Telemundo pulls plug on 'Cada Dia'
Failing to re-create the success of "Today" on its Spanish-language television network Telemundo, NBC Universal on Friday abruptly canceled its morning show "Cada Dia."
The decision underscores the difficulty Telemundo faces in competing against the more powerful Univision Communications Inc., which dominates the Spanish-language market in the U.S. The Latino broadcasting business, which a few years ago was booming, is facing the same weak advertising conditions as English-language media.
The move also highlights the continuing struggles of NBC Universal to crack the code for Spanish-language TV six years after parent General Electric Co. paid $2.7 billion for Telemundo. Attempts to borrow winning formulas from NBC haven't done the trick, analysts said.
Telemundo: A May 31 article in Business about changes at Telemundo said Al Corral, the longtime KVEA news director, was let go. He resigned.
"The markets are really different," said Hector Orci, chief executive of La Agencia de Orci & Asociados, a marketing agency. "You can't go in there with arrogance and say, 'We've done it all of these years in English and so we will make it work in Spanish too.' "
"Cada Dia" was modeled after "Today" with a frothy mix of news and lifestyle segments on food, health and relationships. The show, which strove to be a cultural touchstone, regularly featured appearances by popular bands. Co-anchor Jose Diaz-Balart even interviewed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton in March.
But NBC Universal found that "Cada Dia," launched in October 2005, could not compete with Univision's morning show, "Despierta America." The powerhouse Univision program averaged 801,000 viewers, compared with 138,000 for "Cada Dia."
"We had to make a very tough call," said Don Browne, Telemundo president. "It's gut-wrenching. We tried different ways and different approaches to make the show work, but it reached a certain plateau in the ratings, and we could not get it off that plateau."
The network confirmed that nearly 50 employees, or 3% of its workforce, were let go Friday, including about 40 who worked on "Cada Dia." Employees learned of the layoffs after taping the final episode, produced at the network's Hialeah, Fla., headquarters.
Browne said Telemundo was "going back to the drawing board" to come up with a replacement morning program. For now, Telemundo plans to fill the time period with local news segments, reruns of the news magazine "Al Rojo Vivo con Maria Celeste" and the talk show "Rocio." It also will expand its morning telenovela block to two hours.
