Jul 8, 2009
By Kevin Downey
For years, the NBC-owned Telemundo has struggled in Univision’s shadow, pulling paltry ratings compared to its giant Spanish-language rival.
That’s starting to change.
Univision continues to air shows that previously were hits in Mexico, all but ensuring they will draw big audiences among Spanish-speaking viewers in the U.S.
But Telemundo has been aggressively moving into airing original productions, in a dramatic shift after years of rebroadcasting shows from other Spanish-speaking countries.
It's now paying off for Telemundo, which like all the Spanish-language networks tends to do well in the summer when their original episodes compete with a slew of repeats on English-language networks.
For the week ending July 5, Telemundo’s primetime audience was up 20 percent from the same week last year, to 1.14 million viewers.
By comparison, Univision was flat at just under 3.3 million. Univision’s sister network, TeleFutura, was up 50 percent, to an average 750,000 viewers.
In 18-49s, Telemundo was up 18 percent from the year-earlier period, to 660,000 viewers. Univision was No. 1 but down 7 percent, to 1.7 million viewers. TeleFutura was up 42 percent, to 440,000 viewers.
Telemundo now accounts for 22 percent of the 18-49 Spanish-language audience among the Big Three Spanish-language networks.
Typical of its new programming is the 10 p.m. novela, or soap opera, “Los Victorinos,” which got off to a strong start on June 23.
The show, about three guys with the same name but very different lives, was Telemundo’s highest-rated premiere ever in the timeslot. And it was its fourth strongest premiere overall, with 893,000 viewers in the 18-49 demographic.
“Los Victorinos” follows another hit for the network, “Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso,” about an ambitious woman who gets mixed up with drug traffickers.
“Sin Senos” was Telemundo’s biggest hit ever, its finale on June 22 pulling an audience of 1.2 million 18-49 viewers. For its full run, the series averaged 940,000.
Source: Media Life Magazine
By Kevin Downey
For years, the NBC-owned Telemundo has struggled in Univision’s shadow, pulling paltry ratings compared to its giant Spanish-language rival.
That’s starting to change.
Univision continues to air shows that previously were hits in Mexico, all but ensuring they will draw big audiences among Spanish-speaking viewers in the U.S.
But Telemundo has been aggressively moving into airing original productions, in a dramatic shift after years of rebroadcasting shows from other Spanish-speaking countries.
It's now paying off for Telemundo, which like all the Spanish-language networks tends to do well in the summer when their original episodes compete with a slew of repeats on English-language networks.
For the week ending July 5, Telemundo’s primetime audience was up 20 percent from the same week last year, to 1.14 million viewers.
By comparison, Univision was flat at just under 3.3 million. Univision’s sister network, TeleFutura, was up 50 percent, to an average 750,000 viewers.
In 18-49s, Telemundo was up 18 percent from the year-earlier period, to 660,000 viewers. Univision was No. 1 but down 7 percent, to 1.7 million viewers. TeleFutura was up 42 percent, to 440,000 viewers.
Telemundo now accounts for 22 percent of the 18-49 Spanish-language audience among the Big Three Spanish-language networks.
Typical of its new programming is the 10 p.m. novela, or soap opera, “Los Victorinos,” which got off to a strong start on June 23.
The show, about three guys with the same name but very different lives, was Telemundo’s highest-rated premiere ever in the timeslot. And it was its fourth strongest premiere overall, with 893,000 viewers in the 18-49 demographic.
“Los Victorinos” follows another hit for the network, “Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso,” about an ambitious woman who gets mixed up with drug traffickers.
“Sin Senos” was Telemundo’s biggest hit ever, its finale on June 22 pulling an audience of 1.2 million 18-49 viewers. For its full run, the series averaged 940,000.
Source: Media Life Magazine
