NBCUniversal International Television will launch the Latin American channel Telemundo in Africa.
Reaching already 21 countries in Latin America, the African launch marks a major milestone for the channel, as it’s the first time the pay-TV Telemundo branded service will be available outside of Latin America. Launching in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa on Monday, August 12, Telemundo will exclusively air telenovelas with the tag line: “Telemundo – Feel the Passion.”
“The addition of Telemundo to our portfolio of channel brands is an exciting development for Universal Networks International and our channels’ business in Africa,” said Belinda Menendez, President, International Television Distribution and Universal Networks International, NBCUniversal.
“We are constantly being approached by our platform partners to help them to reach a broader and more diverse demographic – and we are confident that the unique content on Telemundo will attract new viewers in a multi-channel environment. We are thrilled to be bringing the channel to audiences in 48 African countries, and building our presence in this dynamic pay-TV market.”
Telemundo in Africa will exclusively offer some of the most compelling Spanish language telenovelas covering a wide range of themes for the whole family to enjoy including – traditional romance stories, mystery, action and adventure stories, and stories based on real-life events with high-quality production values and featuring top talent.
“With the launch of Telemundo Africa, the region sees the birth of the first pay-TV Latin American channel in English language. We are very proud to extend the footprint of our Telemundo pay-TV channel beyond Latin America via Universal Networks International,” says Marcos Santana, President of Telemundo International. “Our original telenovelas are successfully syndicated in over 100 countries around the world. We know that there is a huge appetite for top-quality telenovelas, the world over, and are looking forward to building a fan-base for this unique genre across Africa.”
Telemundo will be fully localised for the African market with full dubbing of Spanish-language programming in English for South African and Sub-Saharan countries, and full dubbing in Portuguese for Angola and Mozambique.
Telemundo becomes the fifth channel brand from Universal Networks International to launch in Africa, joining the recently refreshed channels – Universal Channel, E! Entertainment Television and The Style Network, and movies channel, Studio Universal. Further, NBCUniversal News Group also operates CNBC channels across the continent.
