NBC Universal Telemundo introduces Tplus
January 14, 2022
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NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises announced the launch of Tplus, a new content brand designed to super serve the full spectrum of today’s U.S. Hispanics for years to come. Tplus content will launch on Peacock in the fall of 2022, featuring programming exclusively developed for the underserved 200%ERS® – audiences who are 100% American, and 100% Latino – and will be available on the streamer’s premium tier. Programming revealed today and additional titles in development to be announced later in the year include a wide range of Spanish and English-language entertainment, news, and sports content appealing to all U.S. Hispanic audiences.
By launching on Peacock, Tplus will be immediately available at scale to a wide range of audiences interested in Latino content, regardless of language. Tplus builds on Telemundo’s legacy of premium content and decade-long success providing original Latino titles to direct-to-consumer platforms. Tplus will reflect the richness and diversity of U.S. Hispanic experiences, through a wide range of scripted and unscripted programming tailored to Latino sensibilities across a number of genres and formats including true crime, coming of age stories, realities, investigations, documentaries, must-see live events, kids and family programs, world-class sports, news shows, and more.
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises also revealed initial streaming plans for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Telemundo will present live coverage of matches on Peacock—including the group stage, all knock-off stage World Cup matches, and the highly anticipated final – providing fans with a comprehensive destination for Telemundo’s most ambitious multimedia coverage of the World Cup in Spanish-language history.
“As the #1 producer of scripted Spanish-language content in the U.S., we are tapping into our deep production expertise and understanding of our audience to launch Tplus, the first and only content brand at scale focused on serving US Hispanics who feel 100% Latino and 100% American,” said Beau Ferrari, Chairman, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. “We are proud to partner with our colleagues at Peacock to unveil this innovative streaming offering and provide culturally-relevant entertainment, news and sports to reach the widest Hispanic audience possible across language, across genres and across platforms.”
“As the streaming home for Telemundo programming, we are focused on continuing to expand the Peacock catalog with premium content that resonates with Hispanic audiences everywhere,” said Matt Strauss, Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer and International. “By tapping into the expertise of our partners at Telemundo, we will provide customers with bold new originals, must-stream beloved franchises, and the biggest live sporting events that complement Peacock’s massive library of original, current, and classic movies and shows, as well as the best live news and sports, all in one place.”
To create a robust and inclusive programming slate, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises is partnering with Telemundo Streaming Studios as well as with leading creators and production companies including Red Arrow’s Kinetic Content and A3. In addition to the titles previewed today, the company announced a first look development deal with Bianca Quesada’s ARCUS Studios, a production company dedicated to “expanding the aperture of the Latina)e)o)x narrative.” Quesada is known for her work on Vida and previously served as a writer on American Crime and Star. The multi-year deal outlines an exclusive first look for NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises’ Tplus brand at all scripted and unscripted programming in both English and Spanish.
“The Tplus titles we introduced – along with many more in the pipeline – will resonate with diverse audiences who live their lives across language, countries, and cultures but always want to see the best stories come to life on screen,” said Romina Rosado, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Hispanic Streaming, NBC Universal Telemundo Enterprises. “Our unique connection with the wide range of U.S. Hispanic viewers, coupled with increased streaming consumption of more diverse, multilingual content, and Peacock’s scale will quickly position Tplus as the go-to destination for best-in-class Hispanic content.”
The new offering, part of NBCUniversal’s commitment to building Hispanic and diverse audiences, will leverage Telemundo’s capabilities to boost Peacock’s efforts to grow Latino subscribers on the streaming service. In addition to new Tplus premium content focused on 200%ERS®, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and Peacock announced a significant expansion of Spanish-language titles on the service, including multiple seasons of some of the network’s biggest and most beloved franchises such as Café con Aroma de Mujer, Yo Soy Betty la Fea, Operación Pacífico, Enemigo Íntimo, joining hits like Caso Cerrado, Celia, La Querida del Centauro, Al Otro Lado del Muro, and Malverde.
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises also announced that Telemundo owned stations will be launching their own local news streaming channels later this year to super serve Spanish dominant and bilingual local audiences in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and Puerto Rico.
Tplus PROGRAMMING HIGHLIGHTS COMING TO PEACOCK:
- Award-winning global music icon J Balvin’s candid revelations about his journey towards mental wellness remain a significant part of his legend. From Exile Content Studio and NBC News Studios, in “Gente Sana,” the Colombian-born artist pays his journey forward by visiting the homes of his closest friends, allowing viewers into an exclusive and intimate look at their worlds. A six-part docu-series, J Balvin leads the way through the backstories that shaped their lives, the challenges they’ve overcome, and how they continue to protect their happiness and find peace.
- Mysteries & Scandals (working title): A new Telemundo anthology docu-series developed in partnership with Stephen Land’s A3– the team behind runaway franchises like Snapped, American Murder Mystery, and Fatal Attraction – will conduct in depth investigations into some of the newsiest and most impactful stories in Latino pop culture.
- From Red Arrow’s Kinetic Content, the team behind Love is Blind, Married at First Sight, and Wife Swap, comes Young at Heart (working title). Is the grass greener on the other side? Deep in the heart of the legendary city of angels, three middle-aged LA-tino couples, all at a personal and emotional crossroads in their marriages, find themselves granted the wish of a lifetime. What will they do with the chance to turn back time and swap their current spouses for much younger partners for a month of real-life change? A powerful social and psychological experiment sparked by the current trend of “age-gap” couples, audiences will share in the discovery as to whether the original couples opt to remain together, for better or worse, or dare to embark on a new life alone or with a sexy new partner.
- In the series, Pulsaciones Spain’s greatest surgeon, Alex undergoes a transplant of his own with startling results. Able to see his donor’s memories, he decides to investigate the causes of his donor’s death, following clues he sees in flashbacks from his new heart. Along this extraordinary soul altering adventure, Alex encounters the people, both dangerous and benevolent, who may have been responsible for his donor’s death, including a woman who helps rewrite his lease on life.
- In Messi the singular life and achievements of sports icon Lionel Messi find a striking new context and impact in this unforgettable documentary film directed by acclaimed film director Alex de la Iglesia. A candid portrait crafted by a series of intimate sit-down interviews, Messi’s coaches, doctors, journalists, childhood friends, and teammates reveal the essence of who he is, on and off the ‘cancha’. An honest and heartfelt experience covering the hardships endured since childhood to the most significant moments of his storied existence, “Messi” stands tall as the definitive film about one of the greatest global soccer gods of all time.
- Following her monumental discovery of the elixir of youth, a scientist’s reunion with her high school sweetheart drudges up their many dilemmas and issues from the past in the series La Formula. After their encounter, the scientist makes the fateful decision to test the formula on herself, with each subsequent dose succeeding in making her 30 years younger. Inspired to live life by switching between her older and younger personas, she inadvertently becomes her own rival. Meanwhile, the scientist’s former boyfriend falls in love with both versions, unaware this love triangle involves the same woman.
- Promesas de Campaña offers a winding tale of swapped identities and political intrigue. When presidential favorite, Gregorio Cuartas, suffers a medical emergency leaving him unable to campaign, his team is forced to search for a replacement. Enter the humble taxi driver Leopoldo Chica – the perfect body double for Cuartas – who finds himself thrust into a foreign world as he steps into the campaign, and into Cuartas’ family life while he recovers. In his new role Chica learns the vice of politics, and the difference that a humble man could mean for a country.
- A medical series with a promise of hope, Cruzando Limites asks “what happens when something shatters in an adolescent’s mind?” Tosca Navarro is a psychiatrist and the head of a unit at the cutting edge of treating adolescents with mental disorders. No one else can see into fragile minds with such clarity and wit. But Tosca also holds a secret: a difficult past as a teenager with a personality disorder and a diagnosis of schizophrenia. In order to help her patients, Tosca must think outside the box, and do so quickly, before they cross the threshold of so-called normality.
- Armas de Mujer is a provocative new dramedy series from the creative team behind Telemundo’s blockbuster hit “La Reina del Sur.” Four women suffer their worst nightmare after the police arrest their husbands for being linked to the same criminal organization. Accustomed to a life of abundance, they now must join forces in the most unusual manner as they move from a carefree life of luxury to unleashing all their wiles and weapons to survive. The series features an all-star cast including Kate del Castillo (La Reina del Sur), Roselyn Sánchez (Devious Maids, Grand Hotel), Sylvia Sáenz (Betty en NY, 100 Días para Enamorarnos), and Jeimy Osorio (La Suerte de Loli, Betty en NY, Celia).
Tplus content addresses a critical gap in the entertainment marketplace. A new analysis commissioned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises with Parrot Analytics determined that undervaluing Latinx content costs Hollywood $7.8 billion annually. Studies have shown that Latinx characters are the most underrepresented comprising only 4% of characters, despite representing nearly 19% of the U.S. population. Among shows that center on Hispanic characters and stories, Latino audiences are often 50% or more of the average audience. The supply gap for Latino content in the marketplace is projected to further expand as demand for Latino content keeps outpacing total demand.
The initial Tplus programming slate and additional titles in development are anchored on the type of content that has performed best for Telemundo, NBCUniversal and the industry overall in streaming platforms among U.S. Hispanics. According to a recent Horowitz research study, Latinos are super streamers with 8 out of 10 households subscribing to at least one SVOD service. On average, Latino consumers are 14 years younger than the non-Hispanic white population. Driven by streaming video consumption, they spend more time per day on video through TV connected devices and video focused app usage than total adults.