Sandra Smester, general director of Content and Distribution, TV Azteca, was part of a conference at MIP Cancun, moderated by Ríchard Izarra of PRODU, where she talked about TV Azteca’s programming strategy, and that include a small tribute to Alberto Ciurana. In that context, she announced the return of fiction to the screen of Azteca Uno, which had been 100% dedicated to live television until she arrived at the network.
‟We will continue with our live programming that has increased our ratings in recent years, but fiction is in my DNA. We are looking with our partners for content that matches our channel and the tastes of our audience, a fiction that is not so passionate, something more real. We will be giving this exclusive soon,” Smester said regarding the future of Azteca Uno’s programming.
Smester also said that she is not concerned about her competition, Televisa. ‟They are very good at what they do, fiction, but we are also very good at what we have been doing in recent years. I don’t program my channel depending on what they do, on the contrary, I focus on what my audience likes. We are 132 million Mexicans and here there is room for everyone.”
‟Last semester was the best in the history of TV Azteca, we have been winning in sports ratings since Russia 2018, it is teamwork that has been going well. This is a competition against ourselves and in improving our own numbers,” she pointed out.
Smester also took a moment to remember Alberto Ciurana, who was the reason for her to work at TV Azteca, and who, unfortunately, did not overcome the coronavirus disease. ‟A great person, he was one of my mentors. A great joy to have been able to work with him and call me his friend. I stopped calling him ‘Mr. Ciurana’, as they used to call him, and told him: ‘you are Beto.’”