Jennifer Lopez & Mario Lopez: Can Pop Culture Powerhouses Attract Acculturated Latinos to NUVOtv?
How do you get into the mindset of the modern Latino?
Hire some of the most successful Latino Americans who live, breathe and consume entertainment and pop culture. In other words, get celebrity powerhouses like actress-singer-dancer and "American Idol" judge Jennifer Lopez and actor and on-air talent Mario Lopez on board.
Jennifer Lopez and Mario Lopez, mega-brands in their own right, are two of the most recognizable Latino Americans across mainstream media, and they understand firsthand what Latinos in the U.S. want — which is why NUVOtv made Jennifer its Chief Creative Officer and Mario its Executive Producer.
"When I decided to partner with NUVOtv, I told them I was only interested if we could start a revolution. Well it seems like the revolution is being televised," said Jennifer Lopez at the cable and satellite network's Upfront on May 12 in New York City.
"'NUVO' is formed by the fusion of 'Nuevo' and Voice," reflecting the dual cultural pillars of today's American Latinos," according to NUVOtv, which says it serves the multicultural Latino audience with culturally relevant entertainment that speaks to its viewers in their language of choice, English.
That entertainment includes programs like 'House of Joy,' 'A Step Away,' 'Curvy Girls,' 'Model Latina' and 'Mario Lopez: One on One,' as well as multimedia platforms including MyNUVOtv.com, video-on-demand, mobile and tablet apps.
"No other network has made its business their top priority to depict our true place in society," Mario Lopez said. "I am also excited about our third season of 'Mario Lopez: One on One.'"
"We are the game-changers for America's cultural and economic future," Jennifer Lopez said of the Latino audience in the United States.
Most people were first introduced to Mario Lopez as Slater on "Saved by the Bell," an athletic ladies man. While Slater was thriving in a bubble-gum world, it wasn't an accurate depiction of most young, Latino males in the U.S. at the time, but his character allowed for a Latino male to gain a prominent spot in American TV.
Jennifer Lopez also got her start on TV as a "fly girl" dancer on "In Living Color" and later went on to land her breakthrough film role as Selena — another powerful Latina trailblazer who was forging her way into mainstream music before she was tragically killed. Jennifer Lopez's singing career then catapulted her into super-stardom, which has lead to numerous promotions, TV gigs, commercials, perfumes, clothing lines, partnerships and her own production company.
The two stars earned their stripes first in American television, witnessing firsthand the power that young Latinos could have if given the chance. Their prominent roles with NUVOtv make them major players in a field that made them who they are today.
Why did NUVOtv change its name from Si TV?
In March 2011, NUVOtv changed its name from Si TV "as a part of an effort to better attract what it called the 'bicultural Latino' demographic," according to AdAge.
Back in 2011, NUVOtv's Chief Executive Officer Michael Schwimmer commented on the change, telling AdAge: "Si TV was confusing. People would ask if that was 'sea' like the ocean or 'see' like you can see television. You can imagine what's it's been like dealing with that sort of confusion."
"We also did some proprietary research and realized that it also conveyed a sense of exclusivity," he added. "The bicultural Latino audience is much broader than that. It's second-generation, fourth-generation Latino. They don't see themselves watching a television network that has a Spanish-language name."
Today, Schwimmer has further invested his research into what modern Latinos want access to — including NUVOtv's acquisition of Fuse from Madison Square Garden Company for $226 million.
"These are really exciting times for me in America, but even more so for the Latino consumer," he said at NUVOtv's Upfront on May 12.
"While television has evolved from a few broadcast networks to the hundreds, even thousands of entertainment options available across multiple devices on-demand, Latinos have become a powerful economic engine and a cultural change agent in our country. A vast and growing community of consumers that is more educated, more affluent and more demanding of quality content that reflects their central role in our society — and not just those stereotypes."