Azteca, the Nimble
Miss Universe® 2015 simulcast in Spanish on Azteca America last night.
As the Spanish-language television rights for this year’s Miss Universe pageant went up for bid last week in the U.S., Azteca America acquired the Spanish-language rights in a surprise move that Azteca CEO Manuel Abud called one of his nimblest. The reigning Miss Universe 2014, Paulina Vega, crowned her successor at the end of the evening in a memorable pageant hosted by Vanessa Claudio and Poncho de Anda.
According to Abud, the move gave Azteca a solid advantage for future negotiations with the pageant’s creator and for other similar venues. The network has made reaching younger Hispanics in the U.S. audience a priority that fits right in with its programming and social media strategy.
Abud did not reveal how much Azteca paid for the rights, but made it clear that the price had been lower than the $2.5 million Univision had paid before its breakup with the Trump organization. In September, Trump sold its rights and the Azteca negotiations were made with the current owners.
