Distribution chief Diaz exits Cisneros

Cesar Diaz is exiting Cisneros Media Group after nearly nine years at the Venezuelan media firm, TBI has learned.

The veteran international sales executive is planning to launch his own independent content company after exiting Cisneros Media Distribution.

He will continue to work with Cisneros on a number of joint projects, he said in a note to colleagues.

Diaz’s departure from Cisneros (fka Venevision International) comes after 12 months of change at its Miami-based parent firm, Cisneros Media Group, which is part of the Cisneros Group. The exit is understood to be part of that reorganisation.

Before NATPE last year, Venevision International rebranded as Cisneros Media Distribution, with Diaz running the new-look distributor as VP.

Then last month, Cisneros Media appointed MGM Networks Latin America’s executive VP and chief marketing officer, Marcello Coltro, to become EVP of content distribution.

Daniel Rodriguez, who reported to Diaz, exited earlier this year to run Shine International’s Latin American sales business, while former BBC Worldwide exec Helen Jurado was appointed as senior director of sales and new business before MIPCOM.

Diaz joined predecesor Venevision International as VP, international sales in December 2005. He had a separate 11-year stint at Venevision between 1986 and 1997, and has also worked at Ecuador’s first full-colour channel Teleamazonas, Venevision rival RCTV and Argentina’s Telefe International.

Cisneros Media distributes more than 30,000 hours of content across 100 territories and in 20 languages. That pipeline comes from the Venevision broadcast network and Venevision Productions, which is the largest supplier of Spanish-language content in the US.

Cisneros Media houses the broadcast channel, cable nets Venevision Plus, VmasTV and VePlusTV, and the Miss Venezuela Organisarion under CEO Jonathan Blum.

Neither Cisneros nor Diaz could be reached for comment before press time.