Tonia O’Connor

Chief Commercial Officer & President of Content Distribution, Univision Communications Inc.

Assuming dual roles at Univision may have caused O’Connor to delegate some of her previous duties—but whatever she’s doing is working. The launch late last year of new streaming service UnivisionNow, which spans both Univision and UniMás, has given the company a more direct link to its consumers that provides insights on viewing habits that aren’t available via traditional distribution channels. “Social media services are resembling the next wave of cable channel lineups with billions of video views per day,” O’Connor says. “We must embrace these platforms… and bridge the gap between new and traditional experiences.” To that end, she’s already looking for ways to lure even more people to its digital portfolio, which already has nearly 100 million unique users.

Which sector of the cable industry best demonstrates gender equality?

Which could use some enlightenment? Naming a “best” in an industry and market which is still behind in achieving “equality” would mean that it’s acceptable to benchmark inadequacy.  Gender equality has been the topic of conversation for years, yet we still do not have “equal” numbers.  The path to success is to stop talking about it and for all of us – men and women – to make a commitment to sponsor gender equality at all levels.

What advice would you give your 13-year-old self?

Be kind to your parents and do what they say. They actually do know more than you. Read as much as you can.  The older you get, the less time there is for reading.  And ALWAYS raise your hand.

What’s been the biggest story in cable this year?

Social media services are resembling the next wave of cable channel line ups with BILLIONS of video views per day.  We must embrace these platforms as next gen distributors to experiment with storytelling and bridge the gap between new and traditional experiences.