‘Tr3s’ evolves with Wider Audience Targets.

Programming from Nickelodeon for teens and kids.

A racy telenovela imported from Colombia for the parents.

Oh, and there’s music programming ranging from award shows and Unplugged performances to the forlorn music video.

That’s what’s in store for viewers of the newly rechristened Tr3s, the Spanish-language entertainment network from Viacom that since September 2006 has been known as MTV Tr3s.

Officially, the channel – distributed via cable, satellite and over-the-air broadcast partners – will be known as Tr3s: MTV, Música y Más, starting July 12.

Thus, “MTV” is not disappearing from Tr3s but is instead being repositioned as a fundamental part of the channel’s overall program offerings. With Tr3s’
“evolution,” the network seeks to widen its audience from its base of 12-to-34 year olds by appealing to a new micro-core of 25-to-34 year olds.

At the same time, Tr3s hopes to win over Hispanic teens and children by airing two now-concluded Nickelodeon live-action comedies – “Drake and Josh” and “Brothers García.”

“Drake and Josh,” the launching pad for top teen actress Miranda Cosgrove (“iCarly”), enjoyed a hugely successful run on Nickelodeon from 2004 to 2008. The show centers on two vastly different high schoolers that become stepbrothers, and their mischievous little sister.

“Brothers García” originally aired on Nickelodeon from 2000 to 2004. A “quirky comedy about life in the sometimes wacky but always welcoming world of the Hispanic family,” the series features voice-over narration by actor John Leguizamo.

Additionally, Tr3s is bringing English-language episodes of “The George Lopez Show” into the fold. Nick at Nite will continue to air the highly successful program, which originally aired on ABC in prime-time, at different times as Tr3s.

José Tillán, executive vice president and general manager of Tr3s, insists his channel has not relaunched. Rather, he says it has simply responded to an ever-changing audience of Hispanics – just as the network did when it shifted to MTV Tr3s from its previous incarnation, MTV en Español.

“In the last three years the channel’s identity changed just as the market has changed,” Tillán tells HispanicAd. “Tr3s still has the content and values of MTV, but the channel is more than that. It will have original productions, variety and different content for different age groups. The bouquet of offerings in a bit grander than going only after the 18-34 audience.”

Tillán also stresses that Tr3s is not abandoning any particular demographic and instead is broadening its scope to attract a greater number of total viewers.

Planning for the latest incarnation of the Spanish-language youth-oriented music and entertainment channel began 18 months ago, as the Tr3s team sought to better understand its viewers and clients.

Through its research, Tillán found “three Ms” that define what Tr3s meant to its viewers. First and foremost was music, which expresses “the soul of Latinos,” he says. Then came the idea of “making it,” with programming focused on the success stories seen across Hispanic America. Third were “milestone” events for a young Latino, such as one’s graduation or Quinceañera celebration.

Tr3s will officially unveil its 2010-11 programming slate at an Upfront event set for Wednesday evening in New York. New to Tr3s is “Mis Videos Locos with Paul Rodriguez,” which Tillán stresses is not simply a Spanish-language version of ABC’s long-running “America’s Funniest Home Videos.” He notes, “It’s a unique show about Latino home videos, with a Latino twist to it.” Rodriguez will also forego a studio audience. Another Tr3s-produced program focuses on Mexican wrestling – “Lucha Libre: USA Masked Warriors.”

Also entering the Tr3s lineup is “Niñas Mal,” a MTVN Latin America/Sony Pictures telenovela about “the not best well-behaved girls who are put into a finishing school.” Set for a slot after 10pm is a racy RCN telenovela, “Juegos Prohibidos,” that enjoyed success in Colombia.

Also from RCN is the sitcom “Casados con Hijos,” a Latin American reworking of Fox’s raunchy late 1980s sitcom “Married … With Children.”

The rebranding of Tr3s comes as the network more closely aligns itself with MTV Networks’ Latin American properties. While Tillán retains his role as general manager, he will work more closely with John Mafoutsis, who expands his duties as senior vice president of brand solutions for MTVN Latin America and Canada to include Tr3s.

Tillán and Mafoutsis report to Sofia Ioannou, managing director of MTV Networks Latin America, U.S. Hispanic and Canada. Ioannou’s role grew to include Tr3s in early 2010. Among her accomplishments is the successful roll-out of the Nickelodeon Latin America teen telenovela “Isa TKM,” for which she served as Executive Producer of its first season.

By Adam Jacobson for HispanicAd.com