MediaCo COO René Santaella is taking on a new title at the multicultural broadcaster, expanding his executive responsibilities to the newly created role of Chief Growth & Innovation Officer to assist with its end-to-end “Supply + Growth Engines” chain.
Santaella has served as MediaCo Chief Operating Officer since October 2024. He was incorporated into the group with its acquisition of Estrella Media. In the COO seat, he has overseen multiplatform strategy, growth, distribution, and operations spanning EstrellaTV, Estrella News, Hot 97, Curiosity Stream’s Spanish-language FAST channels, and Que Buena LA.
MediaCo leadership also cites his role in expanding its sports business through Liga MX, Combate Global, and Bally Sports, while also helping adapt radio and news programming into live and interactive multiplatform video content.
As CGIO, Santaella will oversee content portfolio strategy, originals development, programming strategy, distribution partnerships, product and audience engagement, data and analytics, technology and AI initiatives, workflow transformation, and inventory and revenue enablement across radio, TV, digital, and streaming.
MediaCo CEO Albert Rodriguez said, “MediaCo grew significantly in 2025 with record ratings and streaming viewership, revenue, and reach. We are the momentum in the market, so we are investing in the required leadership and resources to accelerate growth. René has a proven track record in building, modernizing, and scaling multiplatform businesses and delivering measurable results. This new role is designed to be relentlessly focused on growth and innovation and maximizing the impact of our content, distribution, product, and monetization engines.”
Santaella stated, “This role is designed around a simple truth: in today’s media landscape, growth comes from aligning the entire chain around consumers and a multiplatform world on every screen and every device. I’m excited to be hyper-focused on growth and innovation by optimizing the value of our content portfolio, expanding distribution and inventory, improving engagement, and advancing the technology and workflows that power our platforms.”
MediaCo Chief Revenue Officer Brian Fisher added, “René’s leadership will accelerate how we scale distribution, inventory, and monetization across our platforms. As MediaCo’s audience continues to grow across TV, audio, digital, and streaming, and with digital surging, this role helps turn that momentum into even greater value for advertisers and partners.”
