Ricdamis García Of Telemundo: “Spanish-language Entertainment Is Going To Grow Exponentially In The U.S. In The Coming Years”

According to Ricdamis García, Senior Vice President of Entertainment and Specials at Telemundo, the future of Spanish-language entertainment in the U.S. “is very promising. I believe it will continue to evolve and grow with great strength because we are a population of over 66 million young Hispanics who live and consume content here in the U.S.”

García cited examples such as “our music” increasingly making its way into the Anglo market.

“We’ve seen it with Bad Bunny performing on NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and with comedian Marcelo, who is one of the main faces of the iconic Saturday Night Live. It’s all our Hispanic entertainment growing and developing in the U.S. We’ve also seen it with the Hollywood presence of Zoe Saldaña, who just won an Oscar for a film like Emilia Pérez. Hispanic entertainment in the U.S., made by Hispanics, is simply going to grow. It is gaining strength and taking on a very important role in our culture. Telemundo has a super important role in all of this, which is to offer our viewers front-row seats so they can witness everything happening live. Our slogan is, ‘You’re live, You’re on Telemundo. Don’t let anyone else tell you about it, because we have the front-row seats.’ That’s our role in this entertainment space that will grow exponentially in the U.S. in the coming years,” he stated.

LIVE TV: A WINDOW TO THE WORLD

When asked about the importance of live television, García commented, “It has the ability to be a window to the world and to document events as they happen. That’s something our biggest competitors—nowadays, the streaming platforms—cannot offer. They are our number one competition,” he said.

She cited as a recent example the coverage of the collapse of the Jet Set nightclub in the Dominican Republic, where numerous people died, including merengue singer Rubby Pérez.

“We had a correspondent on the scene, reporting, close to every family receiving the sad news that their loved one didn’t make it out. The artist’s funeral was broadcast here by Telemundo. Our viewers had the opportunity to witness everything firsthand during the eight hours of live programming we aired on Telemundo—HoyDía in the morning, En Casa con Telemundo in the afternoon, La Mesa Caliente, Al Rojo Vivo, plus all our local and national newscasts. That immediacy, that ability to be a window to the world and show you what’s happening—I believe in the success of live TV, and that’s what we’re heavily investing in here at Telemundo. And of course, my Entertainment Department produces those eight hours of programming. That’s our experience,” García explained.

He clarified that they’re not against streaming. On the contrary, “We work very hard, every day, to bring the content from live TV, from broadcast TV, to other platforms. We understand that some people can’t sit in front of the TV because of work, and they consume Telemundo’s content as a platform that fits their lifestyle. We even offer something extra to encourage them to come and watch it. The challenge is to make live TV and then develop other platforms so that no audience is left behind.”

TREND-BASED SEGMENTS

He mentioned that in Entertainment, they are constantly exploring new segments based on trends and trying to bring them to the audience.

“In HoyDía we have a segment where women debate against men. We saw that it worked and that it has become a good trend. We created another segment where men debate with women. The trend of shows where people can freely express themselves and share their opinions is doing very well right now because information is available in so many places. What we offer that’s different is who gives you the information and what opinions these personalities or stars at Telemundo have. These trends work especially well when there’s variety in opinions and differing points of view, as happens in La Mesa Caliente, which is doing very well,” he noted.

EVOLUTION

García said the Entertainment area has evolved “a lot” in his 19 years at Telemundo.

“I remember when we only had one or two shows that included entertainment: Al Rojo Vivo, which was news-based but had entertainment, and Suelta La Sopa, a program that was very successful. The evolution has been so great that today we have four hours of HoyDía in the morning, with a strong focus on entertainment; En Casa con Telemundo—two hours in the afternoon, which has been very successful; La Mesa Caliente and the legendary Al Rojo Vivo, both of which have entertainment content in addition to special programs. We’re currently producing 12 or more specials a year that are heavily entertainment-focused. I’m excited because Telemundo’s entertainment production has evolved significantly. The results from the first quarter of the year support what we’re doing. The audience is responding well, and to me that’s the most important thing—and I know it’s also the most important thing for Telemundo,” he emphasized.

PARTNERSHIP WITH NBC

García referred to the growing collaboration with their sister network NBC on special programs.

“In recent years, our collaboration with NBC’s specials division has been incredible. In December, we produced the Rockefeller Center tree lighting for the first time. It aired simultaneously in English on NBC and in Spanish on Telemundo—something we were already doing with the Thanksgiving Day Parade. All of that will continue to grow in 2025. And one of the things that makes me very happy is that we’re also going to collaborate on the New Year’s Eve special, which Telemundo has had a strong track record with over the past three years. That partnership with NBC is growing tremendously,” he said.