going to be a pivotal year for Fusion and our success is tied to our ability to experiment, adapt, and evolve,” Fusion head Isaac Lee writes in a note to staff, obtained by TVNewser.
The network will be working with other corporate partners, including ESPN, to bring new programming to Fusion in the new year. Lee’s note, after the jump…
Hola Fusion,
As we prepare for 2015 we are making some changes to our television line-up that will help position Fusion to grow and improve our television offerings in the new year.
As of today we will stop producing new editions of “Fusion Live.” Throughout our first year, “The Morning Show,” and later “Fusion Live,” was a place for us to experiment and try new things.
Over the past year, we’ve seen Mariana Atencio truly shine with her field reporting in a broad range of locales, from Ferguson to Mexico, Hong Kong, and Venezuela, telling the stories that other outlets simply weren’t covering. Pedro Andrade was the ideal tour guide when the world descended upon his home country of Brazil for the World Cup giving our audience an insider’s view of the celebration.
We will be moving members of the “Fusion Live” production team to other shows and units. Wade will be having meetings with teams throughout the day to discuss this in greater detail and will answer any questions you might have.
By shifting gears from a nightly show, this change will allow us to form a new production team, led by Mark Lima, that will help us ramp up the number of single topic specials we produce in the new year and build on our previous successes.
As we have learned through the success of “Pimp City,” “Agents of Change,” “#SOSVenezuela,” and most recently with “RiseUp,” young people are deeply curious and seeking context about many of the complex issues facing our world today. They are interested in programming that tackles big topics or helps them answer core questions about what is happening in the world around them.
Mark’s new team will work to bring our authentic, engaging style of storytelling to a number of specific stories and issues our audience is interested in. Mariana and Pedro will play an integral role in this team, while also contributing regularly to “AMERICA” and “AM Tonight.”
We are also having a number of conversations with ABC, ESPN, and the Univision News documentary unit that will result in exciting new additions to our lineup in early 2015. I look forward to sharing more news about that in the days and weeks ahead.
As a result of our decision, I’m sad to announce Javier Guzman will be leaving Fusion. He has been a dedicated champion of Fusion over the past year and a half. I would like to thank him for all the contributions he has made to Fusion and wish him all the best.
2015 is going to be a pivotal year for Fusion and our success is tied to our ability to experiment, adapt, and evolve. I am incredibly proud of how much we have learned and grown in 2014 and I believe Fusion is positioned for incredible growth across all our platforms in the coming year.
— Isaac