NBC News and Telemundo are both part of the NBCUniversal family, and for the first time, the two corporate cousins will be leveraging their relationship to cover a Presidential election. NBC News and Telemundo will be partnering on “Decision 2012” coverage starting immediately, with NBC News senior VP Alexandra Wallace managing the relationship between the two companies going forward.
What do the companies get? Telemundo gets access to a massive wealth of political information and news provided by NBC News, while NBC gets insight and information related to Hispanic voters, a key voting demographic.
“In addition to featuring reports from Telemundo, NBC News and MSNBC’s reporters, efforts will include joint monthly polls, coverage of the candidates’ campaigns, conventions, and high visibility events around civic engagement and the role of the Hispanic vote,” NBC says.
The partnership is a key one for Telemundo. Univision is by far the ratings leader in Spanish-language TV, and that lead extends to its news programming. Univision is also partnering with ABC News to develop a new 24 hour cable news channel. Considering that both NBC News and Telemundo have news divisions, and they are already part of the same company, there is simply no good reason why the to shouldn’t share resources if it helps to keep them competitive.
More information after the jump.
NBC NEWS AND TELEMUNDO MEDIA JOIN FORCES TO DELIVER UNPRECEDENTED POLITICAL COVERAGE WITH “DECISION 2012”
Alexandra Wallace, Senior Vice President of NBC News, To Work Closely with Telemundo News, Further Solidifying the Partnership Between America’s Highest-Rated and Most-Watched Network News Division and the #1 Producer of Spanish-Language Primetime Content
June 14, 2012 – New York, NY — On the heels of the first national NBC News/WSJ/Telemundo poll, NBC News and Telemundo Media announced both networks will officially join forces to deliver an unprecedented number of hours of political coverage in English and Spanish under their signature political banner “Decision 2012.” Through this partnership, NBC News will give Telemundo Media access to the assets and strengths of the #1 news organization in the country, while Telemundo Media will contribute its expertise and reach within the Hispanic community. By combining news gathering assets and award-winning journalists, NBC News and Telemundo Media will offer unparalleled political news programming and convention coverage as well as exclusive town halls and monthly polls. In addition, Alexandra Wallace, Senior Vice President at NBC News, has expanded her role to add a strategic position within Telemundo. She will work closely with Alina Falcon, Executive Vice President of News and Alternative Programming at Telemundo Media, on executing “Decision 2012,” and moving forward.
Telemundo will share resources with NBC News to produce news programming of the upcoming political race to the White House. In addition to featuring reports from Telemundo, NBC News and MSNBC’s reporters, efforts will include joint monthly polls, coverage of the candidates’ campaigns, conventions, and high visibility events around civic engagement and the role of the Hispanic vote. According to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, approximately 9.7 million Latinos voted in the 2008 Presidential election and approximately 12.2 million Latinos are expected to vote in the 2012 Presidential election. With nearly 22 million eligible voters, the Hispanic vote will have a significant impact on the upcoming elections.
“Telemundo is the only Spanish-language media company in the U.S. that has the advantage of having access to the leading news organization in the country, all under one roof,” said Emilio Romano, President of Telemundo Media. “This partnership will allow Telemundo and NBC News to offer news in both languages, reaffirming our deep commitment to inform and empower our community with the news and information they need to enrich their daily lives and forge a better future.”
Wallace, who has been overseeing the integration of NBC News and Telemundo News for the past year, was named Senior Vice President of NBC News in December 2008. “Alex has a true passion for Telemundo News and is a visionary as it relates to the future of broadcast journalism,” said Steve Capus, President of NBC News. “In this new assignment, she is perfectly situated to help NBC News and Telemundo News take their relationship to the next level.”
Leveraging each network’s content, journalists, and assets, NBC News and Telemundo’s partnership extends outside of its respective headquarters with daily editorial and production coordination between the many shared domestic and international bureaus, including NBC News’ Havana bureau. Telemundo’ s Mexico bureau also has been instrumental in gathering and distributing news content from that market and Latin America to all the NBC News properties. This partnership between Telemundo’s and NBC News’ bureaus was instrumental in providing around-the-clock in-depth coverage of the Pope’s visit to Mexico City and Cuba last March. Both networks shared on-the-ground resources in Havana and Telemundo’s Jose Diaz-Balart reported directly for Nightly News from Guanajuato, Mexico.
Since the 2010 launch of its “Education Nation” initiative, NBC News and Telemundo have worked together to bring important issues in education to the spotlight, including partnering on the national Summits and local city tours. Telemundo presents its “Education Nation” coverage under the banner of its own education initiative, “El Poder De Saber”— a company-wide effort that focuses on promoting the educational advancement of young Latinos, with an emphasis on secondary education and preventing high school drop-outs among Hispanic youth. This year’s Summit takes place in New York City, September 23-25th.