Telemundo Solidifies #2 Position In February Sweep.

Telemundo announced it has solidified its position as the second largest viewed Spanish-language network in the U.S. among Hispanic adults 18-49. According to the February Sweeps ratings results published by Nielsen, the network delivered a 1.6 rating for the 24 hour period, and a 3.1 rating for primetime; 45% higher and 82% higher, respectively, than its closest competitor, Telefutura.

In prime time, Telemundo delivered a 3.1 rating among A18-49, a 15% increase versus the prior month; while Telefutura remained on par versus January ’05 and decreased 26% versus last year. Telemundo’s increase was led by the network’s 10 PM novella “Te Voy a Enseñar a Querer”, which showed significant gains of 50% year to year, successfully ratifying its 100% originally produced prime time strategy.

“These results are very encouraging and constitute a major success. Our team was able to deliver and execute our strategy day to day, month to month. We have proven we can deliver under challenging competitive conditions and that our strategy is the right one,” said Jim McNamara, President and CEO. “We are confident that the launch of our three upcoming novelas will continue our momentum as we head into May sweeps and the Upfront selling season.”

As it continues to reinvest in its daytime programming, Telemundo’s performance for this daypart improved as well, delivering a 22% gain versus the prior month. With the launch of two new shows, “Rocio” and “Caso Cerrado con Dra. Ana Maria Polo”, and the shift of the Globo-produced novellas to daytime at the beginning of the year, Telemundo delivered spectacular growth for this daypart outpacing Univision’s growth by more than four times, while Telefutura remained flat. At the same time, Telemundo maintained its traditional stronghold in early fringe with Laura and Al Rojo Vivo con Maria Celeste, as it continued to show dominance with a 31% percent share; more than double Telefutura’s share.

During the month of February, Telemundo continued its commitment to air the best of soccer with the “Rumbo al Mundial” Mexican National Team games, including Costa Rica vs. Mexico, which ranked the highest rated “Rumbo…” match this Broadcast Season to date; and Colombia vs. Mexico, which was the third highest rated “Rumbo…” match this Broadcast Season to date. These two matches averaged a 6.2 among A18-49 and a 7.7 with Men 18-49, which represented a 55% and a 57% gain respectively over the eleven season-to-date game average for “Rumbo al Mundial”.

On the news front, “Noticiero Telemundo” solidified its position delivering 24% growth versus prior year, while “Sin Fronteras” delivered 15% growth year over year.

At the station level, prime time showed a positive trend in New York, Miami and San Antonio, book-to-book and year to year. Local late news was also up, with a 25% increase in New York, 40% in Miami and 31% in Chicago among Hispanic households compared to last year’s February sweeps; and 54% in A18-49 in New York, year over year. Additionally, the five metered markets weighted average for Telemundo stations grew 17% for prime time and 30% for late news year to year among Hispanic households.

Source: NHTI, PAV Data, (Feb’05 ). (Galaxy Explorer)