Mayor Bloomberg, Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences(R), Univision Network and NYC Big Events Announce NYC to Host Latin GRAMMY(R) Awards for First Time Ever

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, The Latin Academy ofRecording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (The Latin Recording Academy(R))President Gabriel Abaroa, Univision news anchor Barbara Bermudo andNYC Big Events President Maureen J. Reidy today announced the 7thAnnual Latin GRAMMY(R) Awards will be broadcast live on Thursday, Nov.2, 2006, from Madison Square Garden, marking the first time New Yorkwill host the international showcase of Latin music. The Latin GRAMMYAwards ceremony has been previously held in Miami and Los Angeles.This important event, which honors excellence in Latin music, waseagerly pursued by NYC Big Events. The City's Economic DevelopmentCorporation (EDC) projects that the 7th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awardswill have an estimated economic impact in excess of $30 million, andwill stimulate future tourism dollars through its global telecast inmore than 100 countries. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, AssemblyMember Adriano Espaillat, Congressman Jose Serrano, Congressman JerryNadler, Congresswoman Nydia Velasquez, Mayor's Liaison to the LatinMedia & Entertainment Commission Willie Colon, musician JohnnyPacheco, Recording Artist India and Vice Chairman of Madison SquareGarden Hank Ratner attended the announcement held at City Hall.

"Hoy me siento muy orgulloso al anunciar que la 7a. entrega Anualdel Latin GRAMMY se realizara por primera vez en la Gran Manzana,"said Mayor Bloomberg. "New York City is the proud home to the mostdiverse Hispanic population in the world. Hosting this premier Latinevent will bring worldwide media attention and tourism to our Citycreating a significant economic impact and helping us continuecreating more jobs. As a venue for world-class events, there is onlyone New York, and we are thrilled that The Latin Recording Academy andUnivision (NYSE:UVN), have selected New York City to help propel theLatin GRAMMY Awards to the next level."

"Producing the 7th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards and other eventsthat surround the telecast in New York City is a great milestone inthe young history of our organization," said Gabriel Abaroa, Presidentof The Latin Recording Academy. "New York constitutes a worldwidemecca of arts and at the same time represents the center of musicalmovements such as Salsa, Mambo, Tango, Mariachi, Merengue and LatinJazz. New York is also the place many of the big stars have calledhome: Tito Puente, Los Panchos, Celia Cruz, Willie Colon, RubenBlades, Johnny Pacheco, India, Eddie Palmieri, Hector Lavoe, Thalia,Placido Domingo and Marc Anthony, to name just a few. In fact, bygoing to New York City we are going home because one out of every fourCity residents is a Latino.

"Today, The Latin Recording Academy with the support andleadership of The Recording Academy, our broadcast partner Univisionand our amazing hosts, the City of New York together, sing loud andclear: start spreadin' the news, the Latin GRAMMYs are on the way!"

"Univision is widely known as the network of the biggest and mostspectacular events of special interest to Hispanics," said UnivisionExecutive Vice President and Operating Manager Alina Falcon. "Afterits record-breaking debut on our network, we are confident that thisyear's Latin GRAMMYs will result in even higher ratings. And we areparticularly excited to broadcast one of the foremost Latin musicevents live from New York, a City with one of this country's mostvibrant Hispanic population that includes home to some of our mostloyal viewers."

"This great city is truly the crossroads of the world and becauseof this distinction, we are blessed with a strong Latin influence andheritage," said New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. "TheLatin GRAMMY Awards further enhances our legacy as a global center forarts and entertainment. So, it is fitting that the finest Latinsingers and musicians should be feted here for their remarkabletalents and for the extraordinary gifts they share with us and therest of the world. My thanks to Mayor Bloomberg, to my colleague,Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat, who chairs the New York State Black,Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus, to James Dolan,chairman of Madison Square Garden, and to everyone who worked so hardto bring the Latin GRAMMY Awards to New York."

In 2005, the Latin GRAMMY Awards aired for the first time onUnivision -- and for the first time entirely in Spanish -- toexplosive ratings. Delivering nine million total viewers, the programwas the most-watched Latin GRAMMY telecast ever among young adults,nearly two million more than the previous telecast in English.

In December 2005, NYC Big Events and NYC & Company, the City'sConvention and Visitors' Bureau, presented a multi-faceted pitchhighlighting New York's unique ability as the #1 media market toincrease the awareness, exposure and media ratings for the LatinGRAMMY Awards to Univision, the exclusive broadcaster in the U.S. Cityofficials presented a plan that would benefit The Latin RecordingAcademy and Univision by providing a platform for capitalizing on themedia and marketing capital of the world, and demonstrated thathosting the Latin GRAMMY Awards in New York City would expand mediaawareness and access as well as broaden the consumer and sponsor base.

"Bringing an event like the 7th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards to NewYork City offers residents and guests alike the opportunity toexperience the City's diversity, creativity, energy and friendlyenvironment," said Deputy Mayor for Economic Development andRebuilding Daniel L. Doctoroff. "At the same time, this event -- oneof the highest rated and most successful shows honoring Latin culture-- will generate tremendous media exposure and positive short-term andlong-term economic impact."

"We have a proven track record of hosting the biggest andmost-watched events around the globe including the 2005 Country MusicAssociation Awards, the worldwide premiere of King Kong, the 2004Republican National Convention, the 45th Annual GRAMMY Awards in 2003,and the 2002 NFL Kick-off in Times Square," said NYC Big EventsPresident Maureen J. Reidy. "New York City is the number one mediamarket, and we are prepared to host the most exciting celebration ofLatin music ever by using the City's unparalleled resources to createan unforgettable night of music."

Led by NYC Big Events and working closely with The Latin RecordingAcademy and Univision, NYC Marketing will develop partnerships withcompanies in a variety of categories to help promote the event, whichis the same model used for other mega-events like the Country MusicAssociation Awards.

"Our model has proven to be an effective way to recruit eventswithout relying on taxpayer revenue," said Joe Perello, the City's CMOand President of NYC Marketing. "In addition to helping pay theincremental event costs, our corporate and promotional partners helpbuild awareness around the event and create terrific exposure for NewYork."

The 7th Annual Latin GRAMMY Awards will air live on the UnivisionTelevision Network on Thursday, November 2, at 8pm Eastern/7pmCentral. Nominations for this year's Latin GRAMMYs will be announcedin New York on Tuesday, September 26.

The Latin Recording Academy is an international membership-basedorganization comprised of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking recordingartists, musicians, songwriters, producers and other creative andtechnical recording professionals. The organization is dedicated toimproving the quality of life and cultural condition for Latin musicand its makers. For more information about The Academy, visithttp://www.grammy.com.

Univision Communications Inc. is the premier Spanish-languagemedia company in the United States. Its operations include UnivisionNetwork, the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast televisionnetwork in the U.S. reaching 98% of U.S. Hispanic Households;TeleFutura Network, a general-interest Spanish-language broadcasttelevision network, which was launched in 2002 and now reaches 86% ofU.S. Hispanic Households; Galavision, the country's leadingSpanish-language cable network; Univision Television Group, which ownsand operates 62 television stations in major U.S. Hispanic markets andPuerto Rico; Univision Radio, the leading Spanish-language radio groupwhich owns and/or operates 69 radio stations in 16 of the top 25 U.S.Hispanic markets and 4 stations in Puerto Rico; Univision Music Group,which includes Univision Records, Fonovisa Records, La Calle Recordsand a 50% interest in Mexico-based Disa Records labels as well asFonomusic and America Musical Publishing companies; and UnivisionOnline, the premier Spanish-language Internet destination in the U.S.located at http://www.univision.com. Univision Communications also hasa 50% interest in TuTv, a joint venture formed to broadcast Televisa'spay television channels in the U.S., and a non-voting 14.9% interestin Entravision Communications Corporation, a public Spanish-languagemedia company. Univision Communications is headquartered in LosAngeles with television network operations in Miami and television andradio stations and sales offices in major cities throughout the UnitedStates.

NYC Big Events, Inc. is the City's official organization dedicatedto attracting high-profile events, creating new ones and working withexisting major New York City events. Just recently, NYC Big Eventsannounced the return of the MTV Video Music Awards to New York City inAugust 2006 and the first-ever VH1 Hip Hop Honors Week in October2006. NYC Big Events' recent successes include the 2005 Country MusicAssociation Awards, the Worldwide Premiere of Peter Jackson's KingKong in Times Square, the 2005 "VH1 Save the Music Benefit Concert,"and the 2004 Republican National Convention.