'March Madness' at Telemundo

Telemundo’s Senior V.P. of Sales Michael Rodriguez shared a little info on the Spanish-language broadcaster’s plans for a client-focused road show kicking off a week from today. A cadre of Telemundo brass, including, of course, president Don Browne, hits the road to sell spots and sponsorships for Telemundo, Mun2, and its Yahoo!Telemundo Website. The traveling show is in lieu of a typical upfront presentation;last May, Telemundo announced five new novellas, two news programs, a late show and some soccer programming at Radio City in New York

Rodriguez described it as "having a dialogue–we’ll go out there and offer things to clients that nobody else in the Hispanic television world can." He was speaking about original programming, a frequent Telemundo talking point. 

Rodriquez has dubbed the tour "March Madness"; after that wraps, he’ll focus his energies on the Billboard Music Awards April 10, then parent NBC Universal’s presentation May 12 in New York. 

Rodriguez would not shed light on any of the new programs Telemundo will unveil over the course of the four-week tour, which starts in Los Angeles before hitting four other Hispanic-rich markets. He did allow that 4-5 primetime soaps will make their debut. He said marketers will have considerable input in the programs’ development. 

"This gives us the opportunity to go out ahead of our competition," he says.