NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises said it has launched a new Hispanic streaming division that will create content that will mostly live on Peacock, NBCU’s streaming service.
The new streaming division is developing more than 50 streaming projects that will start airing in 2022.
Romina Rosado, was named executive VP and general manager, Hispanic streaming at Telemundo, reporting directly to Beau Ferrari, chairman of NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. Rosado, who had been executive VP, entertainment & content strategy, joined Telemundo in 2018 from NBCU's E! cable network.
Peacock got off to a slow start, but, thanks in part to the Olympics, signups for the streaming network have risen to 54 million. Rosado told Broadcasting+Cable that the proportion of Hispanics on Peacock matches the demos of the country at about 18% to 19%.
“Latinos are going to be a key part of the growth of Peacock,” she said. “We look forward to bringing some of these more diverse stories to Peacock and being in the Forefront of a great screaming success.”
Rosado said both scripted and non-scripted projects are on the slate.
The first original scripted series for Peacock from Telemundo is the dramedy Armas de Mujer, starring Kate del Castillo, Roselyn Sanchez, Sylvia Sáenz and Jeimy Osorio, which was announced last year. A second, unnamed scripted series, is also in the works, Rosado said.
Telemundo Streaming is also working on reality shows, documentaries and docu-series. "Which we think is a big opportunity, especially in Hispanic space because there's not a lot of unscripted there," she said.
Some of these series will be produced by Telemundo Streaming Studios, which was launched earlier this year.
Media companies have been focusing on streaming to counter cord-cutting and establish a more direct connection with their viewers. The shift to streaming accelerated during the pandemic.
Rosado said that streaming is particularly important to Telemundo because the Hispanic market has a growing number of young viewers.
“What we want to do is create really original content for this audience,” she said. “Given that it's such a growth audience, they need to be provided with more custom content that speaks to them.”
Telemundo has been streaming shows like 100 Días para Enamorarnos and La Reina del Sur on its app for several years. Shows from Telemundo’s library have also been available on Hulu and Netflix.
Going forward, “we’ll be working very closely with Peacock, especially for some of these originals we’re developing. They will be on Peacock,” Rosado said.
She will also work closely with Telemundo Entertainment to determine if some shows also belong on Telemundo’s linear network or on other NBCU streaming platforms.
Earlier this year, Univision launched a Spanish-language streaming service, PrendeTV. Rather than create a streaming service for Hispanics, NBCU and Telemundo have decided to make Peacock the home of their content for Latin viewers.
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Telemundo is focused on viewers it calls "200% ers because they are 100% Latino and 100% American."
“We think that this consumer is not just consuming one thing. They are interested in the Olympics, they are interested in English Premier League and in Yellowstone. So, we actually think that it benefits the Latino content to be in the midst of Peacock,” Rosado said.
At some point there is going to be consolidation of streaming and Peacock offers the broadest possible offering, she added.
At the same time, the shows Telemundo is creating for streaming will have cross-over appeal. "You don't have to be Latino, you don't have to speak Spanish to enjoy that content," Rosado said.
Only some of the Telemundo content will be in Spanish. Some will be in English. Some will be bi-lingual.
“We don’t think language really matters,” she said, pointing to all the shows on Netflix American audiences are watching that were produced in other countries and in other languages.
“It all depends on the project and the storytelling,” she said.
