On the night of Tuesday, March 23, Benjamin Salinas made the sad news public. After several days hospitalized with Covid-19, the experienced and beloved executive, until now director of Content and Distribution at TV Azteca, died in Mexico City.
The Hispanic TV industry is in mourning. Alberto Ciurana has died after several days hospitalized because of Covid-19.
On the night of Tuesday, March 23, Benjamín Salinas, VP of the Grupo Salinas board, confirmed the news on his social networks, where he described the executive as “an endearing collaborator” and responsible for “much of what we build together,” referring to TV Azteca.
Lamento enormemente el fallecimiento @AlbertoCiurana, un entrañable colaborador a quien @Azteca le debe mucho de lo que juntos construimos; en esta casa siempre será recordado con cariño y agradecimiento. Envío un abrazo a sus familiares y amigos.
— Benjamin Salinas S. (@SalinasBenjamin) March 24, 2021
Alberto Ciurana worked as Director of Content and Distribution at TV Azteca. His trajectory, however, is extensive within the Hispanic TV industry. Among other roles, he was President of Programming and Content for Univision Networks, and Vice President of Televisa for 15 years.
His arrival at Azteca in 2017 represented a change in the strategy of the Mexican group’s broadcast TV networks. “For 25 years Azteca Uno had telenovelas and fiction. We wanted to evolve. We wanted to be disruptive in the market. The audience has always rewarded Azteca when it becomes an innovation leader. We closed the production of telenovelas to move to live content, realities and game shows, and that has tripled our audiences,” he told ttvnews last September.
Ciurana had announced on March 10 that he had been infected with Covid-19, and that despite having mild symptoms, he required medical attention. “The irony is that on Friday I received the first dose of the vaccine. I’ll be working from home,” he said that day.
— Alberto Ciurana (@AlbertoCiurana) March 10, 2021
However, his situation worsened and he had to be admitted to intensive care.
Networks, executives and friends shared their condolences on social media.
Hasta siempre, @AlbertoCiurana, te recordaremos con cariño y respeto. Descansa en paz. pic.twitter.com/3kDGcF9NqE
— TV Azteca (@Azteca) March 24, 2021
Hoy lamentamos mucho el sensible fallecimiento de mi amigo @AlbertoCiurana, le deseo pronta recuperación a su familia y amigos, en @gruposalinas lo recordaremos siempre como el gran amigo y colaborador que fue. #qepd 😔 https://t.co/RpeLP6VMqd
— Ricardo Salinas Pliego (@RicardoBSalinas) March 24, 2021
En Televisa lamentamos profundamente la muerte de nuestro ex compañero Alberto Ciurana. Tuvo una destacada participación en la TV panregional. Nos solidarizamos con @Azteca. Todos lo extrañaremos. Descanse en paz.
— Televisa Prensa (@Televisa_Prensa) March 24, 2021
Falleció nuestro compañero Alberto Ciurana. Con profunda pena envío mis condolencias a su familia y un abrazo a todos los compañeros de TV Azteca que siempre recordaremos a Alberto con mucho cariño. Descanse en paz.
— Javier Alatorre (@Javier_Alatorre) March 24, 2021
No lo puedo creer aún, descanse en paz @AlbertoCiurana un hombre admirable que nos contagiaba de entusiasmo y amor por la televisión.
Mis condolencias a su familia. 🙏🏻— Cynthia Rodriguez (@cynthiaoficial) March 24, 2021
At ttvnews we deeply regret the loss of such a close and beloved executive. Our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.
