The debut of 10-episode stand-up comedy series “Stand Up & Deliver” last week on Latino-focused NuvoTV was the start of a larger effort at the Glendale-based cable channel to build out its original programming.

Behind the initiative is former Comedy Central executive Bill Hilary, who was hired by NuvoTV earlier this year as head of programming. He said the channel will unveil about six series at next month’s upfront presentations to advertisers in New York.

In the case of “Stand Up & Deliver,” which was shot in comedy clubs around the country, including HaHa Cafe Comedy Club in North Hollywood, the channel is hoping to forge relationships with comics that can evolve into scripted programming.

“It’s the foundation, where we see who’s hot out there and use that as a development tool,” Hilary said.

The programming push comes as NuvoTV tries to forge a new identity with a slew of comedy, drama and reality programming it hopes will resonate with an audience of young, pop-culture savvy English-speaking Latinos.

The channel, which changed its name from Sí TV in 2011, received a $40 million infusion from investors including Columbia Capital and Rho Capital Partners in August with the intent of investing in programming. A couple of weeks later, the channel announced that pop star Jennifer Lopez had also purchased a stake.

Those investments came amid a flurry of other investments in media targeted at a growing Latino population, including the launch last year of News Corp.-backed Spanish-language broadcast network MundoFox.

NuvoTV, which reaches 31 million homes on pay TV, differentiates itself from other Latino-focused media by offering all programming in English.

Hilary said one advantage is the quick turnaround time in developing series and putting them into production.

For example, “Stand Up & Deliver” was Hilary’s first undertaking in his new role, which he assumed in February, and within weeks the show was on-air.

“That’s what I love about small, emerging networks,” he said. “You don’t have the bureaucracy.”

In the Pan

Downtown L.A. advocacy and online news organization Frying Pan News is adding some sizzle to its site.

Frying Pan, part of the non-profit Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy, hired Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Gary Cohn, who launched a recurring investigative blog, California Exposé, on the site last week.

Publisher Danny Feingold said he saw a need for more investigative reporting on the local and state economy, due in part to reductions in investigative reporting staff in traditional newsrooms.

“We realized there was a desire to see more investigative reporting on economic issues in L.A.,” Feingold said.

The site launched on a shoestring budget in late 2011 with an editor and a stable of contributors.

In fall, it ran a seven-week series looking into potential impacts of Proposition 32, which would have curbed political contributions from unions and was defeated in November.

The content was picked up by other blogs such as the Huffington Post. On the eve of the election, two of Frying Pan’s stories sat atop Google search results, which Feingold said showed him the site could have broad appeal.

Laane’s mission is to build a new economy based on what it calls good jobs, thriving communities and a healthy environment. The organization advocates for causes such as living wages.

Frying Pan, like Laane, gets the majority of its funding from private donations, foundations and organized labor.

Feingold said that although Frying Pan has a perspective, the site maintains journalistic standards of accuracy and fairness.

He said he’s now looking to build out the site’s business coverage and bring in a contributor to examine issues such as economic inequality.

Digital Screenings

Now that so many movie theaters have switched to digital projection, Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. of Woodland Hills is offering a wider array of theatrical releases by using low-cost digital distribution.

The company announced last week that it is launching a documentary screening series, Docurama, at theaters around the country later this month.

The series, launching April 22, will run seven weeks and feature seven films. Movies will include “G-Dog,” which tells the story of Father Greg Boyle, a Jesuit priest who founded the gang-exit program Homeboy Industries in East Los Angeles. The screenings will take place in Los Angeles at five locations operated by Laemmle Theatres.

Cinedigm, which owns the Docurama independent film label, will also launch a Docurama-branded home entertainment streaming service.

The company said it has access to about 1,200 documentary films through various partnerships with producers and aggregators.

Cinedigm’s primary business is the conversion of theaters from film to digital projection and has worked on the conversion of about 11,700 screens.

Staff reporter Jonathan Polakoff can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext. 226.