Riding on the historic ratings generated by La Reina del Sur, Telemundo is looking
to break new ground with the telenovela by pursuing primetime Emmy Award nominations
on its behalf.
The Spanish-language broadcaster has launched its first "For
Your Consideration" effort for the novela, seeking nods for Outstanding Drama
Series and for Outstanding Female Performance for star Kate del Castillo.
It's the first time that a Spanish-language series has ever
been pitched for a primetime Emmy, Telemundo senior executive president of
entertainment Joshua Mint said. Even if the series isn't nominated, Telemundo
hopes the campaign will open industry eyes as to the power of U.S.
Spanish-language television.
The Emmy campaign "is the culmination of an eight-year
strategy at Telemundo, where the network made a bet on original productions and
made it a point to tell compelling stories," Mint said. The self-described
"optimist" added that he believes La
Reina has a chance of getting a nomination.
The "For Your Consideration" effort has two main components,
Telemundo spokesman Alfredo Richard said: a mailer sent to 5,000 members of the
Academy of Television Arts and Sciences featuring a DVD with selected,
subtitled episodes of La Reina del Sur; and
a mostly digital advertising campaign in such trade publications as Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and The
Wrap.
Richard declined to say how much Telemundo is spending on
the campaign, but said it was barely a fraction of the general-market network's
Emmy budget.
Members of the academy have until this Friday (June 24) to
cast their votes. Nominations will be announced July 14.
In a final marketing push before the June 24 vote, Telemundo
put together a special screening and panel on Tuesday night at a 200-seat
theatre in Los Angeles. The screening included a panel with del Castillo, Mint
and executives from the National Hispanic Media Coalition.
