to include more telenovelas in its schedule. In February 2007, Cosmopolitan placed Brazilian soap opera El Clonin the highly desirable 7 p.m. time slot, which according to ratings service Ibope-Telereport, attracted record audiences, particularly women. The series’ success placed Cosmopolitan TV among the top five most watched subscription channels in all of Latin America. After the success of El Clon, the evening time slots became a new home for telenovelas on subscription TV. “El Clon did fantastically well,” explained Lucia Suarez, director of Content for Liberty Global-owned Pramer, which distributes Cosmopolitan TV in Latin America. “Their audience is now as faithful as that of any over-the-air channel. And since subscription TV services rerun their telenovelas, unlike network TV, they give viewers the opportunity to catch episodes that they missed.” Subscription TV channels in Argentina are also buying content that was successful in other territories, especially in Brazil. At the beginning of this year, three programs from Brazil’s Globo TV occupied afternoon slots on Cosmopolitan TV, soap Lazos de Familia, and two miniseries: La Presencia de Anita and Mujeres Apasionadas . In May, Pramer decided to develop a soap of its own for Cosmopolitan TV. With the help of Argentine production company Promofilm, Pramer set to work on Toilette , a telenovela produced entirely in Argentina that explores the world of women. Similarly Canal Magazine, another pan-regional channel, and a subsidiary of Argentina’s Grupo Artear, made over its primetime schedule with content traditionally reserved for daytime. In 2006, it imported popular novela Mi Gorda Bella from Colombia’s Caracol TV. As a result, Canal Magazine also landed on the list of the top five most watched subscription TV channels in all of Latin America. Presently, Canal’s line-up includes series from Brazil’s Globo and Mexico’s Televisa. How are broadcasters reacting to these new challenges posed by subscription TV services? Eduardo Fernandez, artistic adviser of Artear and Arts and Production manager of Channel 13 Argentina, explained that companies purchase content from international distributors according to the show’s performance in their own territories. “We take into account the quality of a production, its appeal to the female public and that it’s not currently airing on any cable or satellite outlets.” He also said that Brazilian soaps have larger audiences V I D E O • A G E OC T O B E R 2 0 0 8 24 A r g e n t i n e T V Novelas Conquer Hearts, Wallets of TV Subscribers Artear’s Eduardo Fernandez The stars of Toilette BY MARINA DEL RIVERO For many years in Argentina, subscription or basic cable-satellite TV service, was considered “alternative television”: TV that viewers paid for if they wanted to see something different from broadcast television. More than 10 years ago, at the start of subscription television in Argentina, movie channels abounded on basic cable and satellite services. Today, these TV channels are entering a new phase, incorporating locally produced content with exclusive slots reserved for the transmission of telenovelas. Programmers of those channels are no longer thinking of themselves as purveyors of “alternative television.” They are more concerned with beating the ratings of the over-theair channels. Programmers brought telenovelas to basic subscription TV in an effort to attract females, who make up most of the audience of telenovelas on broadcast television. Cosmopolitan TV, an Argentinabased pan-regional channel, in particular, was determined to challenge over-the-air television. In 2006, the channel, a joint venture between John Malone’s Liberty Global, and Hearst Entertainment, began airing the telenovela Locas de Amor . It was so well received that Cosmopolitan TV decided “ Today, these TV channels are entering a new phase, incorporating locally produced content with exclusive slots reserved for the transmission of telenovelas... Programmers no longer think of themselves as purveyors of ‘alternative television.’ than those from other countries. “However, in recent years, Mexican soaps have become equally as popular [in Argentina].” Fox Life, a Fox Latin America channel, has also been catering to female audiences through telenovelas since 2006. Its slogan is: “The channel for women who did not expect a channel for women.” Aimed at women 18 to 49, the channel offers a daily mix of dramas, comedies, movies, and of course, soap operas. It was launched in all of Latin America after becoming the second most watched satellite TV channel in Italy. On the programming slate at its launch were series Kitchen Confidential , Sex & the City, Jake in Progress , Beach Girls , How I Met Your Motherand The War at Home . But the channel’s cornerstone was a strip of telenovelas, including Los Treinta, Ladros de Corazones and Amor en Custodia. Since programmers also want to attract advertisers, it’s important that successful international and local productions add value and identity to a channel. “The important thing is to give the advertisers strong programming,” said Pramer’s Suarez, who would not disclose the cost of advertising per second on her channel. On Canal Magazine, on the other hand, advertisers (both national and international) during telenovelas are charged 18 Argentine pesos (or US$6) per second.
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