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got a notch hotter
Telemundo's Mun2 targeting young bilinguals
By Elizabeth White
Only in the television industry would cannibalism be a sign of vitality.
Yesterday, Telemundo, the No. 2 Spanish-language network, launched Mun2, a cable network.
The launch is a sign that, regardless of the weakness in the advertising economy, the Hispanic audience is still going to be one of the most aggressively contested markets next year.
The networks would all like to chew off a bit of a rival, even at the risk of munching on a sibling or two.
Telemundo's advantage, as a distant second to Univision, is that there's so much more to munch.
Mun2 (pronounced mundos, the Spanish word for worlds) is going directly after the hottest age group in that market, adults 18-34, hoping to take viewers from wherever they might be--whether Spanish or English-language networks on either broadcast or cable.
"With limited properties, you want to go after the masses. Univision has done a terrific job of going after the masses. Telemundo’s position has been to provide an alternative and go after a portion of the market," says Jessica Pantanini, vice president and media director for the Bromley Group.
"It’s going to take time to see how well Mun2 attracts viewers from the general market because that’s where they are now. The format is unique in that we haven’t had a Spanish language property targeted toward the youth market."
Since a lot of Mun2’s potential audience is bilingual, the network’s programming looks like a hybrid of Spanish language television and established English-language cable networks like MTV and TBS.
There are five music programs on tap, covering rock music in Spanish, Tex-Mex and regional Mexican music, dance music, music news, and live performances.
There’s also a game show that’s something like "The Newlywed Game" but with best friends, and a Spanish version of TBS’s "Dinner and a Movie." Some of the more Hispanic influences include a weekend variety show and a boxing program.
But no matter how hip the programming is or how attractive Mun2’s target audience may be, distribution is going to be one of the key issues for the network during its first year. Mun2 launched yesterday with 2.8 million U.S. Hispanic households, replacing the former GEMS network.
"A lot of [Mun2’s success] has to do with how quickly it gets distribution," says Pantanini. "How well they do during the first quarter will affect how they get distribution."
And that’s something that an acquisition by NBC, the hot talk these days, could help with, giving Mun2 an edge over some of the other new Spanish-language networks like TV Azteca and Telefutura.
"The interesting thing that Telemundo, through Liberty Media and potentially NBC, can offer through its partners is distribution, and that’s something Univision doesn’t have," says Pantanini.
"Having partners in the right places is key. The TV Azteca property has faced and continues to face distribution issues."
October 11, 2001 © 2001 Media Life
-Elizabeth White is a staff writer for Media Life.
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