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Telemundo’s Karen Barroeta talks innovation, new slate, durability of linear

CONTENT AMERICAS: Telemundo is pushing innovation as it cultivates a primetime slate that is “increasingly close to Hollywood production” levels for its US Hispanic audience, content chief Karen Barroeta told delegates in Miami on Thursday.

Karen Barroeta

The increase in production value is as much behind the camera as in front, said Barroeta, who serves as executive VP of production and development at Telemundo Global Studios, part of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises.

Speaking at C21’s inaugural Content Americas event, she said: “Our strategy is to take on risky, innovative projects and our productions are increasingly close to Hollywood production [levels], when you look at the top talent we have to attract [viewers].

“The marketing budgets in every company are becoming increasingly limited, so we have to have those anchors – whether it’s the story, the writer or the actors, both in front of and behind the camera.”

Barroeta’s keynote interview took place as Telemundo unveiled a vast new development and production slate of drama, romance and suspense series.

Among the newly revealed titles is Hasta Encontrarte (working title), a romantic drama about a woman of humble means who begins a relationship with man without knowing that he is one of the owners of the company where she works to support her son.

Also on the slate is the new season of Sin Senos Si Hay Paraiso, co-developed with TIS (fka Telecolombia and Estudios Telemexico), which centres on a woman who struggles in her love life while also fighting to protect her family.

Telemundo also unveiled dramatic thriller Mujer de Oro, created by Jose Ignacio Valenzuela, about a widowed millionaire who inherits a chain of jewellery stores after the mysterious death of her husband; and suspense drama Blue Cage, the first scripted series to emerge from Telemundo Global Studios’ coproduction agreement with Turkey’s Inter Medya.

While linear ratings are in decline across the industry, Telemundo’s linear offering has continued to perform strongly. That durability was on full display last week with the S8 premiere of El Señor de los Cielos, which made Telemundo the number-one network in the US (regardless of language) in the 18-49 demographic on the night of its return.

“I believe linear TV will be maintained for many more years,” said Barroeta. “It has not disappeared – it has adapted to the new realities and is here to stay.”

El Señor de los Cielos is an example of a so-called ‘super series’ – a genre of programming created by Telemundo around a decade ago as a means of attracting more male viewers by taking the traditional soap opera, with a love story at its core, and adding more elements of action, suspense and adventure. The genre has not only broadened Telemundo’s audience in the US but has also resulted in programming that has sold well internationally.

The goal is to continue pushing the envelope and finding new ways to be innovative with the company’s programming slate, said Barroeta.

“We have taken many strides over the past 20 years, but our intention is to never rest,” she said. “We must adapt to the new trends and continue to present stories in a different way that surprises audiences every time we offer a new project.”

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