Revamped Univision Newscast Bows Tonight

Wading into the fast-moving waters of English-language television’s late-night lineup, the country’s largest Spanish-language broadcast network will premiere its latest national news show tonight with a veteran news commentator and a longer format on its top story.

The L.A.-based network Univision, which reaches 93% of this country’s Latino homes, will air “Ultima Hora” (Last Hour) from 11:30 p.m. to midnight with the day’s most pressing events as its focus. It’s Univision’s effort to lure bilingual viewers from ABC’s “Nightline,” as well as build an audience among Spanish-language viewers.

Host Enrique Gratas, a familiar face on Spanish television, said that the show took cues from the veteran ABC news show but will set a faster pace.

“Usually ‘Nightline’ only takes one story and develops around it,” Gratas said. “We will have a selection of the most important news, plus one longer story with a debate with experts.” The show will emphasize national stories that affect Latino communities here.

“Ultima Hora” replaces Univision’s regular late-night national newscast, which featured alternating commentators and a typical lineup of the day’s news. Univision executives hope that “Ultima Hora” will become a staple within the network’s news programming, with its top-of-the-news debate, guided by Gratas, a signature element.

Gratas is a 54-year-old Argentine whose early assignments included a 1972-73 stint as the anchor on L.A.’s KWHY. More recently, he has been hosting a national daily news magazine on Univision’s weaker competitor, Telemundo. But after nine years as the face of “Ocurrio Asi,” he chose not to renegotiate a contract that ended in June.

Instead of sitting in the traditional anchor’s chair, Gratas will deliver live commentary beside satellite monitors or perform interviews via satellite hookup.

“The focus will be on Hispanic communities around the country,” Gratas said. “But if it’s something like violence in schools, it affects everyone, and we would cover that.”

Univision’s news division beat out major English-language networks like ABC and NBC to win its first national Emmy for comprehensive coverage of Hurricane Mitch in 1998.

* “Ultima Hora” will be shown at 11:30 p.m. weeknights on KMEX.