Jump to content

Universo (TV channel)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected fromMun2)
Universo
CountryUnited States
Broadcast areaNationwide
NetworkNBC
Telemundo
HeadquartersMiami Springs, Florida
Programming
Language(s)
Picture format1080iHDTV
(downscaled toletterboxed480ifor theSDTVfeed)
Ownership
OwnerNBCUniversal(Comcast)
ParentNBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises
Sister channels
History
LaunchedOctober 10, 1993(1993-10-10)
Former names
  • GEMS Television (1993–2001)
  • mun2 (2001–2015)
  • NBC Universo (2015–2017)
Links
WebsiteNBCUniverso

Universois an Americanpay television channelowned by the NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises subsidiary ofNBCUniversal.The network serves as a companion cable channel to the NBCUniversal's flagshipbroadcast televisionnetworkNBCand, to some extent, its Spanish networkTelemundo.

Aimed atHispanic Adultsbetween the ages of 18 and 49, the majority of its programming – which is tailored towardbilingualaudiences – consists mainly of sports, scripted andreality series,and music programming. The network is headquartered inMiami Springs, Florida,while itsmaster controloperations are housed at theCNBCGlobal Headquarters inEnglewood Cliffs, New Jersey,which serves as master control facilities for most of NBCUniversal's cable networks.

The network was founded byEmpresas 1BCasGEMS Televisión.In 2001, the network was acquired by Telemundo and re-branded asmun2.The network was renamedNBC Universoin February 2015 to align it with Telemundo's sister English-language network NBC.

As of November 2023,Universo is available to approximately 22,000,000 pay television households in the United States-down from its 2016 peak of 45,000,000 households.[1]

Background

[edit]

The network was launched on October 10, 1993, asGEMS Televisión,under founding ownerEmpresas 1BC.Cable television provider Cox Cable (nowCox Communications) acquired an ownership interest in the network the following year. The network's programming was aimed towards women of Hispanic or Latin origin.

As mun2

[edit]
Logo as mun2, used from 2001 to January 30, 2015.

In 2001, GEMS was purchased by the Telemundo Communications Group (then a joint venture led bySony Pictures EntertainmentandLiberty Media), and revamped its programming format to target younger viewers; it was renamedmun2,a name chosen to reflect the "two worlds" that Latino Americans live in (the name being a Spanish-language pun on "mundo" and the number 2, which is pronounced like "mundos" or "worlds" ).[2]

Its initial lineup included programs from Telemundo's then sister companyColumbia TriStar Television(nowSony Pictures Television), including repeats of Spanish language adaptations ofCharlie's Angels(Angeles) andThe Dating Gamethat had aired on Telemundo as part of a failed programming revamp in 1998 in an attempt to counterprogram its rival,Univision.In addition, mun2 ran blocks of programming from theHome Shopping Network's Spanish language network Home Shopping Español (HSE) daily from 12:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.Eastern Time.

In 2002,NBCacquired Telemundo and mun2 from Sony Pictures and Liberty Media, and on August 2, 2004,General Electric,then-owners of NBC, acquired an 80% stake inUniversal Pictures,merging it with NBC to formNBCUniversal,which was later acquired byComcastin 2011.

The network's most well known series was the candid reality seriesI Love Jenni,which featured the life ofbanda/rancherosingerJenni Rivera.After her death in a plane crash nearMonterreyon December 9, 2012, the final season of the series earned the highest season average of any mun2 original program in its history, reaching a total of 5.5 million people across all of its telecasts during the season's 18-week run. It also ranked as the #1 show among all Hispanic cable networks in every key demographic during its Sunday night premiere. The series on-demand traffic increased, with over eight millionvideo streamson mun2.tv, and over one millionvideo on demandviews.[3]

As Universo

[edit]
Logo used until January 17, 2017.

On December 24, 2014, NBCUniversal announced that it would relaunch mun2 asNBC Universoon February 1, 2015, to coincide with the network's Spanish-language broadcast ofSuper Bowl XLIX.The relaunch of the network under theNBCname andpeacock logowas designed to reflect the broadcaster's commitment to the Spanish-language television market.[2]

Eight months prior to the relaunching announcement, at NBCUniversal Hispanic Enterprises and Content's upfront presentation atNew York City'sFrederick P. Rose Hallon May 13, 2014, the company announced that NBC Universo would be revamping its programming. The new line-up would increase its focus on sports coverage (which included the re-organization of Telemundo's sports division asTelemundo Deportes,a branch of the English-languageNBC Sportsdivision), primarily in preparation for its broadcast of the2016 Summer Olympicsand its assumption of Spanish-language cable rights toFIFAtournaments (such as the2018 FIFA World Cup), which began with the2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.[4]

In February 2017, the channel's name was shortened to Universo as part of a brand refresh.[5]

Programming

[edit]

Universo's programming consists of sports, original scripted drama series, reality series largely centered on popular Hispanic celebrities, movies, and music videos and music-related magazine programming; it also broadcasts series originating from Telemundo and networks operated as part of sister divisionNBCUniversal Cable,made up of original series from sister networksSyfyandUSA Network,which incorporated Spanish subtitles. To reflect its audience, Universo does not exclusively air programming in Spanish, airing a mix of shows presented in English, dubbed into Spanish and incorporating Spanish languagesubtitles,and programs presented interchangeably in both languages.

Music programming on the network during its existence as mun2 usually consisted of a mix ofmusic videosin English and Spanish from a variety of genres. In early April 2009, mun2 introduced two new music video-oriented shows calledIndie y Nuevo(a program focusing more on independent artists, which has since been cancelled) andThe Urban Tip(focusing onR&B,rapandreggaetonvideos). In late December 2009, the network dropped its overnight block ofinfomercialsthat aired daily from 3:00 to 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and replaced it with additional music video programming either in the form ofReventon Mix(focusing on contemporary Latin party music) orMorning Breath(featuring a selection of videos from various artists). In January 2010, the network also began broadcasting a weekly block of feature films on Friday nights.

Sports programming

[edit]

Universo broadcasts Spanish-language sports programming in conjunction with theTelemundo Deportesbranch of theNBC Sports Group.Since the2015 FIFA Women's World Cup,Universo is the Spanish-language cable rightsholder ofFIFAtournaments through2026.[6][7][8]

In January 2010, NBC Universal announced that the channel would continue to broadcast Mexican soccer games (under the brandFútbol Mexicano); most of the games aired to date were English-language telecasts of matches featured on Telemundo'sFútbol Estelarbroadcasts. In February 2010, mun2 debutedmun2 Sports Arena,a half-hour sports news program that aired on Sunday evenings. The network held English-language rights to a2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers matchbetween theUnited StatesandMexicoon August 12, 2009. mun2 offered afree previewfor the day of the match.[9]

On July 23, 2013, NBC Sports announced that Telemundo and mun2 would broadcastNASCAR eventsin Spanish in beginning in 2015, as part of NBC's new rights deal to cover the second half of theCup SeriesandXfinity Seriesseason. As a prelude to the new contract, mun2 broadcast the opening event of theToyota Series—NASCAR's Mexican series, atPhoenix International Racewayduring the weekend ofThe Profit on CNBC 500on February 28, 2014.[10][11][12]Through NBC Sports' contract totelevisethePremier League,the network began airing Spanish-language simulcasts of select matches broadcast in English onNBCSNwith the2013–14 season.[13]

Through NBC'srights agreementwith the NFL, mun2 carried its first Spanish simulcast of an NFL game, airing aThanksgivingmatchup between theSeattle SeahawksandSan Francisco 49erson November 27, 2014; the re-branded channel has served as the Spanish-language broadcaster of theSuper Bowlduring years NBC holds the rights. NBC had proposed using Telemundo to act as a Spanish-language simulcast partner for years following its 2001 purchase of the network, but this did not occur until the Premier League agreement.[4]

List of programs broadcast by Universo

[edit]

Current

[edit]
Original programming
Acquired programming
Reruns ofTelemundoprogramming
  • Caso Cerrado
  • Historias de la Virgen Morena
  • Exatlón Estados Unidos(July 17, 2018 – present)
Sports
Telenovelas

Former

[edit]

Notes and references

[edit]
  1. ^"U.S. cable network households (universe), 1990 – 2023".wrestlenomics.May 14, 2024.RetrievedJuly 28,2019.
  2. ^abCynthia Littleton (November 4, 2014)."Spanish-Language Cabler Mun2 to Relaunch as NBC Universo".Variety.Penske Media Corporation.RetrievedDecember 25,2014.
  3. ^Amanda Kondolojy (December 4, 2013)."mun2 Presents 'I Love Jenni' Marathon Monday December 9".TV by the Numbers.Zap2it (Tribune Media Services). Archived fromthe originalon December 8, 2013.RetrievedNovember 4,2014.
  4. ^ab"Telemundo Slate Includes New Novelas, Musical Competition Series & More".Deadline Hollywood.Penske Media Corporation. May 13, 2014.RetrievedNovember 7,2015.
  5. ^"NBC Universo drops" NBC "from its name and logo".Media Moves.2017-03-01.Retrieved2021-11-08.
  6. ^Jeré Longman (October 21, 2011)."Fox and Telemundo Win U.S. Rights to World Cups".The New York Times.RetrievedNovember 23,2015.
  7. ^Joe Flint (October 22, 2011)."Fox, Telemundo buy TV rights to FIFA World Cup soccer".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedNovember 23,2015.
  8. ^Richard Sandomir(February 12, 2015)."Fox and Telemundo to Show World Cup Through 2026 as FIFA Extends Contracts".The New York Times.RetrievedNovember 23,2015.
  9. ^Mike Reynolds (August 10, 2009)."Mun2 Free Preview Scorecard: 67 Million Homes On Aug. 12".Multichannel News.NewBay Media.RetrievedNovember 23,2015.
  10. ^"NBC wins NASCAR TV rights, signs 10-year deal to replace ESPN, Turner".Sporting News.Sporting News Media. July 23, 2013.RetrievedNovember 23,2015.
  11. ^"NASCAR and NBC Sports Group Reach Landmark Media Rights Agreement".NBC Sports Group Press Box(Press release).NBC Sports Group.July 23, 2013.RetrievedNovember 23,2015.
  12. ^"Mexico Series Returns To Phoenix For Opener".NASCAR.February 7, 2014. Archived fromthe originalon September 25, 2015.RetrievedNovember 23,2015.
  13. ^"NBC wins $250m rights to broadcast English Premier League in US".The Guardian.Associated Press.October 29, 2012.RetrievedNovember 23,2015.
  14. ^"TELEMUNDO, E! AND UNIVERSO MAKE HISTORY WITH LATINX NOW!, THE FIRST TOTAL-MARKET ENTERTAINMENT SHOW IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH TO PREMIERE OCTOBER 3RD".nbcumv.Retrieved9 January2019.
  15. ^"CNBC's Hit Reality THE PROFIT Debuts On Universo As EL SOCIO With Business Expert Marcus Lemonis This Sunday".broadwayworld.Retrieved29 July2018.
  16. ^"WWE's ECW ignites mun2".wwe.WWE.Retrieved29 July2018.
  17. ^"Monday Night Raw Move to USA Network Prompts Changes to WWE Programming".corporate.wwe.WWE.Retrieved29 July2018.
  18. ^Csonka, Larry."WWE News: Updated WWE Programming On MUN2, Jack Swagger Article, More".411mania.Retrieved29 July2018.
[edit]


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Universo_(TV_channel)&oldid=1233760389"