Univision, the Spanish-language network, held its upfront presentation in New York on Tuesday, celebrating its frequent victories during the season. The network often came ahead of NBC during the season and this was celebrated during the event. However, the big news was a collaboration with director Robert Rodriguez, who hopes to launch his El Rey network with Univision’s help.
“The El Rey Network is going to be the home of kick-ass entertainment,” Rodriguez said during the event, reports Deadline. The first programs on the new network will be a series adaptation of Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn film and a series from Star Trek Into Darkness writing team Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci’s K/O Paper Products.
According to AdWeek, El Rey is actually part of Comcast and NBCUniversal’s merger from two years ago. At the time, the companies were court-mandated to create networks headed by people of ethnic minorities, with Diddy, Magic Johnson, and Constantino Schwarz agreeing to head their own networks. Rodriquez was picked to head his own network.
“It's been very difficult to work out, but it works, and the content is great,” one of Univision’s executives said during today’s event.
Univision will handle the day-to-day behind the scenes work of running a network, letting Rodriquez handle the creative end. El Rey is expected to launch by the end of the year.
Other new programs for Univision include Va Por Ti, a Sunday night singing competition, and previously announced Spanish versions of Gossip Girl and Breaking Bad.