Azteca America Confirms its Commitment to Programming and Los Angeles During West Coast Upfront

Azteca America Confirms its Commitment to Programming and Los Angeles During West Coast Upfront

-Last Week's Pachuca-America Soccer Final Garnered a 35% Share in Los Angeles-

LOS ANGELES, June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Azteca America presented this week its West Coast Upfront to more than 400 friends, clients and partners of Azteca 54 in the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

During the event, Chairman Luis J. Echarte reiterated the network's commitment to Los Angeles. "Somos Angelinos. We are here to stay. We have moved our network headquarters here and we will continue to broadcast here as Azteca 54 until 2009. And we will transmit from our current home or a new one from 2009 onwards."

During the event, executives emphasized national coverage gains in the past year, increasing the network's station base by 27% to 57 affiliated stations. Also touted was a strengthened local Los Angeles sales operation, new programming produced in Mexico and the United States, as well as a multimedia platform and new media options that set the stage for increased growth for the 2007-2008 season.

"You are not doing a true service to your local community without local news," said Jorge Jaidar, General Manager of Azteca 54. "We are committed to local news and offer a unique combination of top local news with a hemispheric view, where we can instantly switch to Mexico or the rest of Latin America thanks to our Fuerza Informativa Azteca news team."

"Following sales increases of 29% from 2005 to 2006, we continue to fine tune our group of affiliated stations to offer more promotion and local programming options," said Azteca America Chairman Luis J. Echarte. "We are particularly pleased to present new station options in Houston and Sacramento, as well as Portland. These are long-term relationships with affiliates who have proven to be excellent operators."

In addition to Azteca America's growing coverage, the network presented new music platforms, the best in sports programming, new reality show formats, novelas and returning hits. Azteca America also reiterated its commitment to offer the most dynamic network news coverage, as well as plans for local news programming in ten news markets.

On a local level, Azteca 54 also presented a new local production called Esta Semana en Real Estate, which offers expert advice and top property listings for the metro Los Angeles area.

Mr. Jaidar presented strong ratings gains in afternoon and early-fringe viewing, as well as a strengthened sales team and innovative community events and multimedia options.

"Soccer is no doubt our crown jewel, as witnessed by the 1.9 million viewers that saw the America-Pachuca championship final. But we are starting to move audiences to the weekday as well, with novelas and entertainment shows," said Adrian Steckel, CEO of Azteca America.

Mr. Steckel presented upcoming programming options that further boost the network's exciting programming grid, such as the music competition format Disco de Oro, Azteca's mega-production novelas Mientras Haya Vida and Se Busca un Hombre.

Other musical programming debuts include Premio de la Gente, Billboard Regional Latino Especial, and Premio a la Musica Regional, as well as Fiebra a la Danza. Sports options include top-quality boxing from Boxeo Latino, a new series of the Ultimate Fighting Championships, the boxing reality show Retador Azteca, and the sports commentary programs DeporTV America and Tiempo Extra. Talk, variety and comedy shows include Bienvenido a Casa with Omar Fierro, Sexto Sentido and Peor Es Nada. Reality shows for the upcoming season include Suegras II, La Academia, La Academia USA and Cambio Extremo. Additionally, a programming agreement with Discovery Networks will bring top shows for both adults and children. Finally, returning hits like Ventaneando America and Historias Engarzadas will complement newscasts and entertainment shows produced in Azteca America's digital studio in LA, and much more.

The strong programming will also have new media outlets thanks to an all- new entertainment website http://www.aztecaamerica.com/, which is powered by Terra Networks, as well as mobile telephony options through MobiTV, and interactive SMS voting in our reality shows, among other new media options. Also presented during the event was a local Terra-powered website for Los Angeles that will go live in coming months.

Company Profile

Azteca America is the fastest-growing Hispanic network in the United States. The network is a wholly owned subsidiary of TV Azteca S.A. de C.V., one of the two largest producers of Spanish-language television content in the world. Azteca America currently has presence in over 57 Hispanic markets, including: Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Houston, Chicago, Dallas, San Antonio, San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Phoenix, Brownsville-McAllen, Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto, Albuquerque, Fresno-Visalia, San Diego, Denver, El Paso, Orlando, Philadelphia, Tampa, Washington DC, Atlanta, Austin, Las Vegas, Boston, Tucson, Corpus Christi, West Palm Beach-Ft. Pierce, Seattle, Bakersfield, Hartford, Portland, Salt Lake City, Monterey-Salinas, Laredo, Naples-Ft. Myers, Palm Springs, Raleigh-Durham, Odessa, Colorado Springs, Milwaukee, Santa Barbara, Lubbock, Amarillo, Yakima, Wichita, Oklahoma City, Reno, Greenville, Abilene, New Orleans, Omaha, Tulsa, Boise, Toledo, Chattanooga, Victoria, Twin Falls and Charleston.

   http://www.aztecaamerica.com/corporate    Azteca America is a Grupo Salinas Company.   Visit: http://www.gruposalinas.com/    Azteca America Media Contact:   Daniel McCosh   323 517 0370   or    011 (5255) 1720-0059   dmccosh@aztecaamerica.com  

http://www.gruposalinas.com

Source: Azteca America

CONTACT: Daniel McCosh, Azteca America, +1-323-517-0370,
+011-5255-1720-0059, dmccosh@aztecaamerica.com

Web site: http://www.aztecaamerica.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment