Comcast's Telemundo, once an also-ran in Spanish-language content, opens $250M HQ

Comcast Corp. recently opened the new headquarters for its Spanish-language television network Telemundo in Miami.

The 21-acre Telemundo Center with 15 studios cost $250 million. The facility employs 1,200, with the expectation that the staff will grow to 1,500. The old Telemundo offices were about eight miles away in Hialeah, Fla.

"Every two weeks or so there is a new wave of employees that move in," spokeswoman Elizabeth Vazquez said on Monday.

Telemundo expects all employees to relocate by the time Telemundo televises the 2018 FIFA World Cup soccer in June. Telemundo owns the U.S. Spanish-language rights to the World Cup, which is wildly popular with Hispanic audiences, through 2026. Telemundo and Universo will broadcast all 64 World Cup games live.

Part of Comcast-owned NBCUniversal, Telemundo has dramatically narrowed the TV ratings gap with Univision, the longtime No. 1 Spanish-language network, in recent years. As in Philadelphia, the Telemundo and NBC television stations share newsrooms and studios.

The Telemundo network and the Universal theme parks, which both have large businesses in Florida, have been two of the fastest-growing units at NBCUniversal under Comcast ownership.

Telemundo Center is also built to sustain a Category 5 hurricane and fully remain in operation during weather and other environmental emergencies, NBCUniversal says.