Digital World Taps Telemundo Networks
Nancy Ayala
Marketing y Medios
November 1, 2005
TELEVISION WILL always have staying power, but armed with 1,080 hours of original programming, NBC Unviversal-owned Telemundo and mun2 have numerous growth opportunities in the digital arena.
"We just started our on-air promotions of digital extensions," says Peter Blacker, the former AOL Media Networks executive, who came onboard in July as svp of digital media for Telemundo Networks. His goal: to have 14 station Web sites up and running, in addition to the reworked Telemundo and mun2.
Already, he's tapped new morning anchor María Antonieta Collins to start a daily blog. "I sat down with her, and it took about one second to convince her. We gave her Blogging 101."
El Cuerpo del Deseo has emerged as a solid ideas generator, including dance classes inspired by the moves of El Burrito on the telenovela as well as a Web site link to "El Perro del Deseo," featuring none other than the autograph-signing dog Azur. He also will answer questions about the web of intrigue on the novela.
"The show is creating a community that develops an identity that is not just on the TV screen," says Alfredo Richard, Tele- mundo's vice president, corporate communications. El Cuerpo del Deseo ranked number-16 on the Nielsen Hispanic Television Index, ending the week of Oct. 16.
Developments are moving at a slower pace at mun2, which is devoted to bilingual Latinos ages 18 to 34. After this reporter was befuddled by a Spanish-language site called mun2.com, she was told that the actual site domain is mun2tv.com. "Our audience for mun2 is comfortable using the Internet," Richard says. "It's a way of life for them. It's very common sense."
Partnerships, dynamic content and out-of-the-mainstream digital pages are planned for the site's debut in January.
Carlos Santiago, president and CEO of New York-based Santiago Solutions Group, says, "Monetizing Web sites is difficult." His company provides strategy for successful entry into the multicultural market, but he points out that online properties take as much time and effort as building the original business.
That's probably why Blacker and his team are leaving nothing to chance for the digital properties over the next few months, especially since ad revenue is part of the business plan. He says, "You want to first make sure that you don't over-promise."
