Among NBC Universal’s television networks is one called mun2, launched in 2001, that is the essence of what multicultural programming is all about. The first channel specifically created to target the burgeoning demographic of Latino youth, mun2 is proving the business model works. TelevisionWeek correspondent Allison J. Waldman spoke with Flavio Morales, VP of programming for mun2, about how the channel is staying on track and what its success says about the multicultural market as a whole. Here is a transcript of that conversation.

TelevisionWeek: What is mun2’s mission in terms of presenting multicultural programming?
Flavio Morales: Our vision has been to create a space for young Latinos to see stories that are a reflection of who they are, their interests, their passions. We know there is an opportunity for this, and I personally have been involved in this space since I was in high school. I got into it because nobody was talking to me as a young Latino. We know that this is still a problem, and I think the biggest issue is that this audience is a lot more savvy because they are consumers of both the general market as well as Spanish-language television, so they get both. We want to reach their emotional heartstrings, but with the quality that they’re used to getting from an MTV or an NBC. Our challenge is to create programming that’s relevant and important for this audience, and yet at the end of the day, it’s also entertaining.

TVWeek: What is your key demographic?
Mr. Morales: Our demographic is Latinos 13-24, and we feel that we’re really speaking to the 17-year-olds right in the middle.

TVWeek: What does mun2 do to ensure that Latinos are getting a multicultural experience, for example, in regard to language?
Mr. Morales: What we’re really trying to be is culturally relevant, but not language-specific. I think that we do that by being very honest and being a real reflection of our audience. Our channel is bilingual, but language is not really what dictates how we program. So if we have an artist from Mexico City on a show, his interview would be done in Spanish with English subtitles.

TVWeek: Is mun2 presented across multiple platforms or is it primarily a linear network?
Mr. Morales: The television network is very much connected to the Web site, but we’re not the same. We’re twin brothers, if you will. We brought in an entire team about a year ago to relaunch the Web site—holamun2.com or hellomun2.com—and we really designed it so it would have its own individual sense of style and humor. It does carry a spirit that goes very well with the channel, but it’s not just your basic TV guide on the computer screen letting you know what time a program will be on the air. It really is a social networking site. We allow our audience to see themselves with fashion; we create original content with celebrities; we allow for the audience to chime in on all the shows so every single episode of every single show we air, the audience has a common stage. For every single thing you see, you can get immediate feedback from the audience to tell you if you got it right or got it wrong. I think that all goes to the fact that we’ve been able to recently celebrate 15 months of consecutive ratings growth, and on the digital side, our digital team just won a Webby Award.

TVWeek: How much penetration has mun2 made on cable and satellite systems?
Mr. Morales: Nationally, we are on both satellite systems, DirecTV and Dish TV. As far as our cable penetration, the number that Nielsen is throwing out there is anywhere between 10 million and 15 million households. Our measurement is growing, and one thing that distinguishes us from a lot of our competitors is that we are Nielsen-rated so we can actually track our results.

TVWeek: Which mun2 shows have really taken off based on response from your viewers?
Mr. Morales: When we started, we did something as simple as a video countdown show called “18 & Over” and it was a hit. What was so original, for such an old format, was naming the top videos for the Latino youth market—18 videos that are usually a mix of hip-hop, Spanish-language music and pop music. It really is a smorgasbord of everything Latino youth is into, and it’s reflected on this countdown. What has been so interesting to us is that the record industry really has paid attention to this chart. We literally get calls requesting this countdown sheet as soon as we’re done with it on Thursdays. It’s interesting to get calls from people representing Beyonce, for instance, and they’re as adamant about their placement as a label manager from Puerto Rico is about their artist. Today, that show has become a lot more interactive because we have included digital into every show that we do now.

The other show that’s taken off is “The Chicas Projects.” That was our first attempt at a non-music property, and it’s turned out very well and it’s worked out well because we’ve been able to partner with our MSOs. The hosts of the show have made appearances at different call-in centers. They’ve made store appearances. They just did an in-store signing at the NBC store in Rockefeller Center. The “Chicas Projects” soundtrack was No. 1 on the charts in digital music sales. We’ve been able to leverage a very, very small property into a lot of different areas, and the audience has really taken to it, especially young Latinas because “The Chicas Projects” is a very aspirational, fun show where you get to see two young Latinas as themselves.

TVWeek: What are the new shows for next season that you’re especially excited about?
Mr. Morales: Premiering in 2008, we have “Holamun2.com: El Show,” which is taking all of the digital content that we work on with the Web site and creating a half-hour magazine show, bringing the best of the Web to TV. It’s going to be done very much in an irreverent style, very similar to what you would see online, but with our celebrities, our music, our style, our sense of humor. It’s a true reflection of mun2 as a brand, not just a cable channel or Web site.

Another show is “The mun2 Hook-up,” a 13-episode series, where each week you’re going to meet a young Latino following in the footsteps of his or her hero. In the course of the day, they get to see this person—a giant in their industry— conduct business and give them tips on how to achieve their goals and reach their dreams. It’s meant to be light in spirit and also very much aspirational in tone.

The last new show is “Beauty Es Cool,” which is a reality-based series where you are going to see a group of six contestants vie through all these different challenges to get a coveted seat in a Beverly Hills salon. So the idea is that you’re bringing in six very different young Latinos who are trying to become the next Jose Eber. We put them together and see who rises to the top, but unlike other reality shows like this, nobody is booted out of the show. Everybody achieves and gets to go through the training, but through a point system there will be a valedictorian. That valedictorian is going to win a car and a chair in a Beverly Hills salon.

TVWeek: Do you see a future in which mun2 could be viewed with the SAP button off?
Mr. Morales: Again, the majority of our talent, when they’re speaking, it’s English. The channel already feels very much like walking down the street in New York City. There are a lot of different languages, but the majority is English. When The WB or UPN launched and they were predominantly African American casts on the shows, they didn’t intend them to be African American networks; they just thought that was a segment of the population that was underserved. And I think for us right now, the Latino audience is very much still underserved as far as English-language or bilingual programming. I think we’re still very far away from a day when you can say there are enough choices out there that we are going to program to everyone. But at the end of the day, it has to be fun and creative. We think everything we do has a bit of an edge to it because we are talking to a portion of the audience that only has a few shows—“Ugly Betty” and “George Lopez.” We’re still a long way from saying that things are good, but I think we ourselves at the network still have a lot to do in regards to different kinds of programming. We haven’t even touched a traditional sitcom; we haven’t tackled a soap opera. We’re still in our infancy. We’re still taking those baby steps. We’ve taken some massive baby steps in the last 18 months, but we still have a lot to do. We still have a lot of growth, a lot of developing to do within our infrastructure.

TVWeek: Is there a difference between understanding the Hispanic audience and pandering to that audience?
Mr. Morales: A good example of the fact that we know our audience is that we won a Peabody Award for a news special we produced called “For My Country? Latinos in the Military.” That special came about from an email that was sent out to the entire staff where they asked for ideas about our next news special. The responses from so many of the people in the company were so honest and so unfiltered and uncensored that there wasn’t a choice for us. We had to do the story about Latinos in the military. That whole project came from within. It was the company as a whole that made that special what it was. The average age at mun2 is 26 to 27 years old, and 80 percent of the staff is Latino, American-born and -raised. So it is a very different perspective, and it does make for some very interesting meetings where you’re not talking about a foreign subject matter. You’re not the only person in the room who can say they lived that experience. Everybody in the room has lived it. It makes for a very different dissection of where you’re going to take a campaign or a show or ideas, for that matter.

TVWeek: Where do you want to see mun2 five years from now?
Mr. Morales: I think mun2 is in a great position to be a liaison between Telemundo and NBC and all its cable properties. There are a lot of things we can produce in conjunction with other networks within the NBC family, and I think there’s an opportunity with such a strong, creative team that films are not out of the question. There is a wealth of resources in-house that we can do a lot of really great things, from news specials to music specials. Whether it’s DVD or iTunes or mobile, I think we stand in a really good position, because when you create your own content, you create your own destiny.