Upfront Update: BET Makes Music, Mun2 Gets Latino Real, Both Score Jacks - Simon Applebaum

Two leading purveyors of multiethnic content were front and center with upfront crowds last weekBET NetworksBETCentricVenue Jazz At Lincoln Center getting more upfront ceremonies than any other location did the big screen on stage approach with a twist Often the images flashed on screen went from one to many jigsaw puzzlelike fashion In one clip sequence a large puzzle portion briefly blacked out the clip an extremely rare technical snafu for the usually onpoint JALC production team Another noticeable situation the drinks served outnumbered the food served by a mile Grade 45 JacksPresentation The networks most wellrounded ever so much so you never noticed how long it went over 90 minutes because there were so many highlights Off the bat chief executive officer Debra Lee promised quottime to give you our big pitch our flashy songanddance on why you should invest in usquot then asked Jim the offstage announcer to break out the numbers part of the pitch to the Match Game fill in the year theme That big pitch behind the numbers BET has become the trusted brand for AfricanAmericans trusted far more than other networks targeting this audience whole or in part Where some Upfronts generate one musical showstopper BET delivered three Chaka Kahn just marked her 60th birthday owning all in sight singing quotTell Me Something Goodquot Karen ampamp J Drew Sheards doing quotIndescribablequot in honor of Boston Marathon bombing victims with quotWe Honor Bostonquot on a black screen backdrop and a threesong closing set from Miguel Real Husbands of Hollywood39s cast hit the stage preMiguel with sidesplitting repartee among each other And what would things be without Louis Carr BET39s charismatic ad sales chief always good for a noteworthy upfront takeaway quotCredibility is not automaticit39s what others bestow on youquot Carr said quotYou either have it or you don39tquot Grade 5 JacksNews Being Mary Jane BET39s first scripted drama series starring Gabrielle Union opens July 2 with a twohour edition then follows with hourlong episodes early 2014 Attendees saw a full scene from that opener If that39s a sign of things ahead the network has something special with given Union39s appeal big crossover audience possibility The fall season newbies are a Mind Body ampamp Soul talk session with Bishop TD Jakes and the return of longrunning Comic View Reality series Burns BBQ comes in next spring Sister channel Centric39s new element premiering last Friday is new episodes of the Byron Allensyndicated comedies The First Family and Mr Box Officethe first Allen programs to get a national network run while still in firstrun production other than his Entertainment Studios set of highdefinition services Grade 4 JacksHost Lee Carr BET programming executives Loretha Jones and Stephen Hill and Centric general manager Paxton Baker all came through well Our annual question when does Carr get his own BET or Centric program Grade 5 JacksOverall Grade 45 Jacks Great mix of pitch clips hilarity and that trio of musical showstoppers5 Jacks Excellent4 Jacks Very Good3 Jacks Good2 Jacks Fair1 Jack Poor0 Jacks Worse than badamp160mun2 Venue Until now mun2 and its bicultural bilingual format directed to young Latinos was nestled inside Telemundo39s annual showcase both nets owned by NBC Universal For its breakout solo engagements facing journalists in the morningthe ad crowd the same night intimate colorful Skylight Modern on W 27th St close to the popular High Line overhead walkway was utilized Breakfast tacos were available for the press reps and they were yummy Grade 45 JacksPresentation For now the network will keep the focus on reality series featuring aspiring Latino celebrities and role models or music Authentic lifestyle entertainment as labeled by general manager Diana Mogolion is drawing the young Latino audience in Advertisers are picking up that vibe added sales chief Joe Bernard with 30 new sponsors checking in during 2012 especially wireless and family dining chainsquoteven Starbucksquot Grade 45 JacksNews Five new series coming up over the next year Musicoriented Al Tiro Con LA radio personality La Bronca and mun2Pop premiere by summer39s end followed by reality shows Viva Los Vargas with world boxing champ Fernando Vargas Reinas de RealtyQueens of Realty highlighting LA reality agents Jackie Mateos and Liz Perez and Horoscopos Vicky and sister Marisol Terrazas Chicagobased members of the music group Horoscopos de Durango As part of the umbrella deal announced by NBC Universal last week mun2 will present 66 English Premier League soccer games in Spanish Telemundo will offer 10 games on its own Separately Telemundo will have its Deportes crew produce a number of Mas Rumbo MundialMore Road To The World Cup specials after selected mun2 matches Will mun2 dive back into scripted drama two years after testing the waters with bilingual RPM Miami Yes Mogolion declared quotWe have some things on the back burner and probably have something to say about doing at least one 2014 drama next time we39re in New Yorkquot Grade 5 JacksHost Smooth delivery from both Mogolion and Bernard Both get extra credit for a special bilingual questionandanswer session with several of their reality personalities including Vargas and Larry Hernandez of ongoing hit Larrymania Grade 5 Jacks Overall Grade 45 Jacks Solid versatile solo debut5 Jacks Excellent4 Jacks Very Good3 Jacks Good2 Jacks Fair1 Jack Poor0 Jacks Worse than badNext up AMC and BBC AmericaQuick observation from the passing paradeKudos to Broadcasting ampamp CableMultichannel News publisher New Bay Media for their debut Multiethnic TV Leadership Awards last week The event went beyond distributing welldeserved honors to executives for pioneering a broader array of channels targeting people of color A morning set of panel sessions and oneonone interviews generated avenues to pursue that course faster and farther Count on this becoming a muchcatch portion of the TV industry39s spring calendar One suggestion going forward audience questionandanswer time for every sessionUntil the next time stay well and stay tunedSimon Applebaum is producerhost of Tomorrow Will Be Televised the radio program all about TV Tomorrow runs live Mondays and Fridays at 3 pm Eastern time noon Pacific Time on wwwblogtalkradiocom with replays available at wwwblogtalkradiocomsimonapple04 A weekly TV series edition will soon premiere on the new UBCTV network Have a question or reaction Email it to simonapple04yahoocom or tweet UBCSimonTWBTRead all Simonamp8217s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Tomorrow Will Be TelevisedCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

Upfront Update: BET Makes Music, Mun2 Gets Latino Real, Both Score Jacks - Simon Applebaum

Author

Publish date

Channel

Simon Applebaum

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

More Videos:

Click to Make Your 2025 Contribution to Support the MediaVillage Education Foundation

Upfront Update: BET Makes Music, Mun2 Gets Latino Real, Both Score Jacks - Simon Applebaum

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Simon Applebaum

Empowering Women in Media: Insights from Industry Leaders (Video) - By E.B. Moss

The payment was successful

Cookies