The EVP of Programming and Content Development of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises spoke with ttvnews about the group’s strong bet on live reality shows and all the new premieres that will hit its screen this year.
*By Luis Cabrera, from Miami, USA
Telemundo is ready for another year of great premieres and original productions that will hit its screen to continue captivating its audience.
In terms of fiction, Telemundo Studios is already working on three important stories. “First of all, we have a story that will begin soon and that we are still filming in Mexico, which is La jefa,” began in a conversation with ttvnews Sandra Smester, Executive VP of Programming and Content Development of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, from Natpe Global in Miami.
“Then there is the adaptation of Velvet, which is not a remake per se, because we will go from the 50s to 2025. It is a very good challenge that we are setting for ourselves as a company and that will be noticed,” she added. “And also the spin-off of El señor de los cielos, which is Dinastía Casillas, which will be available soon.”
And while the bet on scripted is important, 2025 will undoubtedly be the year of reality shows for Telemundo, with a special emphasis on live reality shows.
“The strategy for 2025 is to have more live reality shows,” the executive emphasized. “If you are live, you are on Telemundo.”
“I have been a faithful believer in live content for many years,” explained the executive. “Now with scripted you have the opportunity to see it in various places, with the windows and platforms. Live, on the other hand, positions you in a regional moment, where you speak to your audience, where you connect with them and you can promote what you have. It gives you the possibility to work with social media, digital, create new content for other platforms like YouTube or FAST channels. The engagement you have with the audience is beautiful and no one else can replicate it.”
In this sense, Smester highlighted the premiere of the fifth season of La casa de los famosos, the All-Stars, “which premiered wonderfully well with great success.” “We are very happy. It will be a controversial, dynamic and fun house. La casa de los famosos is a live reality show, which we broadcast every night at 10:00 p.m. but it has the 24/7 component that you can see on Telemundo.com, on Peacock or the Telemundo app.”
“After this, a new reality show is coming, a new IP for Telemundo that will be totally live as well,” she added. “And then Top Chef is coming back, our own NBC Formats format, which we love very much because it is very appreciated. And we are also working on another format that will come to Telemundo in the third and fourth quarter, which will also be live.”
