With a 70% market share of Spanish language viewers in the United States, Univision is expanding into Detroit.
Headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, Univision has local affiliates in the nation's ten largest TV markets. Detroit, being eleventh, was a natural progression for the company. Univision Detroit's general manager, Jessica Pellegrino, says, "We have an opportunity to be able to get information to the Hispanic community en masse."
Pellegrino says the station is a win-win. For the Hispanic community, "This is huge for us," she says, adding that it is good for the area as well. "For retail, for the economy, it's good. 89,000 have left Wayne County since 2000, while we have grown 44%." That growth in viewers justified establishing a local affiliate.
There are currently two local shows under production, one dealing with public affairs and another with events. Univision Detroit began adding local content to Univision about three months ago, sharing antenna and transmitters with WTVS, Detroit Public Television.
Univision Detroit began operations in Troy, but Pellegrino wanted to be in Detroit. "Our name is Univision
Detroit -- I thought we should have a Detroit address." She began looking for office space, but did not believe she wanted to be downtown. However, she found herself with almost 6,000 square feet of Class A office space in the Penobscot Building. She was won over by the building's amenities, which include fully-wired meeting space called
Smart-Detroit. Describing the historic building as "gorgeous," Pellegrino says, "In the Hispanic community, everything is about relationships, and I can't say enough good things about the team and the service at the Penobscot."
While 14 employees have made the move downtown, Pellegrino says that number will rise to 20 in just a couple of months.
Source: Jessica Pellegrino, Univision DetroitWriter: Kelli B. Kavanaugh