NBC Universo

NBC Universo
Launched October 10, 1993 (as GEMS Television)
October 10, 2001 (as mun2)
February 1, 2015 (as NBC Universo)
Owned by NBCUniversal Cable
(NBCUniversal)
(Comcast)
Picture format 1080i (HDTV)
(HD feed downgraded to letterboxed 480i for SDTVs)
Slogan You're On
Country United States
Language English
Spanish
Spanglish
Broadcast area Nationwide
Headquarters Universal City, California
Formerly called GEMS Television (1993–2001)
mun2 (2001-2015)
Sister channel(s) NBC
Telemundo
Telemundo Puerto Rico
Website www.nbcuniverso.com
Availability
Satellite
DirecTV 410 (SD/HD)
Dish Network 838 (SD only)
Cable
Available on some cable systems Check local listings
Verizon FiOS Channel 275 (SD only)
IPTV
AT&T U-verse 192 (East; SD only)
193 (West; SD only)

NBC Universo is an American digital cable and satellite television network that is owned by the NBCUniversal Cable subsidiary of NBCUniversal. It is a companion cable channel to the NBCUniversal-owned broadcast television network NBC and formerly of Telemundo, airing a lineup of programs aimed at a young Latino audience. The network is headquartered at the Universal CityWalk in Universal City, California, while its master control operations are housed at the CNBC Global Headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, which serves as master control facilities for most of NBCUniversal's cable networks.

The majority of NBC Universo's programming consists of music and sports programming, along with programs from Telemundo and other NBCUniversal-owned cable networks, sometimes with Spanish language subtitles. To reflect its audience, it does not exclusively air programming in Spanish, airing some programs presented in English and programs presented interchangeably in both languages.

As of February 2015, the channel is available to approximately 39,326,000 pay television households (33.8% of households with television) in the United States.[1]

Background

The network was originally launched on October 10, 1993 as GEMS Television by former owner Empresas 1BC and later co-owned with Cox Communications the following year. The network's programming schedule was aimed towards Latino women. The channel was purchased by Telemundo in 2001 and revamped its format to target younger viewers, changing its name to mun2, a combined pun on Telemundo and "dos", the Spanish word for the number "2"; the name choice was intended to reflect the "two worlds" that Latino Americans live in.[2] Its initial lineup included programs from Telemundo co-owner Columbia TriStar Television, including Spanish language versions of Charlie's Angels and The Dating Game. From 12:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, the channel aired programs from Home Shopping Network's Spanish language network HSE (Home Shopping Español).

On December 24, 2014, NBCUniversal announced that mun2 would be re-branded as NBC Universo on February 1, 2015, to coincide with its Spanish-language broadcast of Super Bowl XLIX. The re-launch of the network under the NBC name is designed to reflect the broadcaster's commitment to the Spanish-language market. Under the new name, NBC Universo will also increase its focus on Spanish-language sports coverage, primarily in preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympics and its rights to FIFA tournaments (such as the 2018 FIFA World Cup).[2]

Programming

Season three, the final season of I Love Jenni, had the highest season average for any original program on mun2, reaching a total of 5.5 million people across all of its telecasts during its 18-week period on-air. It was the #1 show among Hispanic cable networks among all demographics during its Sunday night premiere. In 2013 the series has had over eight million video streams on mun2.tv, and over one million VOD (video on demand).[3]

Music programming on the network usually consists of a mix of English and Spanish-language songs in a variety of genres. In early April 2009, Mun2 introduced two new music video-oriented shows called Indie y Nuevo (which has since been discontinued) and The Urban Tip. In late December 2009, the network dropped its overnight block of infomercials airing from 3:00 to 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time to add an additional music video programming either in the form of Reventon Mix or Morning Breath. In addition to the added music video programming, the network also began broadcasting movies on Friday nights in January 2010. The network has also aired original series from sister networks Syfy and USA Network, which incorporate Spanish language subtitles.

Sports programming

mun2 served as the English broadcaster of a 2010 World Cup qualifier between the United States and Mexico. For the 2010 World Cup season, Telemundo held the U.S. television rights to televise all Mexican qualifiers from Azteca Stadium; as a result, NBC decided to assign mun2 the English language rights for the event. mun2 was made available to almost all cable and satellite subscribers as a "free preview" on the day of the game (August 12, 2009), with the broadcast presented by NBC Sports.[4]

In January 2010, NBCUniversal announced that mun2 would continue to broadcast Mexican soccer games (under the brand Fútbol Mexicano); most of the games shown so far usually were English language simulcasts of Telemundo's Fútbol Estelar broadcasts. mun2 debuted a sports news program in February 2010 titled mun2 Sports Arena, airing Sundays at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time. mun2 also offers Spanish simulcasts of some English Premier League matches airing on sister network NBCSN.

On July 23, 2013, it was announced that Telemundo and NBC Universo would broadcast both the Fox and NBC portions of NASCAR's regional and national series in Spanish. The main deal is effective with the 2015 NASCAR season, but NASCAR accelerated the deal by allowing mun2 to carry the Toyota Series, a season-opening Mexican championship race sanctioned by NASCAR, live from Phoenix International Raceway on February 28, 2014.[5][6][7]

The network carried a Spanish simulcast of an National Football League game for the first time on November 27, 2014, airing that night's Thanksgiving matchup from Santa Clara, California between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers; NBC had proposed Telemundo as a Spanish-language simulcast partner for years, but this has never occurred.

List of programs broadcast by NBC Universo

Current

Original programming
Acquired programming
Music video programming

Former

Notes

  1. ↑ Seidman, Robert (February 22, 2015). "List of how many homes each cable network is in as of February 2015". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Littleton, Cynthia (November 4, 2014). "Spanish-Language Cabler Mun2 to Relaunch as NBC Universo". Variety. Retrieved December 25, 2014.
  3. ↑ Kondolojy, Amanda (December 4, 2013). "mun2 Presents 'I Love Jenni' Marathon Monday December 9". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  4. ↑ USSoccer.com: Live Coverage Information: USA-Mexico
  5. ↑ "NBC wins NASCAR TV rights, signs 10-year deal to replace ESPN, Turner". Sporting News. July 23, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  6. ↑ "NASCAR and NBC Sports Group Reach Landmark Media Rights Agreement". NBC Sports Group Press Box. July 23, 2013. Retrieved July 25, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Mexico Series Returns To Phoenix For Opener". NASCAR. February 7, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2014.

External links