Spanish-language TV news ratings in Houston are, what can I say, getting muy caliente! So much so that Univision 45 KXLN and Telemundo 47 KTMD are fighting for the top spot during the late news. That even means over their English-language newscast counterparts.
And I've heard the Houston English-stations have taken notice. Just look at the 2016 Lone Star EMMY wins for example.
"At the close of the October 2016 survey period, our station was once again the most-watched during Primetime," Tony Canales, President and General Manager, KTMD told mikemcguff.com. "Our late weekday newscast also outranked all of our local competitors."
KTMD certainly has momentum behind its back for the first time in years. Just years ago, the station was airing a newscast produced out of Dallas with a handful of Houston reporters trying to make it more local.
Now the NBC owned station is the only Spanish-language station in town to use a helicopter to cover breaking news. The station tells me it just launched a new app that features first-of-its-kind Spanish-language weather alerts. It's also launched a new consumer investigative unit called Telemundo Responde (Telemundo Responds) which fights for viewers' rights.
"The Telemundo Station Group stations have been completely transformed thanks to NBCUniversal’s investment in the stations," Canales added. "As a result, the Telemundo-owned stations have ushered in a new era in Spanish-language local news."
That era appeared to be jump started for Telemundo after Comcast's purchase of NBC and Telemundo in 2011. Afterwards, veteran anchors Martin Berlanga, Paulina Sodi and Antonio Hernandez were hired.
"For example, we launched two new weekday half-hour local newscasts (at 4 PM and 4:30 PM) in less than two years," Canales told me. The added hour of news allows Telemundo Houston to deliver more news, first. We’ve also hired newsroom staff to support the boost in news."
The hiring of newsroom staff also has caught the notice of Houston TV veterans.
One pivotal hire for the station came in the form of a KTRK abc13 manager back in 2014. Executive producer Jerry Vazquez left the ABC owned and operated station for the NBC owned Telemundo station.
A source close to Vazquez told me the KTRK brass were insistent he would never get any ratings at his new shop. That notion has since been proven wrong.
"With more than a decade of experience working in local news in Houston, Jerry has helped our news team execute our aggressive local news strategy day-in and day-out to help Telemundo Houston be our viewers’ local station of choice," Canales said.
Vazquez's move took some TV newsers by surprise because someone leaving English-language TV to work at a Spanish-language station in Houston was not something that generally happened at the time. In fact, it was usually the opposite. Since then, other staffers have jumped from channel 13 and KPRC 2 to work at KTMD.
Sources in the newsroom tell me there are lots of good things happening at the station and the employees are excited to be apart of it all.
But it's not just English-language broadcasters making the move to KTMD, so are Spanish-language ones. Most recently Carlos Robles and Crystal Ayala have crossed the street to KTMD from Univision owned KXLN 45.
