NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Univision Communications Inc. (UCI), the leading media company serving Hispanic America, today announced the launch of Univision Story House, a new content development and production venture that will produce original content for UCI’s portfolio of owned networks as well as third party networks and platforms. By leveraging UCI’s distinct knowledge of Hispanic and young, diverse audiences, Story House is uniquely positioned to create innovative stories and formats that appeal to the new, rising American mainstream in both English and Spanish. Story House will be a part of the recently announced Fusion Media Group.
Story House will operate out of Los Angeles, giving UCI an expanded development and production footprint, and be overseen by Camila Jimenez Villa, who will be President and Chief Content Officer of the Fusion Media Group, and led creatively by Juan Rendón. Christian Gabela will assume the role of Vice President and General Manager and will help lead strategy and partnerships as well as manage the daily operations of the team. Rendón and Silvana Aguirre will serve as the venture’s creative directors. Rendón previously led Univision and FUSION’s award-winning documentary division where he produced, directed, and executive produced over 15 documentaries since 2012; his work has been recognized with a range of honors from DuPont Awards to an International Emmy nominations. Most recently Aguirre served as creative director for UniMás and brings with her more than 15 years of television experience; her films have toured more than 100 film festivals worldwide. Full bios below. The team will report to Isaac Lee, Chief News and Digital Officer for UCI.
Story House will build on Univision’s exceptional storytelling abilities to bring to life narratives and characters that are revealing, authentic and reflect the diversity of the changing face of America. Story House will also utilize its extraordinary access to news archives and the award-winning journalists of Univision News to source and develop long-form fiction and nonfiction content. The team will tap into a network of Hollywood writers, directors, and producers throughout the development process create compelling, high-quality productions.
"There is a wealth of untold stories about Latin America and the cross-cultural experience in the United States. The diversity of backgrounds and experiences that our experienced team embodies gives us the ability to tell those stories in the most authentic way,” said Rendón.
“The formation of Univision Story House is an extension of UCI’s commitment to serve young, multicultural audiences across a broad range of platforms with high-quality, meaningful storytelling,” said Jimenez Villa. “Our goal is to be the go-to place for premium content for the new, rising American mainstream regardless of brand, platform, or language.”
Story House has inked a production deal with HBO for two projects that will take viewers on a journey to examine an array of diverse cultures and perspectives. “Outpost” is a ten-part series that lives at the intersection of experiential journalism and adventure travel. The series gives viewers a local perspective of faraway places through immersive stories on current events, subcultures, the environment, and adventure sports. From white separatists to anti-immigrant activists, "Hate in America” will see Univision and FUSION anchor Jorge Ramos taking his fearless brand of journalism on the road to investigate why hatred seems to be growing in this country and who is feeding it.
Christian Gabela is the Vice President and General Manager of Univision Story House. Prior to this role he held business development positions at Univision Digital and Office of the CEO where he led projects ranging from content development, OTT product launches, corporate business development, cross-divisional strategy, among others. Before joining Univision, Gabela spent five years at NBCUniversal’s Telemundo Network and Studios working in programming and production finance and operations. There he helped manage programming rights acquisitions, original production operations, and overall studio profitability. Gabela holds a BBA in Finance and Marketing from the University of Miami (FL) and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Juan Rendón is the Creative Director for Univision Story House. Prior to the launch of Story House, Rendón oversaw Univision’s award-winning documentary unit, which produced content for Univision and FUSION and is the creator of “Outpost,” which will premiere on HBO. Since joining Univision in 2011, Rendón has directed and produced over 15 documentaries including “Rape in the City,” done in partnership with Frontline and recognized with a DuPont Award in 2013; “This is Not a Ball,” which was co-directed with Brazilian artist Vik Muniz and debuted just weeks before the 2014 World Cup; the “NarcoTec,” which was nominated for an International Emmy in 2015, and most recently Los Punks, which premiered at Slamdance in January 2016. Rendón wrote and produced the feature film, “Paraiso Travel,” which premiered in the U.S. at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2008. He also wrote and produced a documentary, “Inside: FARC Hostage Rescue,” about the rescue by the Colombian military forces of Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages who had been held by the FARC guerrilla army for over 6 years. The documentary aired in National Geographic Channel in all the territories they broadcast. The documentary spun off a TV fictional mini-series financed by TVE (Televisión Española) and also produced by Rendon, which was nominated for Best TV movie or mini-series in the 2011 International Emmy Awards.
Silvana Aguirre is the Creative Director for Univision Story House. Prior to joining Story House, Aguirre was the creative director for UniMás. Aguirre brings with her more than 15 years of experience working across film and television. Her films have toured more than 100 film festivals worldwide and have been honored with numerous awards. Aguirre received her BA degree in Visual Studies at Lima University, Peru and continued her film studies at the prestigious National Film and Television School in the UK where she wrote and directed “Ela,” which was shortlisted for an Oscar in 2008 and won several international awards.
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 93% of U.S. Hispanic television households; UniMás, a leading Spanish-language broadcast television network available in approximately 87% 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 Television Group, which owns 59 television stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico; digital properties consisting of online and mobile websites and apps, including Univision.com, the most visited Spanish-language website among U.S. Hispanics, Univision Now, a direct to consumer video service, Uforia, a music application featuring multimedia music content, The Root, the leading online news, opinion, and culture destination for African-Americans and a stake in The Onion, the nation’s leading comedy and news satire brand; and Univision Radio, the leading Spanish-language radio group in the U.S. which owns and operates 67 radio stations including stations in 16 of the top 25 U.S. Hispanic markets and Puerto Rico. UCI’s assets also include a minority stake in El Rey Network, a 24-hour English-language general entertainment cable network and a joint venture with Disney/ABC Television Network for FUSION, a 24-hour English-language news and lifestyle TV and digital network. Headquartered in New York City, UCI has television network operations in Miami and television and radio stations and sales offices in major cities throughout the United States. For more information, please visit corporate.univision.com.
