NBC News and its cable wing, MSNBC, are carrying two of six Democratic presidential debates sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee (DNC). NBC/Universal has announced that its Hispanic television network Telemundo will also participate, rebroadcasting the proceedings for the US Hispanic audience. The two events are scheduled for Hanover NH on 10/30/07 and Philadelphia PA on 11/15/07.
Telemundo news anchor Pedro Sevcec will provide Spanish-language coverage, with other details forthcoming. "Telemundo News' decision to bring these debates to the Hispanic audience supports the network's commitment to educate and encourage the Hispanic community to participate in the 2008 presidential elections," said Telemundo's Jorge Hidalgo. Telemundo claims 16 O&Os, 36 broadcast affiliates and a presence on 684 cable systems, together reaching 93% of the Hispanic audience.
TVBR observation: It also goes hand in hand with the strategy of upping the profile of Hispanic media when politicians decide how to spend their campaign cash. It has been widely speculated that Hispanic radio/television leader Univision is pushing voter registration among the Hispanic population as a civic activity that may just happen to have the side-effect of attracting some of the political money out there. This is the perfect opportunity for Telemundo to aim its own fork at that particular advertising pie.
