Almudena Ledo Linares-Rivas, new president of Conecta

Antonio Ruiz Fernández assumes the vice presidency of the Association of Thematic Pay Television Channels in Spain.

Almudena Ledo Linares-Rivas, general director of Cosmo, has been appointed president of Connect, the Association of Thematic Pay Television Channels in Spain. Antonio Ruiz Fernandez, senior vice president and general manager of Discovery Iberia will occupy the vice presidency.

The board, who had held the position of vice president since 2018, succeeds Carolina Godayol Disario, CEO of The History Channel Iberia.

With a degree in Economics and Business Sciences from the Pontifical University of Comillas (ICADE E-2) and an expert in auditing and consulting, Almudena Ledo knows in depth how pay television works. Prior to her appointment in 2014 as CEO of Cosmo, she was already part of the management team, with one of her main responsibilities being to oversee all its financial and contractual aspects. Prior to joining the channel, she also held the position of auditor at Deloitte, working with both clients in the media and advertising sectors.

“I assume with great satisfaction the responsibility of coordinating the necessary work of Conecta during this new stage,” says Almudena Ledo. “It is vital that the television sector in general and the advertising market in particular know the value of our brands, the quality of our content and our contribution to the economy, society and culture,” comments the new president.

Established in 2007, the Conecta association brings together the main producers of thematic television channels in Spain. It currently has 32 channels, belonging to the most influential communication groups in the world: AMC Networks International Southern Europe, Discovery Networks, HEARST Communications, NBCUniversal International Networks Iberia, Sony Pictures Entertainment Iberia, The History Channel Iberia, The Walt Disney Company Iberia, Fox Networks Group, WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS Networks Spain.

The association seeks to promote knowledge of the pay television sector and promote the development of the audiovisual industry, as well as find answers to the challenges posed by new technologies. Likewise, it collaborates in the definition of the new European regulation in order to promote a framework of legal security in the Spanish audiovisual sector.