Telemundo Media Hopes to Capture 'Duality' of Hispanic Audience

A rebrand, six new novelas and a talent competition series are set to launch this year

By Lindsay Rubino -- Broadcasting & Cable, 5/21/2012 12:01:00 AM

RELATED:
Complete coverage of the 2012 upfronts
Upfront 2012 Marketplace: Buyers See Plenty of Content, But No Hits
ABC: Lee Looks to Build on Drama Successes
CBS: Key Shifts for 'Two and a Half Men,' '2 Broke Girls'
Fox: Taking Another Swing at Four-Comedy Tuesday
NBC: Betting Big on Comedy, 'The Voice'
CW Shifts Six of Its Seven Returning Series
USA: Expanding Beyond Drama
Turner Presents New Video Strategy, With No Glitches
ESPN: Promoting 'Face' Value
Univision: Getting Into the TV Everywhere Game
Fox Hispanic Media: Breaking the Hispanic Network Mold
Discovery en Español Gets in the Game

Telemundo Media will rebrand itself this fall to better convey the "duality" of Hispanics living in the U.S.

After conducting an intensive research study, Jacqueline Hernandez, COO of Telemundo Media, said the network found that Telemundo viewers are "here [in the U.S.], but very connected...to our countries of origin." The rebrand, which positions itself with the motto, "Latino soy, aquí­ estoy (I am Latino, I am here)," includes a new logo and a return to the unscripted space.

Pushing to overtake Univision as the leading Spanishlanguage broadcast network, and carrying the support of NBC and Comcast, Telemundo has added three reality competition series, six new telenovelas and comprehensive coverage of the upcoming London Olympics.

"We are making [changes] not only in primetime, but we are bringing new formats and new genres for the whole daytime," Emilio Romano, Telemundo president, said of the network's plans.

Telemundo will play off of NBC's popular competition series, The Voice, with its own La Voz: Niños (The Voice: Kids). The series will give children the chance to compete against one another in a singing contest, with celebrity mentors and battle rounds much like its Englishlanguage counterpart. Yo Me Llamo (My Name Is) and La Boda de tus Sueños (The Wedding of Your Dreams) will also join the reality fare.

Again benefiting from NBC, Telemundo will have "the most ambitious coverage of the Olympic Games for the U.S. in the Spanish language," Romano said, featuring more than 170 hours of original content brought from the Games in London. Telemundo Media will provide content to both its broadcast network and bilingual cable channel mun2, along with live streaming of its broadcast coverage on Telemundo's Olympics Website. Telemundo will also air features about the Hispanic athletes competing in the Games, most prevalently on mun2.

The network also touted its recently acquired FIFA World Cup rights -- which kick in in 2015 -- as "the most valuable media asset in the world, and the definition of a game-changer," Romano said.

The network's new telenovelas include El Rostro de la Venganza (The Face of Revenge), El Señor de los Cielos (The Lord of the Heavens), La Patrona (The Patron), Pasión Prohibida (Forbidden Passion), Fina Estampa (Fine Pedigree) and a serialized biography of Mexican singer José José called Nace un Idolo (An Idol Is Born). Telemundo has also acquired the rights to produce a sequel to La Reina del Sur, the network's highest-rated novela, which aired last year.

Meanwhile, mun2 will introduce new reality shows Jenni Rivera Presents: Chiquis 'n Control and Larrymania, as well as car enthusiast show DUB Latino.