Telemundo acquires Tepuy International & 100% of Telemundo-RTI Productions.

Don Browne, President of Telemundo Communications Group, today announced that the network, a leading producer of innovative and high-quality content for Hispanics in the U.S., has acquired full ownership of Telemundo-RTI Productions to create Telemundo Studios Miami, LLC. The executive also announced Telemundo has agreed to purchase the operating assets of its current foreign distributor, Tepuy International Corp. and will create an in-house international division, called Telemundo Internacional. Under the agreements, Patricio Wills has been named President of Telemundo Television Studios, and, upon completion of the purchase, Marcos Santana, formerly President and COO of Tepuy, will become President, Telemundo Internacional. Both Wills and Santana will report directly to Browne.

“Taking full ownership of our Miami studios and our foreign distribution capabilities gives us great leverage in the industry to really manage our own destiny and competitively position Telemundo for future growth,” said Browne. “Most importantly, Patricio and Marcos have been an essential part of the talented team that has shaped our success today and we are delighted to have both of them as part of our NBC Telemundo family.”

Telemundo Studios Miami will continue to develop and produce novelas and other content for Telemundo Network, as well as seek opportunities to produce for other broadcasters in Latin America. Wills will continue to be responsible for leading the studios in-house development and maximizing quality and efficiency in production in order to enhance the network’s programming strategy. He will also continue to be responsible for all Telemundo production activities in the US, Mexico and Colombia, and work closely with Santana to develop co-production deals.

“I am very pleased with this change,” said Wills. “Telemundo is helping shape the Spanish-language industry of the future and I feel truly honored to be able provide my expertise and contribute in the network’s mission to entertain, inspire, and empower the Hispanic audience.”

The new Telemundo Internacional has been created to bring all of Telemundo’s foreign distribution efforts in-house, with Santana at the helm. In his new role, Santana is charged with overseeing all of the network’s content distribution efforts, as well as the company’s distribution services to other producers around the world, international co-productions and partnerships. Santana will continue to be involved in the network’s development process including identifying programming ideas and acquiring scripts and formats in the international market.

“I’m thrilled to have Tepuy and Telemundo join forces,” said Santana. “With the reputation and expertise we’ve built over the years at Tepuy and the power of the Telemundo brand, the new Telemundo Internacional will be an excellent resource to expand Telemundo’s presence in the global marketplace and offer other producers a greater marketing vehicle for their products.”

Wills formerly held the roles of President for Telemundo-RTI Productions and head of Production for Telemundo Studios. With almost three decades of television production experience, Wills partnered with Telemundo in 2003, after building RTI Colombia into one of the most important independent Spanish-language television producers in Latin America.

Santana founded Tepuy, an internationally renowned programming distributor of novelas, series, and reality shows. Having represented companies such as Caracol, Endemol, Gest Music and Promofilm, among many others, Santana has also successfully led co-production projects with some of the major production companies in the world.