NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Univision Communications Inc. (UCI), the leading media company serving Hispanic America, today announced that Tonia O’Connor has been promoted to the newly-created role of Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), effective immediately. O’Connor will continue to report to Randy Falco, President and Chief Executive Officer, and remain based in New York.
In appointing O’Connor as CRO, UCI is evolving its business to more closely align with the needs of its clients by providing innovative and forward-looking consultation. With an integrated content monetization strategy and consolidated oversight of all of UCI’s revenue streams – linear and digital advertising, content distribution and new revenue development – UCI is strongly positioned to offer clients turnkey solutions across all platforms and enterprise touch points targeting its highly connected and influential audience. Under O’Connor’s leadership, UCI will also develop opportunities that bring scale to new formats, while advancing consumer engagement and creating a more effective overall experience for marketers and distributors.
“This new executive position not only recognizes the extraordinary track record of impact Tonia has made – and will continue to make – on our Company, but it also represents an important shift in the way we are now approaching our business,” Falco said. “By adopting a total revenue strategy, we will be able to better partner with our clients to create consumer-first, multi-platform solutions and invest in our content, platforms and insights with improved targeting and servicing of our audience.”
O’Connor commented, “In this consumer age of media, audience insights and behavior are – more than ever – critical ingredients in the success of both our content and our partners. UCI has been the undisputed leader for more than 50 years in delivering the highly-coveted, young and diverse American audience. That makes us some of the best storytellers on the planet with an incredibly loyal audience - from Univision News to La Doble Vida de Estela Carrillo to Liga MX. I am excited to lead our groundbreaking approach with an integrated distribution and advertising sales strategy, which will provide tremendous opportunities for our clients to leverage the full value of our enterprise. I look forward to working with my colleagues to continue building UCI’s path as an industry leader.”
Falco continued, “Tonia is a fearless leader with a keen ability to anticipate, influence and adapt to our rapidly changing industry, and she is uniquely qualified to help drive our next phase of growth at a pace that tracks with the convergence of the media and technology worlds. Since joining UCI, Tonia has led a highly-profitable content distribution strategy that has embraced technology and increased the relevancy of our programming in a multi-screen world.”
Among O’Connor’s first actions as CRO will be to appoint a successor to Keith Turner, UCI’s President of Advertising Sales & Marketing, who recently announced his plans to retire at the end of 2017, and to lead a seamless transition for the advertising sales & marketing team.
Since joining the company as executive vice president of Distribution Sales and Marketing in January 2008, O’Connor has been repeatedly promoted to roles of increasing seniority and has led the Company’s strategy to drive UCI’s content distribution efforts across all screens, including online and mobile. During her tenure with UCI, O’Connor led the creation of the Company’s first over the top English-language digital network, and the Univision Creator Network; played a key role in the expansion of UCI’s portfolio from three networks to 17 broadcast, cable and digital networks and partnerships; and, most recently, led the launch of UCI’s direct to consumer subscription video service, Univision NOW. She also leads UCI’s Enterprise Development efforts to expand content availability and licensing revenue by securing key partnerships and new business models with both traditional and emerging distributors.
Prior to joining UCI, O’Connor spent more than a decade with Gemstar-TV Guide, where she served in a number of roles, including as executive vice president of distribution. During her tenure, she was responsible for negotiating complex technology and intellectual property agreements, as well as programming deals. She also made substantial contributions to the growth of Gemstar-TV Guide’s networks and defining the strategy of the company.
O’Connor is a Director on the Board of El Rey Network, and fuboTV, a live streaming TV service. She is active in industry organizations and currently serves as the Chairman on the Dean’s Advisory Board at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. O’Connor has received multiple awards and recognitions including last year’s distinguished Vanguard Award for Marketing from the NCTA – The Television and Internet Association, Variety’s Women of Impact Award, as well as in The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Power 100. In prior years, she received a Wonder Women award from Multichannel News, was recognized by Moves Magazine as a Power Woman, and appears every year on CableFax’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Cable and the industry’s Top 100.
O’Connor graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University with a dual major in Broadcast Journalism and Political Science.
About Univision Communications Inc.
Univision Communications Inc. (UCI) is the leading media company serving Hispanic America. The Company, a leading content creator in the U.S., includes Univision Network, one of the leading networks in the U.S. regardless of language and the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network in the country available in approximately 91% of U.S. Hispanic television households; UniMás, a leading Spanish-language broadcast television network available in approximately 85% of U.S. Hispanic television households; Univision Cable Networks, including Galavisión, the most-watched U.S. Spanish-language entertainment cable network, as well as UDN (Univision Deportes Network), the most-watched U.S. Spanish-language sports cable network, Univision tlnovelas, a 24-hour Spanish-language cable network dedicated to telenovelas, ForoTV, a 24-hour Spanish-language cable network dedicated to international news, and an additional suite of cable offerings - De Película, De Película Clásico, Bandamax, Ritmoson and Telehit; Univision Local Media, which owns and/or operates 59 television stations and 64 radio stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico; and Univision Now, a direct-to-consumer, on demand and live streaming subscription service. The Company also includes the Fusion Media Group (FMG), a division that serves young, diverse audiences. FMG includes two cable networks: news and lifestyle English-language network FUSION TV and UCI’s interest in El Rey Network, a general entertainment English-language cable network; Univision.com, the most-visited Spanish-language website among U.S. Hispanics; Uforia, a music application featuring multimedia music content; as well as a collection of leading digital brands that span a range of categories: technology (Gizmodo), sports (Deadspin), music (TrackRecord), lifestyle (Lifehacker), modern women’s interests (Jezebel), news and social justice (FUSION.net), African American news and culture (The Root), gaming (Kotaku), and car culture (Jalopnik). FMG also includes the Company’s interest in comedy and news satire brands The Onion, Clickhole and The A.V. Club. Headquartered in New York City, UCI has content creation facilities and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States. For more information, please visit corporate.univision.com.
