New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Pepsi will be joining the series La Academia on EstrellaTV as the official U.S. beverage sponsor of the legendary Latin music competition series. The series is a co-production of Estrella Media and TV Azteca, airing and streaming live and simultaneously on EstrellaTV in the U.S. and Azteca Uno in Mexico on
Saturdays and Sundays from 9 p.m. to midnight ET/6 p.m. to 9 p.m. PT. The series premiere was Sunday, June 12, and each week fans can vote for their favorite contestants in both the United States and Mexico online.
Fourteen "Academicos" (the series participants) from Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, the United States, and Mexico will compete to pursue their dreams of music stardom and becoming the winner of La Academia in its landmark 20th anniversary season. The nine-week music competition series has paved the way for former Academicos and Latin music stars Yuridia,
Carlos Rivera, and Cynthia Rodríguez.
"We are honored that Pepsi is using La Academia as a vehicle to market and speak to the Hispanic consumer," said Steve Mandala, Chief Revenue and Local Media Officer, Estrella Media. "Pepsi's leadership in marketing to Hispanics makes us proud, and we are pleased to be a part of their efforts."
"La Academia is one of the most successful and influential music competition reality series for Latin music," said Ivan Stoilkovich, EVP, TV Content, Estrella Media. "Having Pepsi be part of the season just adds another legendary brand to this influential series."
Critics for the 20th Anniversary season are Ana Bárbara,
Lolita Cortés, Arturo López Gavito, and Horacio Villalobos. The host is Yahir, musical mentor is Aleks Syntek, and the Academia director is
Alexander Acha. The digital reporters are
Vanessa Claudio,
William Valdés and Mau Nieto. There will be live voting throughout the week, and the audience will be able to save their favorite contestant after the final weekend episodes, giving the audience the power to determine which contestants move through to the finals. To follow La Academia, use @LaAcademiaTV, @CanalEstrellaTV, @Azteca, and @AztecaUno, #LaAcademia20años or #LaAcademiaEstrellaTV.
