Telemundo Studios: In 2015, more original production output to serve new time slots and address the need for shorter telenovelas

One of the Telemundo Studios plans for 2015, in coordination with Luis Silberwasser, president of Telemundo, is to produce more hours of original programming to tackle new time slots or supply traditional blocks if a decision were made to shorten novelas to 100 or 80 episodes.PRODU spoke with Joshua Mintz, EVP of Scripted Programming and general manager of Studios at Telemundo Studios, who said the idea was “to have more inventory.” Mintz said that despite evident changes in the audience, “the linear or commercial telenovela will still live for many years. I believe the audience that wants to consume shorter series or shorter versions can represent a third or a fourth window for a given product.”He added that the Hispanic market is used to consuming telenovelas in this fashion. “It’s a cultural trait of the audience, so I don’t see conflict between the platforms regarding the way the product will be consumed, said Mintz.He described Tierra De Reyes, novela that premieres on Telemundo December 2nd at 9pm, as “the introduction of many young actors. It’s a project with a lot of light and color, a story that’s familiar to the audience, but never gets old.”Regarding Dueños Del Paraíso, Mintz said it’s Telemundo’s most ambitious super series, produced in the U.S. with 90% of it shot on location.He also announced Telemundo Studios is already in pre-production of El Señor De Los Cielos 3. “It is a great achievement for Telemundo to create a franchise. It is the dream of any production house to make a product that the audience wants to watch again and again, and I hope we make a fourth and a fifth season,” added Mintz.