CABLE CHANNEL Jeff Valdez's Si TV draws attention to growing Hispanic population

The station is leading efforts to connect with English-speaking Latinos.
By JUSTINO AGUILA
ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Jeff Valdez enters the room of celebrities and media knowing that no matter what happens with his new cable outlet, he already is making history.
As he prepared to speak in front of a curious audience, Valdez was about to announce the summer and fall programs that he hopes will lure a much-neglected demographic: English-speaking Latinos.
"When I first got to Hollywood people were like 'You're Jeff Valdez. You should go work at Univision,"' Valdez said. "I don't even speak Spanish. Why should I go work there?"
Valdez, a one-time stand-up comic who saw past the stage and became a TV producer, came up with the idea of launching a channel for Latinos who didn't really identify with Mexican soap operas and other offerings on Univision or Telemundo. It was the beginning of a long, often frustrating, journey that led to Si TV.
Heading the channel
Now Valdez is leading Si TV, which since February has been beaming talk shows, reality programming, dramas and music into more than 7 million homes nationwide through the DISH Network.
A prolific producer who is probably best known for co-creating and producing Nickelodeon's "The Brothers Garcia," Valdez has a penchant for making people laugh. But he also approaches business with a sharp, no-nonsense approach as he makes major decisions about the future of his company.
"One of the biggest challenges is educating people that Hispanics are people," said Valdez of his meetings with potential investors. "We're people who like to be entertained like anyone else."
On a recent cloudy morning at an oceanfront Santa Monica hotel, Valdez and his colleagues gave their first official "upfront" presentation, a news conference that introduces new shows for the fall. Summer programs also were announced.
Several dozen members of the media were introduced to Si TV as Valdez hosted with a microphone and large video screen behind him, showing clips of his channel's programs with well-wishes from comics such as Roseanne Barr. Actors Esai Morales and Ruth Livier were among the guests. The channel combines acquired and original programming.
Not a lone effort
Although Si TV is focusing on Latinos and purposely showcases multicultural programs that go beyond Latino-specific themes, it's not the only venture catering to English-dominant Hispanics.
LATV, another upstart 24-hour cable channel, also is seeking to relate to the young Hispanics who surf past telenovelas on the Spanish-language channels.
Frank Cruz, vice chairman for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, sees opportunities in TV growing tremendously as every station in the country moves from analog to digital broadcast by 2006 as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The act would increase the amount of channels significantly, leaving TV executives with time to fill.
For Si TV, the vision now is recognizing the evolving marketplace in which Hispanics currently number 40 million, with a purchasing power of more than $60 billion a year.
"Latinos were the niche," said Leo Perez, Si TV's chief operating officer. "Now we're the general market. That's why it was important to find the right partners."
Those behind Si TV believe there's a two-fold mission: to serve Latinos who speak English, but also to introduce the culture to those who may not be familiar with it.