TV Globo soaping up
CTSI, Telemundo joined in telenovela pact
Carlos Alberto Simonetti has been upped to director of the international sales division (DVI), directly in charge of all export sales. He reports to Scalamandre.
Simonetti’s predecessor, Orlando Marques, is now in charge of the Northeast Project, which aims to boost TV Globo’s relationship with its affiliate stations in the northeastern region of Brazil. He has also been named director of the TV Globo affil in Recife.
In addition, TV Globo has created the Intl. Production Sector, which in the second half of this year plans to begin production of Spanish-lingo novelas in partnership with Columbia TriStar Intl. TV and U.S. Hispanic net Telemundo.
Novelas will be based on TV Globo scripts and filmed at the company’s studios in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
"In this first project, we will likely have a remake of one of our many successful novelas," Simonetti told Daily Variety. "Telemundo will be the main client for our Spanish-language novelas, but we also plan to sell them to Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America and to Spain."
Earlier this year, Telemundo purchased a package from Globo of four novelas and five series, which were dubbed into Spanish. The No. 2 Hispanic net already has seen rating gains with other Brazilian productions such as TV Manchete’s "Xica."
Globo is Latin America’s second-largest novela producer after Mexico’s Televisa. Globo novelas and series are expected to generate export revenues of $43 million this year.
Jose Paulo Vallone, former director of programming at Brazil’s No. 3 broadcaster, TV Record, has been named director of the new division, which will be part of the Globo Production Center.
The Globo-Telemundo-CTSI deal follows another international co-production deal in Brazil. In February, No. 2 broadcaster SBT announced an accord to produce Portuguese-lingo novelas with Televisa. SBT will translate and adapt Televisa scripts for production in its own studios in Sao Paulo for the local market.
