Telefe to 'Watch' over Fox novela

Prod'n of 65-hour version of the series began in July

By CHARLES NEWBERY

BUENOS AIRES -- Telefe Intl. has inked to handle international distribution of Fox's "Watch Over Me," the U.S. version of Argentina's suspense telenovela "Resistire" ("Forever Julia").

Fox began producing a 65-hour version of the series in July, based on the Telefe novela that first aired in 2003 on Argentina's leading net of the same name.

"Julia," the love story of a struggling tailor and a shady businessman, won a wide audience thanks to edgier content, risque scenes and multilayered stories of corruption that broke away from the social realism and traditional love stories dominating the genre. Its finale fetched a whopping 70% audience share.

Telefe Intl., a unit of Spain's Telefonica, has been expanding format sales to bolster revenue by getting its programs into the more profitable primetime slots in foreign markets that are dominated by local fare.

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