In 2001, GEMS was purchased by the Telemundo Communications Group (then a joint venture led by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media), and revamped its programming format to target younger viewers; it was renamed mun2, a name chosen to reflect the "two worlds" that Latino Americans live in (the name being a Spanish-language pun on "mundo" and the number 2, which is pronounced like "mundos" or "worlds").

[2] Its initial lineup included programs from Telemundo's then sister company Columbia TriStar Television (now Sony Pictures Television), including repeats of Spanish language adaptations of Charlie's Angels (Angeles) and The Dating Game that had aired on Telemundo as part of a failed programming revamp in 1998 in an attempt to counterprogram its rival, Univision.

[3] On December 24, 2014, NBCUniversal announced that it would relaunch mun2 as NBC Universo on February 1, 2015, to coincide with the network's Spanish-language broadcast of Super Bowl XLIX.

The relaunch of the network under the NBC name and peacock logo was designed to reflect the broadcaster's commitment to the Spanish-language television market.

In late December 2009, the network dropped its overnight block of infomercials that aired daily from 3:00 to 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and replaced it with additional music video programming either in the form of Reventon Mix (focusing on contemporary Latin party music) or Morning Breath (featuring a selection of videos from various artists).

As a prelude to the new contract, mun2 broadcast the opening event of the Toyota Series—NASCAR's Mexican series, at Phoenix International Raceway during the weekend of The Profit on CNBC 500 on February 28, 2014.

[10][11][12] Through NBC Sports' contract to televise the Premier League, the network began airing Spanish-language simulcasts of select matches broadcast in English on NBCSN with the 2013–14 season.

NBC had proposed using Telemundo to act as a Spanish-language simulcast partner for years following its 2001 purchase of the network, but this did not occur until the Premier League agreement.