Last month NBC Universal announced Cesar Conde would take over the entire Hispanic portfolio including: Telemundo Network, NBC Universo Cable Network, Telemundo International, Telemundo Local Stations, Telemundo Digital Media and Emerging Business and NBC Deportes. Basically this means Cesar will oversee all U.S. and International Hispanic outlets. (He officially starts this new role Oct. 12.)

I had the pleasure of meeting Cesar when I worked at Univision and it’s exciting to see a company as large as NBC Universal recognize the importance of the Hispanic segment in the U.S. and abroad.

Back at the home base in Dallas, we experienced first hand the equal commitment for both owned stations: NBC 5 and Telemundo 39.

For the past few years, I had heard how things were changing at Telemundo stations. Several old colleagues had mentioned that NBC Universal Owned Television Stations had made the commitment to treat Telemundo and NBC stations equally.  The reality is that it sounds like an easy task, but the fact is that in media, like any other business, your largest division gets more funding, more space, more resources – period. Telemundo stations are growing, but they are still smaller in audience reach and revenue by comparison to NBC stations.
Much to my delight, the Dallas Telemundo 39 office reflects the exact commitment my old colleagues had described. The two news, sales, and management teams share one roof and the space is pretty much 50/50 – ideal for sharing best practices and collaboration. Even the news studios are a mirror reflection each having comparable state-of-the-art equipment.

I want to commend NBC Universal’s leadership for their commitment and walking the walk they talk at a national and local level. I also want to congratulate the local station leadership including John Treviño, Thomas Ehlmann and thank Rosa Cuellar Khraish for the invitation. As an outsider, it’s refreshing to see companies that get it – and it’s no surprise that the integration is working.