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United States
The
powerful Hispanic
market
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Co-productions and adaptations
A
promising business
This
new business of co-productions and adaptations
is easy and a bit risky since it is a new business.
As a consequence, to contextualize telenovelas
is a compelling task of their business leader
sectors since there are many things to work
on. First, to think over about what people say
about telenovelas and not just about what telenovelas
actually are. That perception from media and
public is a key. We all know that telenovelas
are, at least in Latin American context, treated
like a sub-product. But societies are influenced
in their daily lives according to what telenovelas
show. In addition to ratings, spectators give
messages since telenovelas role has been very
strong because it provides with conversation
topics and it has become an important factor
in how families relate and couples order their
lives.
Second, we
should test telenovelas within their whole contexts.
For the last 45 years, it has become a powerful
and big genre which brings about the appearance
of many subgenres, this greatly influenced by
the channel and the time on which they are broadcast.
We should notice the genre or subgenre a telenovela
audience belongs to and stop thinking the telenovela
as Cinderella, although this is the millstone
to find other possibilities from the essentially
romantic, comedy to bizarre stories. Recent successes
are market planned like Resistiré
in Argentina, a (hybrid) telenovela with thriller
tones which attracted an audience that did not
see telenovelas, and Pedro, el Escamoso
that became a hit in some markets. We should acknowledge
that the product has subproducts and that there
is a portfolio available for different publics:
classical, romantic, comedy, action, mystery,
break up, social and educating telenovelas. There
are telenovelas for children and teenagers, for
women and men as long as there are publics ready
to welcome them. We should break patterns since
there are telenovelas with very special features
like the Mexican, Brazilian, Venezuelan, Colombian,
Argentinian, Cuban, Chilean, Panamanian, Peruvian,
Ecuadorian. Another thing is the new telenovela
produced in Spain and the USA from the ones originated
in Latin America, but each of them has a market
planning and its own audience.
This change
in the construction of a distinctive genre is
the focus to take into account. Telenovela is
not an abstract entity, but segmentation guarantees
a better product performance that is like a chewing
gum: we can stretch it in many ways once we observe
the relationship public market segments have with
different approaches. Kids have a different relationship
to telenovelas from the one teenagers have. Upper
and medium sectors get close to certain stories
and popular sectors to others. There lies the
marvelous thing: marketing options and setting
rituals with really successful programs. Latin
American industry must profit from this as many
other industries do, cold drinks industry, for
example. They adjust their products for the ones
who go on a diet, for children, adults or old
people. Another relevant requirement is to generate
guidelines to value telenovelas again, since audiences
do that and they say, This telenovela is great
! and this makes them identify the product and
focus on features and values of them to decide
if they will see it or not.
To adapt stories
to objective publics is a brilliant idea. A wide
spectrum is opened for this type of business,
but it is worth to state the mechanisms it takes.
The work with the writer is relevant without leaving
aside the task the researchers carry out in relation
to spectators and market. Gilberto Braga,
Vale Todo author did not get involved with
the Spanish version co-produced by Telemundo
and TV Globo, which did not have the same
success as the original version made in Brazil
in 1989. “I would never choose Vale Todo
for a conservative market. I told TV Globo
this but nobody listened to me”, says the
author to TVMAS.
“Vale Todo is a work full of cynicism and
with a plot to attract an audience much more trained
in seeing this kind of telenovelas. Without this
ingredient. There is not much to give to the public”,
concludes referring to the script edition by TV
Globo and Telemundo to soft Maria
de Fátima’s cruelty to her mother.
Actually,
the USA Latin public does not respond
in the same way as the Brazilian, Argentinian,
Colombian or Spanish public do to this kind of
strong stories. Other experts said that the adaptation
mistake was the casting. “The main female
character cannot transmit an older and more important
character”. Many details have to be taken
into account when adapting and co-producing. The
biggest mistake is to try to adapt a story which
does not belong to certain audience, it is better
to create in those cases.
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Amina
Galdo and Guadalupe D’agostino
- Coral Int’l. James McNamara
Telemundo’s president. |
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There are stories that are
good to a certain audience and failures and successes
that are worth analyzing. An example is the adaptation
of the great Argentinian hit Son Amores,
Pol-ka, Argentina, which was a complete
failure in Telecinco, Spain but a success
in TV Azteca, Mexico. Finally, we should
contextualize the endless business opportunities
that this product offers and pay attention to
its relationship to media and audiences. It is
the calling of a century that is starting. As
a conclusion, I quote a summary of the conference
given by James McNamara, president and
CEO of Telemundo Networks, second Hispanic
network in the USA, at the First World
Telenovela Industry Summit held in Miami
April last year.
What
is the risk-benefit of buying, co-producing or
producing a telenovela for USA audiences?
“This is the question I make to myself. I
have been in this business for three years and
my purpose used to be killing telenovelas. I sold
Soap Operas.
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James
McNamara in his conference in
the first world telenovelas industry
summit. |
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But today my challenge is the
genre in the USA. Basically, there are two players:
Univision, a monster and owner of two cable
networks and we, (Telemundo) that has a
cable network that gets to the English-speaking
Hispanic and is Azteca América with
difficulties in distribution like many indeoendent
companies that search for market share. So, we
look for special features and this starts with
the book. Televisa’s new strategy
was to buy again Delia Fiallo stories to
make them once more. Televisa’s plan
will not change: rural stories and the girl who
goes from the countryside to the city or the poor
person who wants to become rich, everything controlled
by a great love story with high production costs.
We must keep in mind the stories we are making
since our audience is mainly poor Mexican people
without a secondary degree. The question is, is
there another product that has an impact on this
public apart from Televisa product? From
the 38 million Hispanic population, 27 million
are Mexican. Familiar faces and language are essential.
We had a hit such as Betty la fea which
got to 90% of the Hispanic but not to the Mexican
and it was seen by only 15%. Buying is a risk
in such a competitive and specific market. Therefore,
we are ready to produce. We started with La
Venganza played by Gabriela Spanic,
an actress who was with Televisa which helped
much in the tone we wanted to give it. To produce
is important to Telemundo because co-productions
did not do well since co-producers adapt to their
markets and we, to ours. The solution is producing
for this market.”
The wide and deep analysis and marketing prospectives
in th USA that the president and CEO of the big
Telemundo issued caused applauses and great shock
in the auditorium.
The
new Latin American generations:
an attractive segment to attend to
The market potential of the new Latin American
generations in the US., analized by Robert
Rose, President and Executive Pruducer at
Urban Latino TV, during the I World Summit for
the Industry of Telenovelas. TVMAS
is offering a summary of the analysis.
“According to the 2000 census, the
Latin American market in the U.S. is of 37 million
inhabitants, 66% of which is under 35 years old,
thus constituting the ethnic group with the highest
young population. They devote 20% more of their
time to watching TV than non-Latin Americans.
Today, this community is made up of 40% of immigrants
and 60% of U.S-born citizens. This new generation
of almost 21 million people is, on the average,
18 years old. They watch English-spoken TV mainly.
Now, if we consider third generations of Latin
American immigrants -kids between 7 and 12 years
of age- 88% of them watch English-spoken programs
only.”
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President
and Executive Pruducer at Urban
Latino TV, during the I World
Summit for the Industry of Telenovelas. |
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Nevertheless, in the four top channels, Latin
American representation in prime-time shows is
only 3%, while they actually represent 22 points
in the ratings of the 25 main Latin markets in
the US. This data, says Robert Rose, “is
a key factor to attract a new segment in the audience
still unattended by the TV industry. TV producers,
many of which are of Latin origin, have worked
for this segment, but there are not enough spaces
yet”. During the conference, Rose underlined
the importance of bearing in mind the customs
and the essence of these new generations when
thinking as a program director, because they are
completely different from their ancestors, and
they need to be adressed in a totally different
way.
Entertainment
without
language barriers
“This is not about languages, this is about
understanding. Spanish-spoken TV caters for 40%
of the adult Latin American audience, for whom
watching telenovelas is getting closer to their
roots. But this community includes children, youngsters,
and grandparents, individuals with different TV
habits and language preferences. Historically,
English-spoken TV has under-represented Latins,
not only in the market share, but also in the
roles they played on screen, stereotyping them
in one and only vision, that of the house keeper,
servant or gardener. Their culture has never had
the possibility to be represented on English-spokenTV
stations. There is a great chance of doing it
now, since this segment of the new generations
is still unattended.”
The future is also promising for announcers. In
the US, they do not pay attention to rating figures
considering each single home, but they purchase
demographic characteristics. This is where the
story gets even better, since most Latin Americans
are youngsters. “Is the door open for a product
such as the telenovela? No one doubts it is a
genuine tool for achieving such goals. Entertainment
and information are massive products. But programs
must be flexible enough for all audiencies to
have access to, since it is not true that Latin
American people only watch Spanish-spoken channels.
The Latin Grammy Awards have placed Univisión
as favorite TV station at home, but the segment
of adolescents between 12 and 17 has doubled the
share for Telemundo and Univisión in the
Grammy Awards. A good and appropiate product is
bound to be a sucess story.
According to Roses’s analysis, the Latin
American market is to be treated as two, or even
three different markets. “There is the children,
the young and the adult’s audiences. This
is the time for the telenovela to have cultural
relevance, and to be part of English-spoken TV
and for us to find the path to success.”
In short, the complete information on his conference,
as well as that of the Summit, will be available
in the web at: www.tvmasnovelas.tv
*Robert Rose was born
in Tennessee, United States. He is a producer
for young Latin American audiencies.
Telenovela
actors needed in Miami…Advertisement published
in the Miami New Herald on Monday 8th December
2003.
Miami is turning into a Telenovela production
center, and it is important to design mechanisms
that make this process easier. The first telenovela
worldwide congress held in this city in April
last year settled serious questions related to
this topic, which will be discussed again in the
second congress that will take place in Barcelona.
Advertisements asking for actors and specialed
technical staff are constantly published.
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