MIAMI — For 26 years, she’s been the President/GM of the broadcast media properties that today comprise TelevisaUnivision‘s Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood station group. Now, she’s being transferred into a newly created position that opens the door for a new leader of WLTV-23, WAMI-69, WRTO “Mix 98.3” and WAMR “107.5 Amor.”
It’s a shift to the newly created role of SVP for State Government Affairs and Political Partner Solution at the company for Claudia Puig.
She will report directly to TelevisaUnivision EVP of Government Affairs Steve Haro.
“In this strategic role, Puig will build and lead state government relations efforts in support of TelevisaUnivision’s legislative, regulatory, and policy goals and priorities,” the company said in a statement released on Thursday afternoon. “She will also serve as the principal liaison between the company’s Office of Government Affairs and the political advertising sales team.”
Speaking of Puig, Haro said, “Claudia’s media industry knowledge, coupled with her extensive and longstanding political connections in Florida and beyond, will be key to our company’s presence, impact, and support of the Hispanic community. Claudia is an exemplary leader, uniquely adept at understanding the roles of government in a business enterprise. I am excited to have her on the team.”
A long-serving member of the Florida Association Broadcasters, Puig has been leading the TelevisaUnivision radio stations in Miami since 1997, later gaining leadership of the TV stations after Univision Radio was formed with the purchase in Miami of the stations from Heftel Broadcasting.
Puig has been associated with Spanish Adult Contemporary WAMR and WRTO, which has had several Spanish-language formats, for nearly 30 years. In April 1997, she was elevated to GM for those properties (and former Univision Radio AMs WAQI “Radio Mambi” and WQBA-AM) from GSM by former owner Heftel, then-led by CEO Mac Tichenor Jr.
At the time, Puig said of her first management role, “It’s a tremendous challenge I have ahead of me. We will superserve the advertisers, superserve the community, and work very hard to provide excellent products to them. Hispanic radio is vital to this market and a big responsibility for this community, whether it’s entertainment or news/talk.”
She conquered all challenges, leading one of America’s strongest radio stations serving Hispanics — WAMR — as TelevisaUnivision made the corporate-level decision to sell WAQI and WQBA-AM along with several other properties across the U.S. in 2022 to Latino Media Network.
Meanwhile, the change in command at TelevisaUnivision’s Miami stations comes just one month after Samuel Belilty exited as News Director of WLTV-23, the Univision network station in the market. In a statement provided to Media Moves, a Hispanic market blog, the company said, “We are grateful for the contributions, expertise, and commitment that Samuel Belilty brought to our news division over the course of his career at Univision. On behalf of TelevisaUnivision, we wish him the best in his future endeavors.”
