I was recently informed about the passing away of my good friend, Jerry Perenchio, a successful and clever businessman who held innovative vision. I immediately began remembering with nostalgia the nice moments I spent with him and the challenges we faced to fulfill the dream to introduce ourselves in the Hispanic market of the US with a television channel that offered programs completely in Spanish. The idea was to create content that could completely satisfy the Hispanics’ need for information and entertainment, an emerging sector of the society, which at that time was not giving yet indications of becoming the first important minority of the country.
How could I forget the great adventure we began in 1992, Jerry Perenchio, Emilio Azcárraga (Milmo) and myself, with the purchase of Univision? At that moment, the project was a challenge of its own and few believed in it. Nevertheless, we kept moving on with great determination, convinced that the Hispanic market could turn into something much more forceful.
I recognize it was a risky purchase but together we created a new way to produce TV for Hispanics; a broadcasting chain with suitable contents for this great community that was rapidly growing; content which allowed them to remain connected with their origins and, at the same time create a sense of community and belonging to the U.S.
We bet and we won with Univision, which promptly turned into a strong communicational force and a benchmark in the U.S broadcasting industry. It became a successful venture which peaked with the sale of the channel in $12 billion dollars in 2007, getting a place in history as one of the most successful moves in the history of television.
I always admired Jerry`s business vision, his knowledge of the media, the way he encouraged us to dream, and his philanthropy, which took him to make actions of great generosity being anonymous most of the times.
Thanks for the moments we shared, Jerry, we will always remember you!
