MIAMI--()--In an extension of its long-term commitment to engage Hispanic America in the U.S. electoral process, Univision is increasing its efforts as the Midterm Elections approach. In partnership with the “Ya Es Hora” coalition, Univision is dedicating Tuesday, October 26, 2010, to aggressively encourage civic engagement across its television, radio, online and mobile platforms. As part of “Ya Es Hora, ¡Ve y Vota!,” (It's Time! Go and Vote!), Univision Communications will air special coverage, segments and public service announcements (PSAs) extensively starting at 7 a.m. through midnight, and will leverage digital and social media platforms, with the goal and continued commitment to inform the Hispanic community about the electoral process and the importance of the upcoming elections.
“Latinos across the country have answered the ‘Ya Es Hora’ call to participate, and our expectation is that they will do so again on November 2.”
“With ‘Ya Es Hora, ¡Ve y Vota!,’ Univision and its partners strive to inform, engage and empower the Latino community to participate in the electoral process,” said Cesar Conde, president of Univision Networks. “For more than two decades, Univision has worked diligently to help U.S. Hispanics exercise their right to vote by providing them with critical information so that they can make informed decisions – and in doing so, increase their political participation.”
“The success and effectiveness of the ‘Ya Es Hora’ campaign is in large part due to the extensive in-kind promotion by our Spanish-language media partners. Univision's plans for October 26 are unprecedented and a model of corporate citizenship,” said Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO). “Latinos across the country have answered the ‘Ya Es Hora’ call to participate, and our expectation is that they will do so again on November 2.”
Extensive broadcast will begin with the Network’s morning program, “Despierta America” (Wake-Up America), and will continue throughout the day with Univision, TeleFutura and Galavisión shows and newscasts, including “Escandalo TV” (Showbiz TV), “El Gordo y La Flaca” (The Scoop and the Skinny), “Primer Impacto” (First Impact), “Noticiero Univision” (Univision Network News), “Aquí y Ahora” (Here and Now), “Ultima Hora” (The Last Hour) and “Contacto Deportivo” (Sports Encounter). Anchors, hosts and reporters from all three networks will inform and share with viewers key points on the importance of voting in the November 2nd elections.
Univision Radio and online and mobile coverage on www.UnivisionNoticias.com will complement the campaign efforts with pieces dedicated to informing the community on the electoral process, the candidates and the issues important to them. In addition, the company will use social media to further engage and expand its reach.
Some of Hispanic America’s favorite personalities will be featured in PSA’s, including Poncho de Anda, Giselle Blondet, Lili Estefan, Melissa Marty, Raúl De Molina, Jorge Pérez-Navarro, Cristina Pereyra, Jorge Ramos, Maria Elena Salinas and Edna Schmidt.
Special segments and PSA’s continue to air nationally and locally across all Univision platforms as well as online. For more information, please visit: www.UnivisionNoticias.com online and on mobile.
For information on citizenship and voting, including how to locate polling sites, please call 888-Ve-Y-Vota/888-839-8682. On Election Day, callers can report any irregularities they may encounter at the polling place.
About “Ya Es Hora”
The Peabody award-winning “Ya es Hora” initiative is a national civic engagement campaign developed to inform, educate and motivate Hispanics to participate in the American political dialogue, by leveraging the power of a coalition of the nation’s largest and most established Hispanic organizations and the country’s largest Spanish-language media companies. Since January 2007, the multi-layered campaign has mobilized and assisted millions of Latinos to pursue naturalization, participate in the 2010 Census, register to vote, and make their voices heard in elections. Through coordinated media outreach, information dissemination, and direct community engagement, the campaign played a critical role in record naturalizations in the Latino community, generated more than 70,000 calls to the 888-Ve-Y-Vota bilingual civic engagement hotline, driven more than 100,000 unique visits to www.yaeshora.info, distributed more than 200,000 brochures across the nation, conducted more than 250 citizenship workshops, and directly assisted thousands at local events. Univision, the NALEO Educational Fund, National Council of La Raza, ImpreMedia, Entravision Communications, Mi Familia Vota Educational Fund and more than 500 local community organizations are partners in this effort.
About Univision Communications Inc.
Univision Communications Inc. is the premier Spanish-language media company in the United States. Its operations include Univision Network, the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network in the U.S. reaching 95% of U.S. Hispanic Households; TeleFutura Network, a general-interest Spanish-language broadcast television network, which was launched in 2002 and now reaches 85% of U.S. Hispanic Households; Galavisión, the country’s leading Spanish-language cable network; Univision Studios, which produces and co-produces telenovelas, reality shows, dramatic series and other programming formats for all of the Company’s platforms; Univision Television Group, which owns and operates 62 television stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico; Univision Radio, the leading Spanish-language radio group which owns and/or operates 68 radio stations in 16 of the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets and 5 stations in Puerto Rico; and Univision Interactive Media, which includes http://www.univision.com, the premier Spanish-language Internet destination in the U.S., and Univision Móvil, the industry’s most comprehensive Spanish-language suite of mobile offerings. Univision Communications also has a 50% interest in TuTv, a joint venture formed to broadcast Televisa’s pay television channels in the U.S. Univision Communications has television network operations in Miami and television and radio stations and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States. For more information, please visit www.univision.net.
