Struggling Cultura going commercial
Pubcaster looking for int'l partners, Col interested
Cultura, funded by Sao Paulo, will get a 20% budget increase this year, and hopes to supplement its $35 million base with $5 million in ad sales plus $5 million in programming exports.
Co-production talks with Columbia TriStar TV and Venezuela's Venevision reportedly are ongoing; Col already has committed to co-producing a film based on Cultura's popular kiddie series "Castelo Ra-Tim-Bum."
Owing to a drop in production and a slate that's 42% repeats, Cultura has an aud that is only 20 percent of what it was three years ago.
Ad sales start this month, with a legal maximum of eight minutes per hour, vs. a 16-minute cap for regular commercial nets.
