Satellite-radio provider Sirius XM has hired former Comcast
multicultural chief Mauro Panzera to lead Hispanic-marketing efforts, the
company has confirmed.
In an e-mail message sent to employees earlier this month,
Sirius XM president and chief content officer Scott Greenstein welcomed Panzera
as vice president of Hispanic marketing, a newly created position, saying he
will be charged with "defining and further developing our presence in the U.S.
Hispanic market."
Panzera will be based in New York and report directly to
Greenstein, the e-mail said.
Prior to joining Sirius XM, Panzera, a native of Venezuela,
was Comcast's senior director of multicultural marketing, a position he had
held since 2002. That post was eliminated in 2009; he has been an independent
consultant since then.
Panzera's hiring is only the latest of a series of
initiatives by the satellite radio provider to boost its Hispanic offering. In
April, National Latino Broadcasting (NLB) announced it was selected by Sirius
XM to lease two channels on a long-term basis, one of which is the Cristina
Channel, a 24-hour, women-targeted channel powered by TV talk show icon
Cristina Saralegui and that offers programming on news, entertainment,
political issues, health and beauty, and other subjects.
In addition to contributing her voice and style to the
channel, Saralegui -- who joined Telemundo earlier this month -- will helm a weekly talk show.
Sirius XM has kept mum on its Hispanic plans but in a May
conference with investors, CEO Mel Karmazin said: "We'll be expanding our audio
content lineup with new channels, including a suite of new Spanish-language
channels. With 50 million Hispanics in the United States, we see significant
upside potential with our expansion here."
A Sirius XM spokesman confirmed Panzera's hiring, but
declined to disclose more specifics on the company's strategy to target U.S.
Hispanics moving forward.
