If you can make it there...

I am the bureau manager for Mega TV, a Spanish Broadcasting System affiliate. The headquarters of Mega are in Miami FL, like Univision and Telemundo. Miami is the center of Spanish language programming in the US.

I of course live in the capital of the world New York City, and just a few blocks from me are the studios of ABC, FOX and NBC. The Spanish language affiliates of Univision and Telemundo are actually off in New Jersey. So my little operation is nestled right in the middle of the “big boys.” This poses both benefits and a few challenges for me. Being close to the other studios makes it easier for guests to stop by my studio for interviews and quick live satellite connections with our Miami shows. However, sometimes I’m expected to compete with some of these networks who seem to have unlimited resources and can be everywhere at once. I have a crew of well, one.

But, Mega TV is growing fast. They just expanded to Puerto Rico to local station WSJU Channel 30 and will soon be adding additional cities. I just finished recording “saludos” to Puerto Ricans on the island from their families in New York. Those saludos will be running during the inaugural week of the new channel.

I’m excited about the prospect of Mega TV expanding the New York operation. Right now, most people who see Mega TV in the New York area do so via satellite on channel 405, using the Direct TV Mas package. What’s interesting about New York is that most buildings don’t allow satellite dishes on the sides of buildings, and the cable companies have monopolies on various individual neighborhoods. This is a big difference than Miami, where most viewers can see my work on their local channel 22. There, the channel is 3rd in ratings and the 11 o’clock news is quickly gaining on the better-known competitors in that time slot. My mother in law who lives in Homestead, FL, can see my segments whenever they are on, and has the shows set up on DVR.

We have a ways to go here in New York, but if we make it, there is a large population of Latinos looking for more choices for their news and programming. The English language networks have taken advantage of the programming vacuum by offering their own Latino programming and they are finding success. But watch out world, when Mega TV goes local in NY, you’ll be seeing a bit more of me. Then maybe I can prove to my parents that I’m actually on TV…;-)