In an attempt to close the ratings gap with Univision, Telemundo is exploring faster-paced telenovelas, increased emphasis on sports and new live events. One major move for the Spanish-speaking channel was securing the rights to produce their own version of the American Music Awards in 2015.

The broadcaster got approval from Dick Clark Productions to host a Spanish-language version of the event in fall of next year but details are still being negotiated.

NBCUniversal chaiman of Hispanic enterprises and content, Joe Uva, said Telemundo will produce the show and its red-carpet preshow annually. Additionally, the channel has extended a deal with Billboard to keep its Latin Music Awards through 2020.

The AMAs will feature Latin American, Caribbean and other Spanish-speaking regions' top musicians.

"Billboard is thrilled to continue our relationship with Telemundo as they have been wonderful ambassadors for our brand over the last 25 years," John Amato, co-president of Billboard, said.

Improving their presence in sports broadcasting is another route Telemundo is taking to staying competitive with Univision. For many years, the FIFA World Cup has been broadcast in Spanish exclusively on Univision, which has about twice the average viewers in North America as Telemundo, but not anymore.

"Comcast and NBCUniversal have invested and put their money where their mouth is," Uva said. "The first thing they did was go out and acquire the rights to the World Cup in 2018 and 2022."

Comcast beat out Univision for the coverage of next two cycles of the FIFA World Cup with a reported bid of $600 million dollars, when Univision reported paying $325 million for the broadcast rights 2010 and 2014 tournaments.

"My mandate is to drive and improve these assets domestically and to stimulate new international growth" Uva said. "[As well as] to integrate Telemundo better into the fabric of NBCUniversal and help inform content decisions being made across the NBCU portfolio."