New York – Marking the firth anniversary of the acquisition of Telemundo by General Electric and NBC, Telemundo Communications Group president Don Browne said the company has seen record growth in distribution and content production.
“We’ve become the second largest [Spanish-language] content producer in the world, and in just over four years,” Browne said here Wednesday at the Hispanic Television Summit, sponsored by Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable.
Noting that Telemundo considers itself a rival of powerhouse Spanish-language producer Grupo Televisa, Browne said Telemundo now produces 10,000 hours of original programming annually. It distributes that content in 65 countries, including China, Columbia, Spain, Panama and Argentina.
Turning to the advertising business, Browne said Telemundo is focusing more on striking product placement deals with media buyers. He pointed to a recent deal the network struck with Clorox which will see Telemundo integrate Clorox products in the program “for years to come.”
“It’s not spots and dots. It’s a strategic relationship that we can build with people in this business that are looking to drive customers to their business,” Browne said. “We can share our philosophy together, and we can grow from the grown floor.”
While Browne wouldn’t say exactly what Telemundo’s TV station group plans to do with its digital spectrum, he said that the company will use digital broadcasting to multicast multiple channels of content to viewers.
“It [digital broadcasting] means more distribution. We’re going to have more spectrum to reach more people. But it has no power unless it has content,” Browne said.
In terms of marketing, Browne said Telemundo will rely more on teaming up with sister NBC Universal properties to cross promote programming and talent. One example: a Telemundo newscaster will be featured in an upcoming episode of a primetime NBC show.
