By David Bauder, Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Telemundo, the perpetual little brother to Univision in the competition between Spanish-language television networks catering to a U.S. market, is closing the gap this season with the help of fast-paced soap operas involving characters in the drug trade.
So far this season, Telemundo’s prime-time viewership is up 23 percent to 1.46 million, while Univision is down 21 percent to 2.29 million, the Nielsen company said. Telemundo has never beaten Univision in prime time, and the margin this year is smaller than it has ever been. Among viewers aged 18-to-49, Telemundo has cut the difference by 54 percent since 2010.
The biggest factor are the so-called “narco novelas” like “Senor de los Cielos” and “Senora Acero.” Spanish-language novellas, which air five nights a week in the same time slot, have generally run up to 150 episodes before reaching a conclusion, and Telemundo has been cutting these runs by as much as half.
How quickly do they move? The lead character in “Senora Acero” watched her drug-dealing husband be shot and killed last season, and now she’s already juggling two new boyfriends.
“It’s about telling stories differently,” said Glenda Pacanis, senior vice president of programming at the NBC Universal-owned Telemundo. “It’s about telling stories that our audience can relate to … yet still respecting the genre.”
Telemundo is also trying something new this season with a series on musician Celia Cruz.
Univision is taking notice, and is cutting the length of some future novellas. The network is confident about two upcoming series, “Pasion Y Poder,” that begins next month, and the adaptation of a Spanish series “El Gran Hotel” in January.
Still, could Telemundo be on the verge of toppling the giant of Spanish-language television?
“I’m not even going to go there,” Pacanis said. “We’ve got to keep our eye on the ball and put the best product that we can on the air.”
CBS won last week in prime time, averaging 9.8 million viewers. NBC had 8.2 million, ABC had 6.4 million, Fox had 4.9 million, Univision had 2.2 million, Telemundo had 1.5 million, the CW had 1.4 million and ION Television had 1 million.
TBS was the week’s most popular cable network, averaging 3.02 million viewers with the help of baseball playoffs. ESPN had 2.74 million, AMC had 1.74 million, Fox News Channel had 1.71 million and USA had 1.54 million.
NBC’s “Nightly News” topped the evening newscasts with an average of 8.1 million viewers. ABC’s “World News Tonight” was second with 7.8 million and the “CBS Evening News” had 6.8 million viewers.
Below are primetime viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for Oct. 19-25. Listings include the week’s ranking and viewership.
1. NFL Football: Philadelphia at Carolina, NBC, 20.61 million.
2. “NCIS,” CBS, 17.22 million.
3. NFL Football: Seattle at San Francisco, CBS, 17.12 million.
4. “Sunday Night NFL Pregame,” NBC, 15.8 million.
5. “The Big Bang Theory,” CBS, 14.68 million.
6. NFL Football: N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia, ESPN, 13.9 million.
7. “The Walking Dead,” AMC, 13.14 million.
8. “NCIS: New Orleans,” CBS, 12.99 million.
9. “Football Night in America,” NBC, 12.51 million.
10. “Dancing With the Stars,” ABC, 12.5 million.
11. “Empire,” Fox, 12.28 million.
12. “The OT,” Fox, 12.12 million.
13. “The Voice” (Monday), NBC, 11.4 million.
14. “The Voice” (Tuesday), NBC, 11.28 million.
15. “Madam Secretary,” CBS, 10.81 million.
16. “60 Minutes,” CBS, 10.71 million.
17. “Blue Bloods,” CBS, 10.42 million.
18. “Thursday Night NFL Pregame,” CBS, 10.27 million.
19. “Scorpion,” CBS, 9.46 million.
20. Baseball: National League Championship Series, Game 3: N.Y. Mets at Chicago, TBS, 9.22 million.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More