TTVNews celebrates its first 20 years, inviting friends and industry colleagues to share their personal experiences over the past two decades. César Díaz, CEO of 7A Media, answers, “Where were you 20 years ago?”

This 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of TTVNews, a big reason to celebrate for the group, which is consolidating itself as one of the go-to media platforms in the audiovisual industry in Latin America.

To mark the occasion, we’ve invited friends and colleagues to share their experiences, challenges, and lessons learned over the last twenty years in this industry.

This time, César Díaz, CEO of 7A Media, answers, “Where were you 20 years ago?”

What was your first international event?

My first event was in 1986, a Natpe that took place in New Orleans. That year was my first time. It was spectacular. The golden age of Natpe, with tremendous stands, large pavilions. You would bump into Hollywood artists. A very exciting time for me. I was a young boy. I was just entering the world of sales. I was at Radio Caracas, they had transferred me from there to Coral Pictures, its distributor. I remember that Jorge Valera, a former Viacom executive, was in charge. With Jorge I really learned all the ins and outs of the world of sales.

Where were you 20 years ago?

20 years ago, in 2004, I was at Cisneros Media, at Venevision International, leading the international product sales. It was an important time because we were producing telenovelas such as Gata Salvaje and Eva Luna in our Miami studios, big hits not only in Latin America but in many places in Europe and Eastern Europe. A very beautiful time that I will always remember fondly.