PHOENIX, Ariz. – Aug. 24, 2026 – Telemundo 39 / KTAZ and Telemundo 40 / KHRR, part of NBCUniversal Local’s Telemundo Station Group, announced the promotion of Christian Villegas to news director, effective today, Aug. 24.
In his new role, Villegas will oversee news editorial, production and operations for Noticiero Telemundo Arizona across Telemundo 39 and Telemundo 40’s TV, streaming, digital and social platforms. He will report to Andrew Deschapelles, President and General Manager of the Telemundo-owned stations serving Phoenix, Tucson and Las Vegas.
A four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, Villegas has spent the past 11 years with KTAZ and KHRR, most recently as executive producer. He joined the stations in 2016 as an intern and advanced through editorial and newsroom leadership roles, including photojournalist, assignment editor, content producer, evening news producer, and senior producer.
“Christian is a passionate newsroom leader who has spent the past 10 years helping build our culture of service from within,” said Deschapelles. “He understands our audience, knows our newsroom and shares our team’s deep commitment to serving the community. I’m incredibly proud to promote him into this critical leadership role and excited to see him lead our news team into the future.”
Throughout his tenure with KTAZ and KHRR, Villegas has played a key role in the newsroom’s editorial strategy and special coverage, serving as political coverage lead and special coverage coordinator and helping guide a team whose work contributed to Noticiero Telemundo Arizona achieving No. 1 rankings across all languages for both daytime and primetime newscasts.
“I am deeply honored to continue leading our exceptionally talented team of journalists who work every day to empower our community,” said Villegas. “Our community relies on access to transparent and valuable information, and at Noticiero Telemundo Arizona, they can count on us to deliver it with accuracy, integrity and commitment.”
Villegas’ journalism has been recognized with four Emmy Awards for work spanning field production, photojournalism and newscast production. He attended Mesa Community College and is a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
Noticiero Telemundo Arizona is presented on Telemundo 39 and Telemundo 40 Monday through Friday at 11 a.m., 4 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 5 p.m., and 10 p.m., and weekends at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m.
