Globo to launch Australian channel

Telenovela Channel aims at Spanish speakers

By JOHN HOPEWELL

Rags-to-riches tale 'Antonia' is one of the stars of Globo's Mip slate.

Latin American broadcasting behemoth TV Globo is overhauling its international sales strategy by planning a move into international syndication and expanding beyond the normal broadcast slots for its telenovelas to multiplatform distribution.

As part of that effort, overseas sales arm Globo TV Intl. announced here Wednesday that it will launch La Telenovela Channel in Australia and has sold hit telenovela “The Clone” to Star Hub’s Sensasi channel in Singapore.

La Telenovela Channel will target Australia’s 100,000-plus Spanish-speaking community, said Raphael Correa, head of international sales at Globo TV Intl.

On the eve of Mip TV, Globo TV announced that it had inked with French IPTV operator Neuf Cegetel for carriage of Globo TV Intl., its premier overseas feed that targets the huge ex-pat Brazilian population in France.

“Globo is famous for its telenovelas and its huge production volume; 90% of shows on TV Globo are Brazilian, and we produce 99% of that inhouse. But our offer is highly diverse: We make comedies, dramas and documentaries, as well as telenovelas,” Correa said at Mip TV.

TV Globo’s new gameplan envisages dicing up content according to distribution outlets.

“Some comedies might not play terrestrial broadcast but could land slots on niche comedy channels. Our Globo Doc series could be sold in shorter formats for the Internet and even shorter formats for mobile TV,” Correa said.

TV Globo’s push into an across-the-board sales portfolio was evident at its Mip TV presentation Tuesday of its current sales slate.

Highlights included staple sensual novela fare such as “Tropical Paradise,” but also sitcoms -- “The Cleaning Lady” and “Under New Management” -- and dramas, such as the favela-to-music-stardom series “Antonia.”