Univision has locked in the Lyric for its next two upfront presentations.
The nation’s largest Hispanic media firm will hold its annual presentation to advertisers at the Broadway theater on May 12 and again on May 17, 2016, the company said.
Details were scant at deadline with further information to be distributed in the next few weeks, Univision spokespersons said.
But attendees can likely anticipate an inspired showcase of telenovela and reality competition talent, and a theme similar to “Influence” — the buzzword of last year’s upfront at the Al Hirschfeld Theater.
There’s also the highly anticipated musical number from Univision executive vice president of advertising sales Steve Mandala, who last year modified the Jason Derulo hit “Talk Dirty to Me” into a sales pitch called “Talk Spanish to Me” and in 2013 riffed on the then-popular “Harlem Shake” with a Univision version of the tune.
What’s certain is that the focus of the presentation will again be on the Univision network, followed by UniMás; cable networks Galavisión, Univision Deportes Network, Univision tlnovelas, ForoTV, De Película, De Película Clásico, Telehit, Ritmoson Latino, and Bandamax; digital music service Uforia; bilingual digital video network UVideos; millennial-focused user-driven online video hub Flama; and filmmaker Robert Rodriguez’s English-language El Rey Network, in which Univision holds a minority interest.
Among those attending might be veteran telenovela star Eduardo Yañez. He is set to return to Univision’s primetime lineup on March 30 as a protagonist in Amores con Trampa, a show in the vein of The Beverly Hillbillies. Billed as a lighthearted comedy in which a couple leaves their farm for life in the city after striking it rich, Amores will air weeknights at 8 p.m., replacing the top-rated Mi Corazon es Tuyo, which wraps up its U.S. run on March 27.
Meanwhile, the so-called Barter Kings are heading to Galavisión. Los Reyes del Trueque, a Spanish-language adaptation of their weekly A&E reality show, has been airing on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Galavisión since March 18. In each episode, hosts Antonio Palazzola and Steve McHugh barter their way to gaining a wide variety of items while teaching viewers the tricks of the trade.
