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(HSP) Chairman and Senior Member of Democratic Congressional Hispanic Caucus Support Univision-Hispanic Broadcasting Merger

Business Editors

LOS ANGELES & DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 2003--The Chairman and a senior member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have written letters to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to express their support of the pending merger between Univision Communications Inc. (NYSE:UVN) and Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation (NYSE:HSP).

Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressman Ciro D. Rodriguez (D-Texas), wrote: "While I am always cautious of any media concentration, I am convinced that the proposed merger would enhance, not detract from, opportunities to serve Spanish-speaking, Hispanic and general audiences. The increased stature of Hispanic media as a result of this merger will allow Hispanic media to compete more effectively for advertisers who do not yet serve this important and fast-growing audience."

Senior Congressional Hispanic Caucus member and seven-term Congressman Jose E. Serrano (D-New York) wrote: "Those who call upon the FCC to proclaim Hispanics a 'separate market' and to apply a different set of rules to broadcasters that choose to format their stations to serve this audience espouse a poor and morally indefensible policy. Hispanic viewers and listeners deserve better. Those who would deny Univision and HBC this opportunity to improve their service to the public and to compete effectively with English-language media conglomerates do so at the expense of all Hispanics."

This support follows recent letters written by respected Democratic Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, among others, expressing concern that this merger is being treated differently from other mergers that the FCC has reviewed in the past, and urging the Commission to rule promptly for the interest of all parties. Copies of the Rodriguez and Serrano letters follow.

Univision Communications Inc. (NYSE: UVN) is a leading U.S. Spanish-language media company. Its operations include: Univision Network, the most-watched Spanish-language broadcast television network in the U.S.; TeleFutura Network, a new 24-hour general-interest Spanish-language broadcast television network; Univision Television Group, which owns and operates 23 Univision Network television stations and 1 non-Univision television station; TeleFutura Television Group, which owns and operates 29 TeleFutura Network television stations; Galavision, a leading Spanish-language cable network; Univision Music Group, which includes the Univision Music label, Fonovisa Records label, and a 50% interest in Mexican based Disa Records label; and Univision Online, a leading internet destination for the U.S. Hispanic community located at www.univision.com.

Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation (NYSE: HSP), a leading Spanish-language radio broadcaster in the United States, currently owns and/or operates 69 radio stations in 17 of the top 25 Hispanic markets as well as in Puerto Rico. The Company also owns and operates a network of Hispanic community-focused bilingual web sites found at www.netmio.com. -0-


August 12, 2003

The Honorable Michael K. Powell
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission

Washington, DC 20554-0001

Dear Mr. Chairman:

I am contacting you regarding the merger between Univision and Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation (HBC). As a representative of a predominantly Hispanic district in Texas, I know first-hand the importance of Spanish-language media to my constituents and millions of others across the United States. Univision and HBC have been major influences in making Spanish-language media competitive with much larger English-language competitors, while introducing many mainstream advertisers to the Hispanic populace for the first time.

While I am always cautious of any media concentration, I am convinced that the proposed merger would enhance, not detract, opportunities to serve Spanish-speaking, Hispanic and general audiences. The increased stature of Hispanic media as a result of this merger will allow Hispanic media to compete more effectively for advertisers who do not yet serve this important and fast growing audience. The influx of new capital to the industry will in turn create new opportunities for growth and new programming. Moreover, the combination of Univision's and HBC's resources will enhance and expand the media services available to the Hispanic community much as the recent merger between NBC and Telemundo enhanced Telemundo's news resources and coverage. I encourage the FCC to proceed expeditiously with a ruling on this merger. In doing so I expect that the Commission will apply standards similar to those applied in comparable mergers of television and radio companies with which Univision and HBC compete. I understand that the Commission has been urged to apply a different regulatory treatment to broadcast stations that choose to serve a predominantly Hispanic audience. As the FCC has determined in past reviews of content and formats, there is no basis for imposing a separate regulatory standard upon broadcasters who carry Spanish-language programming or who voluntarily choose to serve Hispanic audiences. Such broadcasters should be permitted and encouraged to compete under the same rules as their competitors, and should not be penalized because of their choice of programming format or the ethnicity of their audience.

In light of the substantial benefits arising to the Hispanic community from the proposed merger of Univision and HBC, I ask that this proposed transaction receive all due consideration as promptly as possible in order to make these benefits to the public a reality. -0-


Sincerely,

/s/ Ciro D. Rodriguez
Member of Congress

-0-


August 8, 2003

The Honorable Michael K. Powell
Chairman
Federal Communications Commission


Washington, DC 20554-0001

Dear The Honorable Powell:

As both a seven-term Democratic Congressman representing the Bronx and a Hispanic, I have long championed issues important to the Hispanic community. I therefore feel compelled to write to you regarding the pending merger between Univision Communications Inc. and Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation. I am proud of the growth of the Hispanic community and the significant contributions the community has made to our country, and I fully support efforts to better serve this population. Given my experience and knowledge of Univision and HBC, I believe that the proposed merger would benefit Hispanics nationwide and would continue the great strides that Univision and HBC have made towards placing Spanish-language media on par with larger, English-language media companies. Granting the proposed merger would allow Univision and HBC to combine their resources to better compete for viewers, listeners and advertisers in the same manner that Viacom/Infinity, ABC/Disney, NBC/Telemundo, and others have done. Ultimately, I am confident that the merged company will continue to expand opportunities for Hispanic viewers and listeners. I am therefore alarmed by the efforts of some to segregate by regulation those broadcast stations that choose to serve Hispanic audiences. Subjecting stations, which serve a particular ethnic, racial, religious, or gender group to disparate regulatory treatment is offensive to all Americans. The idea of creating a "separate but unequal" category of Spanish-formatted stations is one that I wholeheartedly oppose.

In reviewing this transaction, the FCC should apply the same rules that it applies to any other merger. Those who call upon the FCC to proclaim Hispanics a "separate market" and to apply a different set of rules to broadcasters that choose to format their stations to serve this audience espouse a poor and morally indefensible policy. Hispanic viewers and listeners deserve better. Those who would deny Univision and HBC this opportunity to improve their service to the public and to compete effectively with English-language media conglomerates do so at the expense of all Hispanics.

Given that this merger has received more scrutiny that most mergers reviewed by the FCC including AOL/TimeWarner, NBC/Telemundo and others, and since the FCC's self-imposed 180 merger review time line has long passed, I urge the Commission to proceed with a decision on this transaction.

Please include this letter in the public record of your deliberations. -0-


Sincerely,

/s/ Jose E. Serrano
Member of Congress

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