Don Francisco Hosts Jan. 23 Event, Featuring 18 Top Latin Music Stars, To Benefit Haitian Relief Effort
Mike Reynolds — Multichannel News, 1/23/2010 10:49:31 AM

Following last night’s cross network benefit Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief, Univision Network has added another hour to its special edition of Sabado Gigante (Giant Saturday) to provide relief for the devastated nation.

Hosted by Don Francisco, Sabado Gigante: Unidos por Haití (United for Haiti) was scheduled to begin on Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. (ET/PT) and was extended to commercial-free for five hours.
The Spanish-language media giant, which will also stream the event in the U.S. and internationally at www.univisionhaiti.com and air it on Univision Radio, said it had expanded its lineup as more and more artists wanted to contribute their time and talent to the event, benefiting the relief effort to Haiti in the wake of the earthquake’s destruction.

The special also included live commentary and call-ins from Univision.com users themselves, sharing their personal stories and words of encouragement for victims. Since the earthquake, www.univisionhaiti.com has been providing the latest news, videos and photos on disaster relief efforts, as prominent Hispanic stars and personalities post messages and their own words of kindness on the site. Users are also sending online donations to the American Red Cross through a dedicated site the Red Cross has provided exclusively for Univision.com.

The January 23 special edition of Sabado Gigante featured performances by 18 of the world’s top Latin music stars: Alejandra Guzman, Alejandro Sanz, Chayanne, Daddy Yankee, David Bisbal, Gloria Estefan, Graciela Beltrán, Juanes, Luis Fonsi, Natalia of La Quinta Estación, Olga Tañón, Paulina Rubio, Pee Wee, Pepe Aguilar, Ricky Martin, Shakira, Thalía and Willy Chirino.

In addition to the performances from the studios in Miami, Unidos por Haití will also feature live segments from various cities across the U.S., including Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C. and San Juan, Puerto Rico, as well as from Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The program will also be broadcast in 10 countries across Latin America.

This special complements the multi-platform effort across Univision Communications Inc. through which Univision, TeleFutura and Galavision are leveraging their cross-promotion capabilities to promote the fundraising campaign through public service announcements and special reports live from Haiti and from prominent Haitian communities in the U.S.

Source: Multichannel