María Celeste Arrarás, the longtime host of Telemundo network’s afternoon magazine “Al Rojo Vivo” and Rashel Díaz, co-host of morning show “Un Nuevo Día,” are no longer with the company.
They are among the many staffers laid off nationwide as part of parent company NBCUniversal’s “workforce reductions,” which began on Monday.
The Telemundo O&O station group also did cuts across the country, impacting several markets.
Arrarás arrived to Telemundo in 2002. Her defection from Univision network after 15 years with the rival network made headlines. She left the highest rated network at the time and the popular “Primer Impacto” afternoon magazine, which she co-costed with Myrka Dellanos to launch her own show on Telemundo.
Coincidentally, Dellanos recently joined “Al Rojo Vivo” on a temporary basis.
Sources tell Media Moves that Dellanos will host “ARV” for the next few weeks, followed by a rotation of internal talent until Telemundo announces a permanent host.
Arrarás last signed a multi-year contract with Telemundo in 2016. Her final show was yesterday. She was notified today and confirmed her departure in social media today.
The company issued the following statement regarding her departure:
“Maria Celeste has been an icon and an integral part of Telemundo’s growth to become a leading Spanish-language network. She is an accomplished award-winning journalist with a relentless passion and commitment to serve our communities and we are extremely grateful for her unwavering dedication and contributions to Hispanics and Telemundo’s success all these years.”
Díaz was the last original co-host of morning show launched in 2008, initially called “Levántate,” before getting renamed to “Un Nuevo Día.”
Díaz was on today’s morning show. She was notified after the program ended.
“Un Nuevo Día” will now have only two main hosts: Adamari López and Stephanie “Chiquibaby” Himonidis. Héctor Sandarti exited the program in May.
* The story was updated to include a company statement.