Univision relocates local operations to downtown Detroit, staff to grow from 14 to 20

Univision has a 70% market share in terms of Spanish language viewers in the United States. The station’s headquarters are in Little Rock, Arkansas and there are local affiliates in the nation’s ten largest TV markets. Detroit, being eleventh, was a natural progression for the company. Univision Detroit’s general manager, Jessica Pellegrino, says, “We have an opportunity to be able to get information to the Hispanic community en masse.” There are currently two local shows under production, one dealing with public affairs and another with events.

Pellegrino says the station is a win-win. For the Hispanic community, “This is huge for us,” and says it is good for the area as well. “For retail, for the economy, it’s good. 89,000 have left Wayne County since 2000, while we have grown 44%.” That growth in viewers made a local affiliate make sense. Univision Detroit began adding local content to Univision about 3 months ago, sharing antenna and transmitters with WTVS, Detroit Public Television.

Univision Detroit began operations in Troy, but Pellegrino wanted to be in Detroit. “Our name is Univision Detroit — I thought we should have Detroit address.” She began looking for office space, but did not believe she wanted to be downtown. However, she found herself with almost 6,000 square feet of Class A office space in the Penobscot Building. She was won over by the building’s amenities, which include fully-wired meeting space called Smart-Detroit. Describing the historic building as “gorgeous,” Pellegrino says, “In the Hispanic community, everything is about relationships, and I can’t say enough good things about the team and the service at the Penobscot.”

14 employees have made the move downtown, but Pellegrino says that number will rise to 20 in just a couple of months.

Source: Jessica Pellegrino, Univision Detroit
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh