12th Annual Latin Grammys Shakira Performance 2011 - P 2012
Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesUnivision will as usual punctuate its upfront presentation with an A-list musical performance. This year, not only will the top-rated Spanish language broadcaster have Pitbull entertaining Madison Ave. executives, but the rapper will share the bill with Shakira.
The announcement came Tuesday morning via an internal video message from Univision news anchors Jorge Ramos and Maria Elena Salinas. Univision is known for its lively upfront presentations. Pitbull performed last year and Ricky Martin was the musical act in 2010.
With the U.S. Hispanic population surpassing 50 million, according to the 2010 Census, Spanish-language media is on a major growth curve. And Univision expects to write double-digit gains in upfront sales this year. Last year, Spanish language media raked in $2.15 billion at the upfront with Univision accounting for $1.75 billion of that total. It was a new upfront record for Spanish-language networks, but still a fraction of $9.2 billion take for English-language broadcasters.
The Univision upfront is May 15 at 11 a.m. at the New Amsterdam Theatre.
