For Tony Canales, it’s been a hectic year and a rewarding one as well. Canales is president and general manager of KTMD Houston, known as Telemundo Houston. In October 2021, B+C's General Manager of the Year in markets 1-25 was asked to also oversee KASA Albuquerque, which NBCUniversal Local had just acquired. He quickly set out rebranding KASA, now known as Telemundo Nuevo Mexico, and launching local news.
Forming a partnership with KOB Albuquerque, Telemundo Nuevo Mexico debuted local news two weeks after the acquisition closed, with 5 and 10 p.m. newscasts running on same-day delay. Three months later, they were live.
Broadcaster of the Year: Debra OConnell, President of Networks, Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution
Station Group of the Year: ABC Owned Television Stations
GM of the Year Markets 26-50: Kathleen Choal, KSHB Kansas City
GM of the Year Markets 51-Plus: Rocky Daboval, WBRZ Baton Rouge
News Director: Dana McDaniel, KFMB San Diego
Multiplatform Broadcaster: Hearst Television
Unsung Hero: Julie Griffin, KTRK Houston
News Anchor, Meteorologist and Sports Anchor of the Year
“He got newscasts up and running there in no time,” said Valari Staab, chairman, NBCUniversal Local.
On September 26, Telemundo Houston debuted Noticias Telemundo Texas, at 5-7 a.m. and serving five Telemundo stations; and Noticiero Telemundo Houston a las 10:30 p.m. That same day, Telemundo Nuevo Mexico added an hour of weekday news at 4 p.m., a partnership with Telemundo El Paso. Canales calls it a regional newscast.
KTMD nearly doubled its weekly news output that day. KASA now has around 20 newsroom staffers.
“I’m invigorated by an opportunity to start something from scratch,” Canales said.
Canales is enjoying how the two stations, a well-entrenched one and a startup, deploy different sides of his brain and different sets of muscles. “Never is one day the same,” Canales said.
KTMD news director Gerardo Vazquez lost his battle with cancer October 29 at age 54, and staffers were devastated. Staab mentioned the effort Canales put in to keep morale up and keep employees focused.
Staab called Canales a logical choice to oversee Albuquerque. “Tony is a really good person,” she said. “That’s always a good first step in a good general manager.”
KTMD won Lone Star Emmys for Overall Excellence and for News Excellence in November, beating out every other Texas station. Canales is quick to share praise with his station colleagues. “I’m most proud of the way the team has rallied around the different opportunities,” he said. ▪️
