TelevisaUnivision: We will double the number of original formats on Canal 5 this year

Andrea Marulanda, general director of Entertainment at TelevisaUnivision and with 25 years in the industry, took stock of her tenure after over a year of assuming that position.

She highlighted that they will double the number of original formats on Canal 5 this year and are preparing new comedy and reality content for Las Estrellas, underlining the release of the second season of La Casa de los Famosos Mexico and a new format for mid-April, all available soon also in the US on Univisión.

“This area [Entertainment] has been a spectacular challenge. I am responsible for all the production of entertainment programs for Canal 5 and Las Estrellas, which we share with our sister networks in the US. I also lead comedies for the 11pm slot in Las Estrellas and Sundays for the primetime program. It is an area with tremendous creative power. Last year, we devoted ourselves to the formats that have already proven their success, finding new routes and content, exploring the formats that work worldwide, and developing original projects,” she said.

As an example of a great challenge she faced in 2023, she mentioned La Casa de los Famosos Mexico in partnership with Endemol Shine Boomdog, with casting within TelevisaUnivision. “We achieved an important component in the success of these formats, which showed the knowledge of our audience and those we want to reach.”

WHAT’S COMING
In addition to the programs Cero Ruido, ¿Quién caerá?, Vence a las Estrellas, La Caja de los Secretos, season 10 of Me Caigo de Risa, and ¿Cuál es el Bueno? 3, which are part of the new channel Canal 5 and will be released on March 4, she announced they will double the number of their formats this year compared to 2023. “Year after year, we have been doing four different shows, and we will have between 8 and 10 in 2024.”

They will also include the second season of La Casa de los Famosos Mexico on the signal. “Becoming a great bet, which runs through our entire universe of platforms. This content will be on Las Estrellas, Canal 5, ViX,  and digitally; it is an experience in itself. And we will end the year with a couple of surprise original formats, which we will reveal later. We are aware that reality is still a genre that people like, and we want to continue betting on it.”

Regarding comedy on Las Estrellas, they will continue with proven formats such as the Familia de Diez, Vecinos, Tal para Cual, and 40 and 20 franchises, in addition to searching for new stories and formats. “This year, we premiere the program Está Libre, a story by Álvaro Curiel, and we are going with a second. We also are defining two new comedy formats. Regarding entertainment and family Sundays, one of the most important slots, at the moment, we have Mira Quién Baila. On April 14, we came up with a format that has us very excited because it is something that can only happen in Mexico, and on Univisión, we are talking about an original by Marcelo Strupini, who is working hand in hand with Eduardo Suárez to begin recordings on March 20. It has to do with music and games for several generations.”

BOOSTING FEMALE TALENT
Marulanda explained that today is a must to speak to a diverse audience, where formats such as reality and entertainment bet on making people feel involved. “With all the formats we bring this year, another important component, in addition to diversity, is to give a leading role to female talent. So, many of the new formats we are developing include women like Tania Rincón, Cecilia Galliano, Adamari López, and Marisol González.”

A COMPETITIVE INDUSTRY
Given the great diversity of content in international markets, including the offers of new players such as streaming platforms and social networks, access to the acquisition of original and attractive formats is increasingly difficult. However, the director said the demand for quality content has always been a constant.

“Which of these contents are the ones that adapt to our audience is the key to the search, which is not easy at all because we also have the challenge that they must speak to Mexico and US Hispanics, two different countries with different life contexts. The bet is to keep searching, find formats that speak to human nature, to have fun, appeal to emotions, and to continue creating our formats.”