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Obitel2015-ingles-Cap.UY.pdf
Rosario Sánchez VilelaRelated papers
Television in Latin America Is “Everywhere”: Not Dead, Not Dying, but Converging and Thriving
Media and Communication, 2016
In Latin America, the now-venerable expression “the end of television” itself looks old, tired, and flawed: markets, cultures, politics, and policies alike find television more alive than ever, albeit in its usual state of technological, institutional, and textual flux. Advertising investment in TV continues to increase, governments still use television to promote generalized propaganda as well as their daily agendas, football on screen remains wildly popular, and fiction programs, most notably telenovelas, dominate prime time and draw large audiences aged between 25 and 60. While younger viewers watch television on a wider variety of screens and technologies, and do so at differing times, the discourse of TV remains an important referent in their audiovisual experiences. In addition, across age groups, divides persist between a minority with routine high-quality access to the digital world of technology and information and a majority without alternatives to the traditional audiovis...
" TV TRANSFORMED " IN BRAZILIAN TELEVISION FICTION
As expected, the deep political and economic crisis experienced by the country in 2015 has affected various segments in the audiovisual field. Paradoxically, however, the dynamism of the television industry in this year has rarely been matched in the past: Globo celebrated its 50th anniversary and Record aired its most successful fiction show of recent times. This ambivalent scenario has led to an extremely interesting synthesis: even in the midst of the crisis (or to survive it), certain trends observed in previous years have been reinforced, such as an increasing adherence to new forms of production, distribution and consumption of TV fiction, like on demand content and mobile applications, the predominance of a “cycle of short stories,” with new formats of television fiction, in addition to the continuous profusion of national productions on pay TV. This has led us to reflect more deeply on the presence of “TV transformed” in Brazil – in both content and forms of production, consumption and interaction – created precisely as a response in times of crisis, via the expansion and consolidation of these trends.
Transnationalization of Television Fiction in Ibero-American Countries
The present OBITEL Yearbook is the sixth of a series started in the year 2007, and it reflects the maturity of a methodological model that combines quantitative study with the contextual analysis of television fiction, its transmediation into other screens and the sociocultural dynamics that are circumscribed to each of the different member countries. OBITEL is made up of eleven national research groups that throughout a year systematically monitor fiction shows that are broadcast through open television channels in their respective countries. The results of this monitoring are presented through the singularities and tendencies of fiction in each country. In addition, every OBITEL yearbook has a comparative chapter that provides a general panorama of the member countries. Fiction, as industry and format, is one of the most representative cultural and media products of television in Ibero-America. Its cultural, symbolic tradition is a place of agreement and disagreement that is now the setting not only of the main characters' loves and intimate secrets in the telenovelas and series, but also that of public life, politics, the citizenship, since ever more fiction anchors its narrative on the multiple problems that affect us as a region and at the same time separate us as countries. The Obitel countries decided to make the theme of " transnationalization in the fiction television " the topic of the year for this 2012 Yearbook, with the objective of mapping the characteristics of the transnational flows among and outside the countries participating in this project. OBITEL 2012 reflected on the three spheres where the transnational element makes an impact or is reflected: the industry, the contents and the flows and audiences.
Popular Cinema/Quality Television A New Paradigm for the Mexican Mediascape
Maria Delgado et al (eds), A Companion to Latin American Cinema (Malden and Oxford: Wiley Blackwell), 285-93., 2017
This article argues for a shifting mediascape in Mexico whereby cinema, once the preserve of cultural distinction, has become popular; and television, once despised as trash, has taken on the attributes of quality. It gives a general account of the media context in contemporary Mexico and of a recent studies of film and TV; and then offers case studies of three popular feature films (in the genre of romantic comedy) and three quality TV series (in the genres of police, workplace, and prison drama). Finally it suggests that in an age of convergence, where professionals move fluidly between media, academics also should embrace the new paradigm in which cinema and television have, in Mexico as elsewhere, changed places with one another as the audiovisual habitus changes.
Media Production Practices: Behind the Scenes of Colombian Public Service Television
The Western tradition of public service media usually takes for granted the benefits of having an independent, pluralist media among democratic societies, because of its important contributions to the illustration of the citizens and therefore, their participation in debates about topics in the public interest. However, in some countries where this standpoint is accepted, reality is not close to this ideal. This is the case of Colombia, where there are two public national television stations, one of them with 43 years on air, but still with a very low impact on viewer’s construction of political and contextual reality. These two channels are fully funded by the Colombian government, a fact that has shaped their production dynamics, as well as the ways producers choose representations and formats to reconfigure reality. Those representations seem not to be appealing to audiences, since ratings are exceptionally low, in spite of the programs they show that have been worldly awarded. This situation reveals a paradox between academic discourses on public service production, which glorify the quality of the programmes even when they don’t have a representative amount of viewers, and those discourses by audiences, which state that public television is a need for improving their quality of life. These particularities of the Colombian context will be analysed under the narrative paradigm and the affect theory; the former states that translating experiences or ideas into stories, would reinforce the experience of communication for every actor involved in the process, and the latter states that humans tend to experience the same affect that other person they're watching is experiencing, and that it is through affection that communication can be more effective. Thus, we will intend to provide a comprehension on how producers imagine their audience and produce audiovisual texts according to that preconceived idea of their viewers. http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/media/postgraduate/postgraduate-research-news-1/ndimr2014-newsletter
TV fiction in Argentina 2011 -2016: state financing and the crisis of private production
The production of TV fiction in Argentina, as elsewhere in the region, was historically characterized by geographic centralization in a few urban centers. As of 2009, the National State introduced a disruption through a set of public promotion plans for the federal content production, with the aim of diversifying the players involved in this activity. The change in the Government’s leadership in December 2015 modified the logic of these promotion plans, leaving them unfinished. The objective of this work is to produce empirical knowledge and interpretations that allow recognizing the achievements and limitations of state intervention in this market, in view of an evaluation of this public policy and its impact in industrial and cultural terms. This work frames the policy of state promotion in the broader context of the productive crisis that the local TV fiction industry is going through.
TELEVISION FICTION IN BRAZIL: TOWARDS 360° PRODUCTION AND VIEWING
The year 2016 was marked by the deterioration of the economic crisis started in 2015 and the spread of corruption scandals at all political levels, culminating in the institutional breakdown represented by the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. Running counter to the mood of uncertainty and political and economic disputes, free-to-air TV showed positive and unexpected dynamism in the production of fiction. Genres and formats were continuously explored, enhancing trends identified by OBITEL in previous years. Examples include the production, distribution and consumption of transmedia fiction and on demand content, the offer of mobile devices and the constant release of a host of series and miniseries over the year, not only on free-to-air TV, but also on pay TV and the internet. Such dynamism evokes a communication strategy from the early 2000s in which press services, web content management, editorial production, marketing, advertising and public relations no longer worked separately, but in an integrated manner that covered communications as a whole, called 360º at the time. With the convergence of different media, transmedia strategies in TV fiction and the outpour of UGC (user-generated content), we retrieve the notion of a comprehensive spread of content expanding in both production and viewing.
DYNAMICS OF THE BRAZILIAN TELEVISION FICTION IN THE MULTICHANNEL TRANSITION 1
Within a scenario of slow economic recovery combined with the worsening of the political crisis, the audiovisual overview in 2017 repeated the contradiction, and it even strengthened, the dynamics verified the previous year. Investments in the areas of creation, production, distribution, and marketing have led to a rapid and growing presence of fictional products and formats in different channels, whether in open television, paid, digital channels, streaming and mobile devices. It would be possible to call this a scenario of multichannel transition, which is characterized by the coexistence of television fiction (its genres and formats) in broadcasting/post-broadcasting channels and in network/post-network channels. We exemplify with the production of a series that premieres on Globo Play with a start allocation in out-of-network (or post-network) channel with all the episodes of the first season, which allows to watch it in a marathon or at the time the user wants to. After awhile, we check its reallocation in a narrowcasting network - Mais Globosat - a paid channel, already with a time slot, and some advertising breaks. Soon after, the same series has other open channel relocation (broadcasting) - Globo - with weekly frequency and extended commercial intervals. We observe this new production logic (Martín-Barbero, 2001), to be implemented in the country, based on the dynamics of the audiovisual context in 2017.
Towards a new TV canon: the recent history of Spanish TV fiction created for VOD (2016-2020)
Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 2022
Introduction. This paper analyzes the current state of the production of serial Spanish TV fiction for Video on demand platforms, from a canonical perspective that allows to establish common characteristics and patterns in serial products of Spanish TV production of VOD platforms and that offers the possibility of outlining a recent history of Spanish TV fiction created to be broadcast in the streaming universe. Metodology. Based on a mixed methodology that combines qualitative analysis with quantitative data, the article analyzes 60 series created for the most far-reaching platforms in Spain and establishes patterns on forms, styles and narrative issues. Results. The results point to a growing interest in the production of Spanish fiction for VOD with its own productive characteristics, which mark the new way of making Spanish fiction, Discussion and Conclusions. Despite the fact that little innovation and transgression is evident in terms of narrations and stories refers, this paper reveals a nascent productive canon that is repeated and that establishes a personal stamp that benefits the reception of Spanish fiction on VOD platforms.
Ibero-AmerIcAn observAtory
of televIsIon fIctIon
obItel 2015
Gender relAtIons In
televIsIon fIctIon
Ibero-AmerIcAn observAtory
of televIsIon fIctIon
obItel 2015
Gender relAtIons In
televIsIon fIctIon
Maria Immacolata Vassallo de Lopes
Guillermo Orozco Gómez
General Coordinators
Morella Alvarado, Gustavo Aprea, Fernando Aranguren,
Alexandra Ayala-Marín, Catarina Burnay, Borys Bustamante,
Giuliana Cassano, Pamela Cruz Páez, James Dettleff,
Francisco Fernández, Francisco Hernández, Pablo Julio,
Mónica Kirchheimer, Charo Lacalle, Pedro Lopes,
Maria Cristina Mungioli, Guillermo Orozco Gómez, Juan Piñón,
Rosario Sánchez, Luisa Torrealba and
Maria Immacolata Vassallo de Lopes
National Coordinators
© Globo Comunicação e Participações S.A., 2015
Capa: Letícia Lampert
Projeto gráico e editoração: Niura Fernanda Souza
Produção editorial: Felícia Xavier Volkweis
Revisão, leitura de originais: Felícia Xavier Volkweis
Revisão gráica: Niura Fernanda Souza
Editores: Luis Antônio Paim Gomes, Juan Manuel Guadelis Crisafulli
Foto de capa: Louie Psihoyos. High-definition televisions in the information era.
Librarian: Denise Mari de Andrade Souza – CRB 10/960
G325
Gender relations in television fiction: 2015 Obitel yearbook / general coordinators Maria Immacolata Vassallo de Lopes and Guillermo Orozco Gómez.
-- Porto Alegre: Sulina, 2015.
526 p.; il.
ISBN: 978-85-205-0738-4
1. Television – Programs. 2. Fiction – Television. 3. Programs Television –
Ibero-American. 4. Media. 5. Television – Gender Relations. I. Lopes, Maria
Immacolata Vassallo de. II. Gómez, Guillermo Orozco.
CDU: 654.19
659.3
CDD: 301.161
791.445
Direitos desta edição adquiridos por Globo Comunicação e Participações S.A.
Editora Meridional Ltda.
Av. Osvaldo Aranha, 440 cj. 101 – Bom Fim
Cep: 90035-190 – Porto Alegre/RS
Fone: (0xx51) 3311.4082
Fax: (0xx51) 2364.4194
www.editorasulina.com.br
e-mail: sulina@editorasulina.com.br
July/2015
Index
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................. 9
OBITEL NATIONAL RESEARCH TEAMS ............................................. 11
EDITOR’S NOTE ........................................................................................... 15
METHODOLOGICAL NOTE ...................................................................... 19
FIRST PART
FICTION IN THE IBERO-AMERICAN SPACE IN 2014
Comparative synthesis of Obitel countries in 2014...................................... 25
Maria Immacolata Vassallo de Lopes and Guillermo Orozco Gómez
1. Audiovisual context in Obitel countries ............................................ 26
2. Comparison of television iction in
Ibero-American countries in 2014 ..................................................... 38
3. The top ten TV ictions in the year .................................................... 50
4. Transmedia reception in Obitel countries.......................................... 61
5. Highlights of the year in Obitel countries ......................................... 66
6. Theme of the year: gender relations
in the television iction ...................................................................... 69
SECOND PART
FICTION IN OBITEL COUNTRIES IN 2014
1.
ARGENTINA: the success of foreign iction and
the little charm of national iction ....................................................... 81
Authors: Gustavo Aprea and Mónica Kirchheimer
Team: María Belzunces, María Victoria Bourdieu, Victoria De Michele,
Noelia Morales, Laura Oszust, Ezequiel Rivero
1. Argentina’s audiovisual context in 2014 ........................................... 81
2. Analysis of the year: national and
Ibero-American premiere iction ....................................................... 90
3. Transmedia reception ........................................................................ 99
4. Highlights of the year ...................................................................... 103
5. Theme of the year: gender relations
in the television iction ................................................................... 106
2.
BRAZIL: a time of Brazilian series?................................................. 113
Authors: Maria Immacolata Vassallo de Lopes and
Maria Cristina Palma Mungioli
Team: Clarice Greco, Fernanda Castilho Santana, Helen Suzuki,
Ligia Maria Prezia Lemos, Luiza Lusvarghi, Rafaela Bernardazzi,
Rosana Mauro, Sílvia Dantas, Tomaz Penner
1. Brazil’s audiovisual context in 2014 ............................................... 113
2. Analysis of the year: national and
Ibero-American premiere iction ..................................................... 124
3. Transmedia reception ...................................................................... 136
4. Highlights of the year ...................................................................... 140
5. Theme of the year: gender relations in the
television iction ............................................................................. 147
3.
CHILE: the Turkish conquest of the screen .................................... 155
Authors: Pablo Julio, Francisco Fernández, Constanza Mujica,
Ingrid Bachman and David Osorio
Team: Verónica Silva
1. Chile’s audiovisual context in 2014 ................................................ 155
2. Analysis of the year: national and
Ibero-American premiere iction ..................................................... 164
3. Transmedia reception ...................................................................... 175
4. Highlights of the year ...................................................................... 177
5. Theme of the year: gender relations in the
television iction .............................................................................. 181
4.
COLOMBIA: genre in discord .......................................................... 189
Authors: Borys Bustamante Bohórquez and Fernando Aranguren Díaz
Team: Hernán Javier Riveros Solórzano and Diana María Lozano Prat
1. Colombia’s audiovisual context in 2014 ......................................... 189
2. Analysis of the year: national and
Ibero-American premiere iction ..................................................... 199
3. Transmedia reception ...................................................................... 208
4. Highlights of the year ...................................................................... 212
5. Theme of the year: gender relations in the
television iction .............................................................................. 215
5.
ECUADOR: iction, between sanctions
and gender stereotypes ....................................................................... 225
Authors: Alexandra Ayala-Marín and Pamela J. Cruz Páez
Team: Juan Camilo Molina, Jorge Miño, Andrés Valarezo
1. Ecuador’s audiovisual context in 2014............................................ 225
2. Analysis of the year: national and
Ibero-American premiere iction ..................................................... 235
3. Transmedia reception ...................................................................... 246
4. Highlights of the year ...................................................................... 249
5. Theme of the year: gender relations in the
television iction .............................................................................. 253
6.
MEXICO: the power of TV in the crosshairs. TV iction between
presidential elections and audience activation ................................ 261
Authors: Guillermo Orozco, Gabriela Gómez, Darwin Franco,
Adrien Charlois and Francisco Hernández
1. Mexico’s audiovisual context in 2014............................................. 261
2. Analysis of the year: national and
Ibero-American premiere iction ..................................................... 269
3. Transmedia reception ...................................................................... 281
4. Highlights of the year ...................................................................... 286
5. Theme of the year: gender relations in the
television iction .............................................................................. 289
7.
PERU: iction losing ground .............................................................. 297
Authors: James A. Dettleff, Giuliana Cassano and Guillermo Vásquez F.
Team: Rogger Vergara, Andrea Bernales, Thalia Dancuart,
Megumi Fukuhara, Rodolfo Pesantes, Nataly Vergara, Diego Vives
1. Peru’s audiovisual context in 2014.................................................. 297
2. Analysis of the year: national and
Ibero-American premiere iction ..................................................... 306
3. Transmedia reception ...................................................................... 316
4. Highlights of the year ...................................................................... 320
5. Theme of the year: gender relations in the
television iction .............................................................................. 323
8.
PORTUGAL: an industry specialized
in the long-running format ................................................................ 331
Authors: Catarina Duff Burnay, Pedro Lopes and Marta Neves de Sousa
1. Portugal’s audiovisual context in 2014 ........................................... 331
2. Analysis of the year: national and
Ibero-American premiere iction ..................................................... 342
3. Transmedia reception ...................................................................... 353
4. Highlights of the year ...................................................................... 357
5. Theme of the year: gender relations in the
television iction .............................................................................. 360
9.
SPAIN: the internationalization of iction ........................................ 365
Authors: Charo Lacalle, Deborah Castro and Mariluz Sánchez
Team: Marc Bellmunt, Beatriz Gómez, Belén Granda, Karina Tiznado,
Carlos Sanandrés, Marta Albújar, Berta Trullàs, Paola Cabrera,
Carlos Toural
1. Spain’s audiovisual context in 2014 ................................................ 365
2. Analysis of the year: national and
Ibero-American premiere iction ..................................................... 376
3. Transmedia reception ...................................................................... 391
4. Highlights of the year ...................................................................... 394
5. Theme of the year: gender relations in the
television iction .............................................................................. 397
10.
UNITED STATES: the Hispanic
television industry in a crossroad ...................................................... 405
Authors: Juan Piñón, María de los Ángeles Flores and Tanya Cornejo
1. United States’ audiovisual context in 2014 ..................................... 405
2. Analysis of the year: national and
Ibero-American premiere iction ..................................................... 413
3. Transmedia reception ...................................................................... 424
4. Highlights of the year ...................................................................... 428
5. Theme of the year: gender relations in the
television iction .............................................................................. 430
11.
URUGUAY: A wishful law. Between rules and production ........... 437
Author: Rosario Sánchez Vilela
Team: Paula Santos, Lucía Allegro, Eugenia Armúa
1. Uruguay’s audiovisual context in 2014 ........................................... 437
2. Analysis of the year: national and
Ibero-American premiere iction ..................................................... 449
3. Transmedia reception ...................................................................... 459
4. Highlights of the year ...................................................................... 462
5. Theme of the year: gender relations in the
television iction .............................................................................. 465
12.
VENEZUELA: telenovela turned red .............................................. 475
Authors: Morella Alvarado Miquilena and Luisa Torrealba Mesa
Team: Zicri Colmenares, Pedro de Mendonca
1. Venezuela’s audiovisual context in 2014 ........................................ 475
2. Analysis of the year: national and
Ibero-American premiere iction ..................................................... 487
3. Transmedia reception ...................................................................... 498
4. Highlights of the year ...................................................................... 503
5. Theme of the year: gender relations in the
television iction .............................................................................. 503
APPENDIX: TOP TEN TV FICTION IN
OBITEL COUNTRIES ................................................................................ 511
This Yearbook is a result of a partnership between Globo
Universidade and Ibero-American Television Fiction Observatory
(Obitel) started in 2008. The Observatory aims to analyze the production, audience and sociocultural repercussion of television fiction in Latin America and in the Iberian Peninsula, throughout publications and seminars.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Publications:
Obitel Yearbook 2008: global markets, local stories
Obitel Yearbook 2009: television fiction in Ibero-America: narratives, formats and advertising;
Obitel Yearbook 2010: convergences and transmediation of the
television fiction
Obitel Yearbook 2011: quality in television fiction and audiences’ transmedia interactions
Obitel Yearbook 2012: transnationalization of television fiction
in Ibero-American countries
Obitel Yearbook 2013: social memory and television fiction in
Ibero-American countries
Obitel Yearbook 2014: transmedia production strategies in
television fiction
Obitel Yearbook 2015: gender relations in television fiction
About Globo:
Besides publications, Globo supports researches and promotes
courses and seminars in partnership with Brazilian and foreign institutions about themes considered relevant for society in the communication, arts, management, technology, and citizenship areas.
obItel nAtIonAl reseArch teAms
General Coordinators
Maria Immacolata Vassallo de Lopes
(Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil)
Guillermo Orozco Gómez (Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico)
ARGENTINA
Gustavo Aprea (Universidad
Nacional de General
Sarmiento and Universidad
Nacional de las Artes) and
Mónica Kirchheimer (Universidad de Buenos Aires and
Universidad Nacional de las
Artes), national coordinators;
Ezequiel Rivero (Universidad
Nacional de Quilmes), María
Victoria Bourdieu (Universidad Nacional de General
Sarmiento), María Belzunces, Victoria De Michele,
Noelia Morales, Laura
Oszust (Universidad de Buenos Aires), collaborators.
BRAZIL
Maria Immacolata Vassallo de
Lopes (Universidade de São
Paulo), national coordinator;
Maria Cristina Palma Mungioli
(Universidade de São Paulo),
national vice-coordinator;
Cláudia Freire, Clarice Greco,
Fernanda Castilho, Helen
Emy Nochi Suzuki, Ligia
Maria Prezia Lemos, Luiza Lusvarghi, Rafaela
Bernardazzi, Rosana Mauro,
Sílvia Dantas, Tomaz Penner
(Universidade de São Paulo),
research associates;
Amanda Faria de Oliveira,
Caio Treft, Kyara Castro,
Lucas Martins Néia (CETVN – Centro de Estudos de
Telenovela da Escola de Comunicações e Artes da
Universidade de São Paulo),
research assistants.
CHILE
Pablo Julio Pohlhammer (Pontificia Universidad Católica
de Chile), national coordinator;
Francisco Fernández (Pontificia Universidad Católica de
Chile), national vice-coordinator;
Constanza Mujica, Ingrid
Bachman, David Osorio (Pontificia Universidad
Católica de Chile), research
associates;
Verónica Silva, independent
researcher.
COLOMBIA
Borys Bustamante Bohórquez
and Fernando Aranguren
Díaz (Universidad Distrital
Francisco José de Caldas),
national coordinators;
Hernán Javier Riveros (Universidad Distrital Francisco
José de Caldas), research
associate;
Diana María Lozano Prat
(Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas), research assistant.
ECUADOR
Alexandra Ayala-Marín (Universidad Tecnológica Equi
noccial), national coordinator;
Pamela J. Cruz (Universidad
Tecnológica Equinoccial),
national co-coordinator;
Juan Camilo Molina, Andrés
Valarezo Quevedo, Jorge
Miño (Universidad Tecnológica Equinoccial),
teacher researchers.
MEXICO
Guillermo Orozco Gómez and
Francisco Hernández Lomelí
(Universidad de Guadalajara), national coordinators;
Darwin Franco Migues, Gabriela Gómez Rodríguez,
Adrien Charlois Allende
(Universidad de Guadalajara), research associates.
PERU
James A. Dettleff and Giuliana
Cassano (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú),
national coordinators;
Guillermo Vásquez F. (Pontificia Universidad Católica
del Perú), research associate;
Rogger Vergara, Nataly Vergara, Thalia Dancuart,
Megumi Fukuhara, Diego
Vives, Andrea Bernales,
Rodolfo Pesantes (Pontificia Universidad Católica del
Perú), research assistants.
PORTUGAL
Catarina Duff Burnay (Univer-
sidade Católica Portuguesa),
national coordinator;
Pedro Lopes (Universidade
Católica Portuguesa), national vice-coordinator;
Marta Neves de Sousa (Universidade Católica Portuguesa),
research associate.
SPAIN
Charo Lacalle Zalduendo (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), national coordinator;
Deborah Castro Mariño, María
Luz Sánchez Ares (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), research associates;
Marc Bellmunt Soler, Belén
Granda Otero, Beatriz Gómez Morales, Karina Tiznado Armentia, Carlos
Sanandrés Martínez, Marta
Albujar Villarrubia, Berta
Trullàs Berasategui, Paola
Cabrera Escobar (Universitat
Autònoma de Barcelona),
collaborators.
UNITED STATES
Juan Piñon (New York University), national coordinator;
María Flores (Texas A&M
International University),
research associate;
Tanya Cornejo (Telemundo
and NBC-Universo Networks), research assistant.
URUGUAY
Rosario Sánchez Vilela (Universidad Católica del Uruguay), national coordinator;
Paula Santos Vizcaíno (Universidad Católica del Uruguay),
national vice-coordinator;
Lucía Allegro, Eugenia Armúa
(Universidad Católica del
Uruguay), research assistants.
VENEZUELA
Morella Alvarado Miquilena
(Universidad Central de Venezuela), national coordinator;
Luisa Torrealba (Universidad
Central de Venezuela), national co-coordinator;
Pedro de Mendonca, Zicri
Colmenares (Universidad
Central de Venezuela), research assistants.
11
uruGuAy: A wIshful lAw.
between rules And ProductIon
Author:
Rosario Sánchez Vilela
Team:
Paula Santos, Lucía Allegro, Eugenia Armúa
1. Uruguay’s audiovisual context in 2014
The lack of TV fiction own production and the commitment
to elaborate local products of various entertainment formats constitute the most distinctive features of open television in 2014, a year
in which the channels have a certain homogeneity in their strategies regarding domestic outputs. Government communication policies, particularly when referring to legislation and incentives, have
stressed the need for producing Uruguayan television fiction: 2014
was the year in which the Law on Audiovisual Communication
Services was passed, establishing the requirement that every TV
channel should release two hours of national television fiction and
cinema per week; paradoxically, it was the year in which there was
a total absence of production. It seems to be an asymmetry between
the communication policies set forth and the production decisions
of the actors involved in commercial and public television network.
Furthermore, digital television channels that promised to include
national fiction in their projects are not working.
However, audiovisual production in Uruguay has not been idle:
filming of television series and foreign movies employing Uruguayan audiovisual producers were made; some TV series publicly
438 | Obitel 2015
funded were filmed. Concerning national cinema, 14 movies were
released in the year, and half of them are fictions.
1.1. Open television in Uruguay
The composition of the Uruguayan open television remained
the same as in previous years. Despite announcements of installing new channels from the allocation of digital television signals
in 2013, during 2014 these initiatives failed to materialize and the
system continued to consist of three private channels and a public
network.
Chart 1. National broadcast TV chains/channels in Uruguay
PRIVATE CHAINS/ CHANNELS (3)
PUBLIC CHAINS/ CHANNELS (1)
Montecarlo TV, Channel 4
TNU, Channel 5
Saeta TV, Channel 10
Teledoce, Channel 12
TOTAL CHANNELS = 4
1.2. Audience trends in 20141
Rating and share data confirm the downward trend of open
television audience that has been seen over the last years. While in
2013 a rating of 22.4% and a share of 61% were recorded, in 2014
the audience fall several points: 18.7% and 58% of rating and share,
respectively. While this decline affected all channels’ audience, Teledoce leads the drop.
1
This chapter was produced from data provided by Ibope Media Uruguay to whom we
thank for the contribution, especially the collaboration of Carolina Arigón and Valentina
Cal. Ibope measurements are made on a universe of 1,198,541 individuals and 470,687
homes.
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 439
Graph 1. TV audience per broadcasting station
Teledoce, Chan6%
nel 12
40%
22%
Saeta, Channel
10
Montecarlo,
32%
Channel 4
TNU, Channel 5
Broadcasting
Home
station
audience
Teledoce, Channel
7.4
12
Saeta, Channel 10
5.9
Montecarlo,
4.2
Channel 4
TNU, Channel 5
1.2
TOTAL
18.7
%
39.6
31.6
22.5
6.4
100.0
Source: Obitel Uruguay on Ibope Media data
Graph 2. Share per broadcasting station
Teledoce, Chan7%
22%
nel 12
40%
Saeta, Channel
10
Montecarlo,
31%
Channel 4
TNU, Channel 5
Broadcasting
station
Teledoce, Channel
12
Saeta, Channel 10
Montecarlo,
Channel 4
TNU, Channel 5
TOTAL
Home
share
%
23
39.7
18
31.0
13
22.4
4
6.9
58
100.0
Source: Obitel Uruguay on Ibope Media data
In relation to the total supply of programming during 2014, of all
kinds and origins, the Ibero-American television fiction occupied the
first place in the audience preferences. So, Avenida Brasil (Brazil),
Rastros de Mentiras (Brazil) and Guapas (Argentina) were placed
in the top three, well above television fictions from other countries,
including successful American series, such as CSI. Programs ranked
fourth in preference were newscasts, especially those of Teledoce
and Saeta Channel 10, with a rating of 16.8% and 14.8%, respectively. Another choice of the audience was entertainment. This is the
genre that prevailed among the most watched programs2: of the top
ten, five fall into this category, four Uruguayan and one foreign.
2
The criterion chosen to build this ranking was taking into account the programs of more
than ten emissions.
440 | Obitel 2015
These trends must be understood in the context of the programming offer, according to Graph 3. In this sense, it can be seen some
concordance between the audience data and the offer volume: the
highest percentages of air time corresponded to fiction (28.3%), entertainment (27.6 %) and news (23.3%).
Graph 3. Genre offer in TV schedule
Exhibit
hours
%
Fiction
8939:08
28.3
Entertainment
8722:48
27.6
News
7353:30
23.3
Others
1740:23
5.5
Documentaries
1505:14
4.8
Sports
1148:44
3.6
Religious
660:12
2.1
Rural
507:13
1.6
Infotainment
375:17
1.2
Specials
299:14
0.9
Health
Health
168:12
0.5
Education
Education
124:44
0.4
Elections
Elections
76:00
0.2
31620:39
100.0
Genres
transmitted
0.9
1.6 1.2
2.1
3.6
4.8
Fiction
0.5
0.4
Entertainment
0.2
News
Others
28.3
5.5
Documentaries
Sports
27.6
23.3
Religious
Rural
Infotainment
Specials
Total
Source: Obitel Uruguay on Ibope Media data
National production offer in the programming per genre
News
1.0 0.7
0.7
1.4
1.9
0.4
2.2
2.9
5.0
7.0
Entertainment
Others
0.2
42.5
Sports
Rural
Infotainment
Documentaries
Specials
34.0
Health
Education
Fiction
Elections
Religious
Genres
transmitted
Exhibit
hours
%
News
7341:25
42.5
Entertainment 5860:26:00 34.0
Others
1211:29
7.0
Sports
870:50
5.0
Rural
507:39
2.9
Infotainment
375:17
2.2
Documen331:08
1.9
taries
Specials
248:00
1.4
Health
168:12
1.0
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 441
Education
Fiction
Elections
Religion
123:16
121:35
76:00
30:44
0.7
0.7
0.4
0.2
TOTAL
17266:01
100.0
Source: Obitel Uruguay on Ibope Media data
Overall it is observed an increase in the number of hours devoted to domestic production: from 13,720 hours 03 minutes in 2013
to 17,266 hours 01 minute in 2014, which means that this year, in
terms of percentage of domestic production, it constituted 55% of
the total broadcasted hours. The analysis of domestic production
offered by genre reveals that news and entertainment are the predominant: they constitute 76% of the time taken. This dominance
has been recorded in prior years, but in 2014 there was an increase
in their screen rates: while in 2013 news and entertainment occupied 39.5% and 29.5% respectively, in 2014 they covered 42.5%
and 33.9% of total broadcasted hours. It also increased the volume
of hours devoted to sports (200 hours more than the previous year).
The explanation for some of these variations can be found in
two particular circumstances that marked the rhythm of 2014: it
was an election year, which expanded the duration of newscasts and
news programs, in addition to the hours spent on transmissions of
election days and television chains (76 hours are recorded in this
category); it was FIFA World Cup year, which also explained the
growth of sports. On the contrary, the increase in the hours devoted
to entertainment is explained by the commitment of the TV channels
to produce and set programming in this genre to the detriment of
other options. Consequently, a small percentage of domestic fiction
is recorded, while the largest producer in recent years, Saeta Channel 10, changed its production and programming strategy, abandoning own-production fictions. None of the commercial channels
broadcasted national fiction. The public channel, TNU, issued 121
hours 35 minutes (0.7%) of Uruguayan films and repetitions.
442 | Obitel 2015
1.3. Advertising investments of the year: in TV and fiction
The precise economic data on the advertising investment in
2014 was difficult to assess and it was not possible to obtain exact
figures in money terms. However, according to the time devoted to
advertising, we try here an approach to the TV fiction investment.
Advertising in the Ibero-American fiction during 2014 reached
1,367,603 seconds in television while fiction of other origins got
1,343,253 seconds.3 To rate this almost parity in advertising scheduled time between the two, it is important to note that the number of
seconds of advertising investment in the Ibero-American TV fiction
is centered on a smaller number of titles and hours of emission than
in the case of fiction of other origins.
1.4. Merchandising and social merchandising
The analysis of advertising data at our disposal4 reveals that,
in the Ibero-American TV fiction offered during 2014, there were
a wide range of goods, mainly cosmetics and beauty products, government ads, food, cleaning, mobile, games (lottery, casino), telesales, loans and credit cards. The traditional category of cosmetics
and aesthetics in general totaled 241,687 seconds. The most relevant
findings relate to the number of seconds devoted to promote access to loans (75,468), plus the time scheduled by credit and saving
cooperative unions and credit cards (over 14,200 seconds that are
in line to encourage debt), as well as the volume of seconds for
state advertising and public companies, which hovered over 71,876
seconds. A surprising fact is that in an election year only 140 seconds corresponded to advertising a candidate during the broadcast
of Ibero-American fiction. This could lead to the conclusion that
there was little electoral propaganda. However, the presence of government advertising softens this statement as it publicizes the action
of the ruling party.
3
4
Source: Ibope Media Uruguay, data from Monitor Evolution, version 3.3.5.
Source: Ibope Media Uruguay, idem.
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 443
1.5. Communication policies
During 2014 another chapter about the discussion and adoption of the Law on Audiovisual Communication Services (Ley de
Servicios de Comunicación Audiovisual, hereinafter LSCA) was
hold. While we have registered in the previous Yearbooks different
instances of debate, it is necessary to remember that this is a story
that dates back at least to 2010, when the Technical Advisory Committee (Comité Técnico Consultivo, hereinafter CTC) began working, convened by the Executive Branch to generate a report on the
law project elaboration. In December of that year, the work of the
CTC was over. The draft text was known two years later, in 2013,
when it became the subject of public debate, although it was only in
December that entered the Parliament, got partial approval in Deputies only with the votes of the ruling party and went to the Senate in
order to be treated in 2014.
Year 2014 was marked by general election5 and the LSCA got
into the campaign. Some political actors of the ruling party, Frente
Amplio, showed the inconvenience of passing the law before the
election. Even though it was within the scope of the Senate since
March, it was after the first round in which Frente Amplio won a
majority that its candidate Tabaré Vázquez said that the adoption of
the law could not be postponed: that is, the rule should be approved
during the government of José Mujica. On December 29, 2014 the
law was passed with the votes of the ruling party, however, the regulation would be in charge of Vázquez’s administration.
At the end of the year, the controversy was exacerbated and it
was announced that the presentation of several constitutional challenges were being considered by the Supreme Court of Justice. Once
president Tabaré Vázquez took office in March 2015, it has been
stated that implementation of the law regulations would not occur
while the Law Court does not pass a verdict on the unconstitutional
In June, internal political party elections were held. The irst round of the general election was at the end of October and the second one, at the end of November.
5
444 | Obitel 2015
ity of the norm. It is estimated that the process could be extended
during much of 2015.
The passed law contained 202 articles, leaving outside of its
sphere of influence written and Internet media. In the finally adopted text, the requirement of 60% of national production for television channels was maintained as well as the fiction quotas: each
channel, public or private, must offer at least two hours a week to
premiere national television fiction and cinema between 7 p.m. and
11 p.m.6 The law foresees the funding of the “Fund for Audiovisual
Promotion” with the payment of the licenses for the use of signals.
The fund was created within same law.
The discussion of the law was polarized around two positions:
for some it is a law that tends to control the content and promotes
self-censorship; for others it is democratizing and provides greater
guarantees. One of the most important aspects of the criticism refers
to the amount of control bodies and to their dependence on the Executive branch.7 Among the control bodies are the Council of Audiovisual Communication (CCA), the Regulatory Unit of Communication Services (Ursec) and the Institute of Human Rights, along with
an Honorary Advisory Committee of Audiovisual Communication
Services (Chasca) with non-binding advice. The Council of Audiovisual Communication is composed of five members: its chairman,
which will be appointed by the Executive, and the remaining four,
which will be appointed with the approval of 2/3 of the General Assembly. However, if this number is not achieved, they will be designated with the approval of a simple majority, which may eventually
6
Article 60, Law 19,307. It also indicates that 30% of domestic production will have to
be conducted by independent producers and one producer cannot concentrate more than
40% in the same station.
7
See Title VI, Institutional Design. There the competences of the Executive, the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining (MIEM), the Regulatory Unit of Communication
Services (URSEC), the Council of Audiovisual Communication (CCA), the Honorary
Advisory Committee of Audiovisual Communication Services (CHASCA), the Institute
of Human Rights and the Ombudsman are deined. In the competences description, it is
observed some repetition.
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 445
be voted by the political party that has the majority. The other two
bodies are in the orbit of the Executive.
Another critical aspect in the debate referred to the confrontation between those who saw the law as a consecration of cultural
rights and those who, although recognized inclusive aspects as the
rights of accessibility8, observed that it contained other provisions
that could enable interference in media content. This objection argued that some items had wording that could limit freedom of expression and promote self-censorship.9
Actions for unconstitutionality issues that are currently underway refer to these and other aspects including the provisions regarding free electoral propaganda. In this issue, the objections are
twofold: firstly, the way of distribution of the free time propaganda
tends to reproduce the dominance of the main political parties10; and
secondly, as they established standards that are linked to the elections, these items needed special majorities for approval, which did
not happen.
With reference to digital television, in May 2013 there was the
call for signal assignments. After a complex process, finally in October of the same year it was defined that, in addition to the companies
already operating in open television, two private channels would
be added: Giro and VTV.11 The situation in 2014 set a scenario for
transition and uncertainty. The private channels that were already
operating in the analog broadcast television (Channels 4, 10 and 12)
emitted on trial mode since early 201412, with the Regulatory Unit of
Communication Services (Ursec) permission. Public channels of air
8
Articles 35, 36 and 37.
That would be the case of articles 28 and 32. In addition, it would give the Executive
branch the power to indicate an event as of general interest, which is obliged to be transmitted.
10
Articles 142-43.
11
The details of the allocation of digital television were outlined in the chapter on Uruguay Obitel Yearbook 2014. See: Sánchez Vilela, R.: “Uruguay: stop-and-go national
iction”, p. 445.
12
See: <http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/277252/nuevos-canales-digitales-analizan-postergar-el-inicio-de-salida-al-aire/>
9
446 | Obitel 2015
and cable, TNU and TV Ciudad, respectively, also performed test
emissions that year.
The two new channels, Giro and VTV, which should have
started broadcasting in October 2014, have requested two extensions, the last of which ends in September 2015. The reasons given
by the new channels are that they have not got the technological
equipment needed and, for the emission, they depend on hiring the
service of state-owned telecommunications company (Antel). Besides, they also referred to financial and market problems. While
the operation of the National System of Digital Terrestrial Television was announced in September 2014, the implementation was not
complete in early 2015. However, the Ministry of Industry, Energy
and Mining (Miem) insisted on November 21, 2015 as the date for
the switch-off.13
As for strategies to promote audiovisual14 production, in recent
years the State has implemented different funds to support films,
telefilms and both documentary and fiction television series. TV
projects are in different stages of completion or looking for other
financing so the impact of these funds on national television is not
yet perceived.
1.6. Public TV
The year 2014 ended with national election result confirming a
third Frente Amplio government period and the passing of the Audiovisual Services Law, which contains provisions affecting public
television: on the one hand, institutional change with the creation of
the Public National Radio Television System, and on the other hand
the imposition of national production and television fiction. This
will be one of the most important challenges. While TNU has in13
See: <http://www.infoycom.org.uy/2015/01/demoras-del-gobierno-postergan-iniciode-emisiones-de-tv-digital/>
14
The most relevant support funds were: Promotion Fund and Fona, promoted by Icau;
Montevideo Socio Audiovisual, of the Ofice of Locations of the Municipality of Montevideo; DocTV, especially oriented to documentary; and Cultural Incentive Fund (FI),
offered by the Ministry of Education and Culture.
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 447
creased the amount of TV fiction in recent years, most are imported
productions. The end of a government period determined the change
in the authorities of TNU, opening a timeout around the course that
the channel will take.
Another relevant change announced during 2014 was the process of passage of public cable channel TV Ciudad to open channel.
In this direction, it conducted test transmissions in the digital system
and announced that its stage as an open channel was going to start
in March 2015.
1.7. Pay TV
Pay TV has grown in recent years at a rate of 9% per year.
Users all over the country came to 685,591 in June 201415, which
meant a penetration of 59% of households across the country.
The company with the largest market share in the country is Direct TV, with 21%, while in Montevideo it reaches 16%. The 41%
of pay TV services are concentrated on Montevideo, where Direct
TV reaches 16% while Cablevision, 22%, ahead of TCC (20%),
Nuevo Siglo (18%) and Montecable (17%).
Direct TV was the operator that grew most in 2014: 18% in the
first half-year term, while other operators grew less than 5%. However, after the new law was passed, the number of potential subscribers is limited to 25% of households with pay TV in the country.
For this reason, Direct TV appealed to achieve the declaration of
unconstitutionality of that provision.
As in previous years, the scheduling in national subscription
channels is mainly composed of news and general interest programs.
Reports are semi-annual and only information from the irst half of 2014 is available.
Source: Reports of the Regulatory Unit of Communication Services (Ursec). Available
at: <https://www.ursec.gub.uy/inicio/transparencia/informacion-estadistica-y-de-mercado/telecomunicaciones/>
15
448 | Obitel 2015
1.8. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) trends
The expansion of ICTs among the Uruguayan population continues. For our study objective, it is particularly significant the extent of internet penetration, while it also implies a change in the
ways of audiovisual consumption. Therefore, we will here present
some data that may help to explain the reduced values of rating and
share of broadcast television, as well as the characteristics of the
composition of its audience.
According to data from the last census of the National Statistics Institute (INE) of 2011, the number of fixed broadband services reached 795,80416, representing 70% of all occupied dwellings
across the country. The growth is evident taken as base data from
June 2013, when there were 651,797 connections. Moreover, the
total mobile services were 5,358,325, about 90,000 more than on
the same date in 2013. Of those, only 27% had no access to the web.
According to El Perfil del Internauta Uruguayo 201417, the result of the annual survey conducted by Radar Group, 75% of Uruguayans use internet and 60% of them are connected through mobile
devices. The penetration of home computers in the last year reached
99% in the highest socioeconomic level, 86% at the middle level
and 59% at the lowest level (which increased nine points over the
previous year while, in the high and medium levels, it increased one
point). Of the total number of computers in 2014, 28% corresponded
to the Ceibal Plan, a percentage that has been declining in the last
three years while growing the overlapping with other equipments.18
For Obitel’s purposes, it is relevant to record the penetration by
age and socioeconomic status to compare these data with trends in
16
See: <https://www.ursec.gub.uy/wps/wcm/connect/e047b78045dd7f878527c56d575b
efd1/Informe+telecomunicaciones+junio+2014.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&amp;
CONVERT_TO=url&amp;CACHEID=e047b78045dd7f878527c56d575befd1ia>
17
For internet data penetration and usage, we have relied on this report produced annually
by Radar Group. Available at: <http://www.gruporadar.com.uy>
18
The Ceibal Plan (Basic Computer Educational Connectivity for Online Learning) is
a digital inclusion program One Laptop Per Child that was implemented in Uruguay in
2007 and managed full coverage of primary education and later expanded to secondary.
The data source is Radar Group’s survey.
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 449
the composition of the TV fiction audience. Internet penetration has
grown in the 20+ age group. The age ranges with most noticeable
growth are: 50-65 years old (55% in 2013 to 61% in 2014) and 65+
years old (25% in 2013 to 33% in 2014). Taking into consideration
the socioeconomic status, internet covers 94% of the upper class,
74% of the middle class and 51% of the low class. However, there
is almost no difference in scope between men and women: 73% and
74% respectively.
Among the most important uses of the internet are Facebook,
searching for information, and YouTube. A 40% of them use the
internet to download movies, and 12%, for watching television. Regarding specific uses of YouTube, it is important to mention the
increase of watching movies: while in 2013 the use reached 13%,
in 2014 it reached 47%. Also relevant was the increase of Netflix
users to 13%.
A sustained growth of time spent on the internet was also found:
an average of 12.5 hours per user. Social networks are for many users the gateway to the internet, especially Facebook, but in 2014 an
expansion of the use of Whatsapp was noticed (41%).
2. Analysis of the year: national and Ibero-American premiere fiction
Table 1. Fictions exhibited in 2014
PREMIERE NATIONAL TITLES – 0
CO-PRODUCTIONS – 2
Montecarlo TV, Channel 4 – 1 title
1. 5 Viudas (telenovela – Colombia and
USA)
Teledoce, Channel 12 – 1 title
2. Violetta (telenovela – Argentina and
USA)
Saeta, Canal 10 – 1
23. Mi Problema con las Mujeres
(telenovela – Argentina)
Teledoce, Channel 12 – 14
24. Avenida Brasil (telenovela – Brazil)
25. Corazón Indomable (telenovela –
Mexico)
26. Encantadoras (telenovela – Brazil)
PREMIERE IMPORTED TITLES – 37 27. Farsantes (telenovela – Argentina)
Montecarlo TV, Channel 4 – 15
28. Flor del Caribe (telenovela – Brazil)
3. Aliados (series – Argentina)
29. Gabriela (telenovela – Brazil)
4. Corazón Valiente (telenovela – USA)
30.
Guapas (series – Argentina)
5. Corona de Lágrimas (telenovela –
31.
La Gata (telenovela – Mexico)
Mexico)
450 | Obitel 2015
6. Dama y Obrero (telenovela – USA)
7. La Patrona (telenovela – USA)
8. La que No Podía Amar (telenovela –
Mexico)
9. Lo que la Vida me Robó (telenovela –
Mexico)
10. Los Vecinos en Guerra (telenovela –
Argentina)
11. Pulseras Rojas (series – Spain)
12. Santa Diabla (telenovela – USA)
13. Somos Familia (telenovela –
Argentina)
14. Sres. Papis (telenovela – Argentina)
15. Taxi Amores Cruzados (telenovela –
Argentina)
16. Tres Caínes (telenovela – Colombia)
17. Viudas e Hijos del Rock and Roll
(telenovela – Argentina)
32. La Guerrera (telenovela – Brazil)
33. Mis Amigos de Siempre (telenovela –
Argentina)
34. Quererte Bien (unitario – Argentina)
35. Rastros de Mentiras (telenovela –
Brazil)
36. Solamente Vos (telenovela –
Argentina)
37. Un Refugio para el Amor (telenovela
– Mexico)
TNU, Channel 5 – 5
18. Amar en Tiempos Revueltos (series –
Spain)
19. Cuéntame (series – Spain)
20. Gran Reserva (series – Spain)
21. Hispania (series – Spain)
22. Isabel (series – Spain)
TNU, Channel 5 – 2 national titles
40. REC (miniseries – Uruguay)
41. El NitTV (short – Uruguay)
RERUN: 5
Montecarlo TV, Channel 4 – 2 titles
38. Casados con Hijos (series –
Argentina)
39. Floricienta (telenovela – Argentina)
Saeta, Canal 10 – 1
42. La Niñera (series – Argentina)
TOTAL PREMIERE TITLES: 37
TOTAL EXHIBIT TITLES: 42
Source: Obitel Uruguay
Table 2. Premiere iction in 2014: countries of origin
Titles
%
0
0
Chapters/
Episodes
0
37
100.0
2810
0
0.0
0
0.0
0:00
0.0
Argentina
13
34.2
672
23.8
665:50
22.4
Brazil
6
15.8
447
15.9
465:30
15.7
Chile
0
0.0
0
0,0
0:00
0.0
Colombia
2
5.3
131
4.6
120:40
4.1
Ecuador
0
0.0
825
29.3
0:00
0.0
Spain
6
15.8
0.0
889:30
30.0
Country
NATIONAL (total)
OBITEL COUNTRIES
(total)
NON OBITEL
COUNTRIES (total)
%
Hours
%
0
0
0
100.0 2962:50 100.0
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 451
United States (Hispanic
production)
4
10.5
234
8.3
268:30
9.0
Mexico
6
15.8
501
17.8
552:50
18.6
Peru
0
0.0
0
0.0
0:00
0.0
Portugal
0
0.0
0
0.0
0:00
0.0
Uruguay
0
0.0
0
0.0
0:00
0.0
Venezuela
0
0.0
0
0.0
0:00
0.0
TOTAL
37
100.0
2810
100.0 2962:50 100.0
Source: Obitel Uruguay on Uruguay Ibope Media data19
Table 3. Co-productions
Titles
Co-production
countries
Producers
Format
Caracol – TV
Telenovela
Sony
Pol-ka – Disney
Violetta Argentina – USA
Telenovela
Latino
TOTAL TITLES OF CO-PRODUCTIONS WITHIN OBITEL COUNTRIES: 2
Obitel
Countries
5 Viudas
Colombia – USA
Non Obitel
countries
TOTAL TITLES OF CO-PRODUCTIONS WITH NON OBITEL COUNTRIES: 0
Obitel + non
Obitel countries
TOTAL TITLES OF CO-PRODUCTIONS WITH OBITEL + NON OBITEL
COUNTRIES: 0
TOTAL OF CO-PRODUCTIONS: 2
Source: Obitel Uruguay
Open television offered a total of 42 Ibero-American TV fiction titles, 37 of which were premieres. Hours occupied by releases
accounted for 33% of total time devoted to fiction of every origin
and genre. The volume of hours devoted to the issue (2962:50) was
higher than in previous year (1,984 hours for 35 titles). However,
in the past two years, there has been a downward trend in the supply of Ibero-American fiction when compared with 2011 and 2012,
when these premieres reached 46 and 47 titles respectively. These
19
The sum of hours includes commercials.
452 | Obitel 2015
years also recorded the largest increase of national fiction in the last
decade and a half.
Argentina, Brazil and Mexico remained as predominant suppliers. However it should be noted the growth in the number of titles
from Spain, mainly broadcasted by the public channel TNU, of five
productions of that origin. In 2014, domestic fiction production was
nonexistent, repeating what had happened in 2008.
Table 4. Chapters/Episodes and hours emitted per time slot
Time slot
C/E
National
%
H
%
C/E
Ibero-American
%
H
%
C/E
%
Total
H
%
0
0.0
0:00
0.0
0
0.0
0:00
0.0
0
0.0
0:00
0.0
Afternoon (12:00 - 19:00)
Prime time (19:00 - 22:00)
0
0
0.0
0.0
0:00
0:00
100.0
0.0
1421
760
50.9
27.0
1533:20
793:30
51.7
26.8
1431
760
50.9
27.0
1533:15
793:30
51.7
26.8
0.0
0.0
619
2810
22.0
100.0
636:00
2962:50
21.5
100.0
619
2810
22.0
100.0
636:00
2962:50
21.5
100.0
Night (22:00 - 6:00)
0
0.0
0:00
Total
0
0.0
0:00
Source: Obitel Uruguay on Uruguay Ibope Media data
Table 5. Formats of national and Ibero-American iction
National
Titles
%
C/E
Telenovelas
0
0.0
0
Series
0
0.0
0
Miniseries
0
0.0
0
Teleilm
0
0.0
0
Unitario
0
0.0
0
Docudrama
0
0.0
0
Others
0
0.0
0
Total
0
0.0
0
Source: Obitel Uruguay on Uruguay Ibope Media data
Time slot
%
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
H
0:00
0:00
0:00
0:00
0:00
0:00
0:00
0:00
%
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
Titles
28
8
0
0
1
0
0
37
%
75.7
21.6
00
0.0
2.7
0.0
0.0
100.0
Ibero-American
C/E
%
1921
68.4
888
316
0
0.0
0
0.0
1
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
2810
100.0
H
2004:00
957:55
0:00
0:00
0:55
0:00
0:00
2962:50
%
67.6
32.3
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
100.0
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 453
Morning (6:00 - 12:00)
454 | Obitel 2015
Table 6. Formats of national iction per time slot
Formats
Morning
%
Afternoon
0
0
0
0
0
0
%
Prime
time
0
0
0
0
0
0
Telenovelas
0
0.0
0.0
Series
0
0.0
0.0
Miniseries
0
0.0
0.0
Teleilm
0
0.0
0.0
Unitario
0
0,0
0,0
Docudrama
0
0.0
0.0
Others (soap
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
opera, etc.)
Total
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
Source: Obitel Uruguay on Uruguay Ibope Media data
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0,0
0.0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0,0
0.0
Total
0
0
0
0
0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
%
Night %
%
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0,0
0.0
Table 7. Time of iction
Time
Titles
%
Present
31
84.2
Period
3
7.9
Historical
3
7.9
Other
0
0.0
Total
37
100.0
Source: Obitel Uruguay
Regarding fiction broadcasting per time slot, 51.7% of the premiere hours were broadcasted in the afternoon, 26.8%, in prime time
and 21.5%, at night. The predominant genre was the telenovela, with
28 titles, which occupied 67.6% of total screen dedicated to fiction.
Most of them are stories that take place in present time, although the
historical fictions and period pieces maintain their presence.
Table 8. The ten most viewed titles: origin, rating, share
Title
Rastros
1 de Mentiras
Avenida
2
Brasil
Country of
origin of
the original
idea/script
Production
house
Channel
Brazil
Globo
Teledoce
Walcyr Carrasco
19.6
35
Brazil
Globo
Teledoce
José Manuel Carneiro
19.6
31
Scriptwriter or
RatShare
author of the origiing
nal idea
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 455
Original idea: Adrián Suar.
Teledoce
Script: Calderone-Aguirre
Original idea: Adrián Suar
Script: Marta BetolTeledoce
di, Daniel Cúparo,
Lily Ann Martin,
Mario Segade
Original idea: Adrián Suar
Teledoce Script: Jorge Maestro and Claudio
Laceli
3 Guapas
Argentina
Pol-ka
Sola4 mente
Vos
Argentina
Pol-ka
Mis
Amigos
5
de Siempre
Argentina
Pol-ka
Brazil
Globo
Teledoce
Brazil
Globo
Teledoce
La
6 Guerrera
Flor del
7
Caribe
Un
Refugio
8
para el
Amor
9
Encantadoras
Mexico
Brazil
16.8
28
14.5
25
13.9
22
Gloria Pérez
13.0
23
Walter Negrao
12.7
23
Delia Fiallo
Adaptation: GiorgiTelevisa Teledoce
na Tinoco and Nora
Alemán
11.7
25
Felipe Miguez and
Izabel de Oliveira
10.7
23
Globo
Teledoce
Original idea:
Adrián Suar, Mario
8.9
Argentina
Pol-ka Teledoce
Segade and Carolina
Aguirre
Total productions: 10
Foreign scripts: 10
100%
100%
Source: Obitel Uruguay on Uruguay Ibope Media data
Far10
santes
30
The ten titles most viewed in 2014 were broadcasted by a single
channel: Teledoce. The composition of the ranking of preferences
reiterates the predominance of fiction from Brazil—with five titles—and Argentina—with four—as well as two production houses,
Globo and Pol-ka. This homogeneity is only disturbed by the presence of a Mexican Televisa title. As in the past three years, the first
place is again occupied by a Brazilian fiction, Rastros de Mentiras,
and the second, which led the ranking in 2013, Avenida Brasil.
456 | Obitel 2015
Table 9. The ten most viewed titles: format, duration, time slot
Title
1
2
Format
Rastros de
Telenovela
Mentiras
Avenida
Telenovela
Brasil
3
Guapas
4
Solamente
Vos
5
Mis Amigos
Telenovela
de Siempre
6
7
8
9
10
La Guerrera
Flor del
Caribe
Un Refugio
para el
Amor
Encantadoras
Farsantes
Series
Telenovela
Telenovela
Genre
Number
of chap./
ep.(in
2014)
Melodrama
86
Melodrama
74
Comedy
46
Comedy
Romance
Comedy
Romance
Detective
Drama
Detective
80
Dates of the
irst and last
transmission
(in 2014) (*)
07/28/1412/30/14 *
01/02/1405/29/14
10/06/1412/30/14*
01/01/1404/25/14
Time slot
Prime time
Night
Night
Prime time
04/ 28/1410/02/14
96
140
Telenovela
Romance
108
Telenovela
Romance
83
Telenovela
Comedy
Romance
8
Telenovela
Drama
72
01/13/1408/01/14
08/04/1412/31/14*
01/01/1404/25/14
01/01/1401/10/14
01/02/1406/06/14
Night
Prime time
Prime time
Afternoon
Prime time
Night
* The fiction continues in 2015.
Source: Obitel Uruguay on Ibope Media data
Table 10. Themes in the ten most viewed titles (*)
Title
PREVAILING THEMES
1
Rastros de
Mentiras
Ambition, revenge, secret in
the family and relationships.
2
Avenida
Brasil
Disclosure of identities, love
and revenge.
3
Guapas
4
Solamente Vos
5
Mis Amigos
de Siempre
Friendship, relationships,
love triangle.
Family relationships, love
triangle, inidelity, betrayal,
revenge.
Friendship, love triangle,
fraud, police intrigue.
SOCIAL THEMES
Homosexuality and paternity,
solidarity belly, adoption, autism
and inclusion, cancer, love in the
elderly.
Neglect and child abuse.
Social advancement and cultural
differences.
Anger and treatment, alcoholism,
domestic violence.
New family compositions,
parent-child relationships, redeining roles, homosexuality.
Corruption, addictions.
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 457
6
La Guerrera
Destruction of a criminal
network, love relationships,
search for identity.
Sexual exploitation and traficking, intercultural and conlict
7
Flor del
Caribe
Love triangle, ambition and
revenge, criminal network.
Labor exploitation, aftermath of
the Nazi persecution of Jews,
adoption.
8
Un Refugio
para el Amor
Love, revenge, secrecy and
disclosure of identity, love
triangle.
Harassment.
9
Encantadoras
Popular music, rivalry.
Love, crime, revenge, love
triangle.
Source: Obitel Uruguay
10 Farsantes
Rights of domestic workers,
social promotion through the
show, fame
Homosexuality, euthanasia,
alcoholism, corruption.
Gender %
Titles
Channel
Age %
Socioeconomic status %
Women
Men
4-11
1218-24 25-34 35-49 50-59
17
60+
A+A-
M+
M
M-
B+B-
Rastros de
Mentiras
2 Avenida Brasil
Teledoce
70.5
29.6
3.5
3.3
6.8
12.7
19.3
16.6
37.8
14.2
19.3
19.1
21.0
26.5
Teledoce
68.2
31.8
39
5.7
6.3
15.2
20.2
13.6
35.0
19.2
18.6
13.9
21.7
26.7
3 Guapas
Teledoce
71.7
28.3
3.5
4.7
9.2
16.8
24.1
16.5
25.3
13.5
22.8
15.3
19.3
29.2
4 Solamente Vos
Mis Amigos de
5
Siempre
6 La Guerrera
Teledoce
67.6
32.4
5.9
5.4
5.5
14.4
18.2
15.5
35.1
15.1
23.5
13.0
27.2
21.3
Teledoce
64.2
35.8
5.0
5.5
9.4
18.7
21.0
15.9
24.4
16.4
17.2
18.4
25.4
22.6
Teledoce
72.8
27.2
4.7
4.8
4.8
11.0
14.6
13.1
46.9
6.9
22.7
8.5
31.2
30.7
7 Flor del Caribe Teledoce
Un Refugio para
8
Teledoce
el Amor
9 Encantadoras
Teledoce
72.0
28.0
3.6
4.3
5.8
8.4
16.6
12.5
48.8
9.0
19.4
15.5
24.0
32.2
72.4
27.6
4.9
5.1
5.5
11.1
13.1
12.2
48.2
6.3
22.8
8.4
29.2
33.3
71.0
29.0
4.6
5.5
2.8
11.2
13.0
12.3
50.7
8.4
18.7
8.0
27.7
37.1
10 Farsantes
64.2
35.8
3.7
7.4
9.4
17.0
21.6
11.9
29.1
18.0
17.9
13.2
17.8
33.2
1
Teledoce
Source: Obitel Uruguay on Ibope Media data
458 | Obitel 2015
Table 11. Audience proile of the ten most viewed titles: gender, age, socioeconomic status
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 459
The audience composition of the top ten reiterates the trends
in previous years. The predominance of female audience is noted:
between 72% and 64% of the audience is composed of women. Men
reach higher percentages in fictions that occupied late hours, as in
the case of Farsantes, in which they are 35.8% of the audience. As
for the age profile, the audience is mostly made up of people over 60
years old and the age group 35-49 registers again a slight increase in
their percentage in relation to other ranks. Socioeconomic analysis
reveals that the highest percentage of the audience is located in the
middle low and low levels.
The age ranges corresponding to children and those between 18
and 34 years old have a lean presence at the most viewed titles, but,
even in older sectors, the percentages have decreased. These trends
and the progressive decline of open television audience in recent
years must be understood in the context of the increase in internet
penetration as set out in section 1.8 of this chapter, as well as the
transformation of consumption habits. In this respect, some surveys
provide relevant data: the most important internet usage increase
was recorded in the population over 60 years old.20 Another survey
carried out by university students indicates that 50% do not watch
television or watch an hour a day at the most, while to internet they
devote four hours a day, mainly social networks and watching or
downloading films and series.21
3. Transmedia reception
To study the transmedia reception, we selected Rastros de
Mentiras, a Brazilian telenovela that occupied the first place in
2014, issued by Teledoce, the channel that also received the highest
percentage of audience. In principle, transmedia strategies proposed
by the issuer will be analyzed and then we will study the Facebook
page created for this telenovela by a Uruguayan fan.
20
Radar Group, idem.
Radar Group, Perfil del estudiante universitario 2014. Available at: <http://prouniversitarios.com/Encuesta_Peril_del_Estudiante_Universitario_2014.pdf>
21
460 | Obitel 2015
On Teledoce’s website some changes are observed regarding
the treatment of the main transmedia premiere telenovela programming, which is in general a Brazilian telenovela. In previous years,
the transmedia strategy was reduced to a trailer, a brief scene that
stayed long time available on the website and photos of the main
actors accompanied by a text description of the character. For Rastros de Mentiras, although there is no great display of resources,
the strategy is different: there are available chapters issued during
the week, even though this replacement is the only sign of activity
and update of the site because, unlike previous years, viewers cannot leave comments or suggestions there. The viewing is the main
activity, but the chapters may be watched for a limited time span, no
more than one week (the date is indicated below the posted video).
Sometimes these videos are uploaded to Teledoce’s official Twitter and Facebook accounts, where it is possible for the audience to
exchange views.
Furthermore, in the channel’s social networks, some trailer for
what will happen in the chapter of the day or special videos where
the actors invite the audience to see the novel are included, but they
were sporadic contents throughout the year and there the audience
made comments which could be grouped around two themes: anger
because the channel changed the fiction schedule—an accusation
of doing “always the same”—and praises to the telenovela. Other
times, a collaborative event took place, when a spectator uploaded
a link which redirected to a Facebook page with a summary of the
telenovela.
The transmedia activity of the audience on this telenovela was
studied in a Uruguayan Facebook page22 since the beginning of the
broadcast. Here are some quantitative data on the activity of the
page: number of fans: 5,626; 234 posts; more than 7,000 likes; more
than 30 shares; and 500 comments.
22
Available at: <https://www.facebook.com/rastrosdementirasuy/info>
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 461
The involvement of fans on the page results in the posting of
photos from other sites that are shared on the page with a legend that
the administrator used to locate the audience at the time of the telenovela (“The kiss all the country talked about”, “The son of Paloma
and Bruno was born”, etc.). In addition, the site offers the opportunity to see some of the chapters, posting a link that redirects to a
Chilean blog23 in which the episode is available.
A special feature of this Facebook page is that the administrator (which is only one) invites his followers to become fan of other
sites dedicated to different Brazilian telenovelas, which might indicate that these other pages are also managed by the same person.
Thus, we see comments encouraging fans of Rastros de Mentiras
to follow the pages of Laberintos del Corazón and Preciosa Perla,
accompanied by the posting of the sites in question, or any trailer of
Teledoce with information about date and time of issuance of these
other telenovelas. On the other side, it also shows an interest in disseminating photos and information of the miniseries El Canto de la
Sirena, of which a link of the last chapter is shared.
On January 7, 2015 the fan page administrator announced that
he was no longer going to continue with the page. He received 258
likes and 27 comments, most of them congratulating on the work
done and thanking by the information provided. As seen in the image below, participatory culture that fans show tends to be directly
addressed to the administrator rather than to collaboration. The administrator of the site proves to be very active, answering questions
or providing information. At given situations, he expressed just to
be a spectator, with no responsibility for technical issues that prevent viewers from watching the chapters, or if they are cut (“It’s not
my fault, I only share chapters”, “Claim on Channel 1324, this is just
a Facebook page, thank you”).
23
24
Available at: <http://rastrosdementir.blogspot.com>
The Facebook page had a link to the Chilean Channel 13, which offered the episodes.
462 | Obitel 2015
Followers reviews on the page refer to the beauty of the actors
(“cute”, “beautiful”, “fully divine”), and, regarding photos showing
a particular scene, they express judgments about the characters or
refer to what the audience felt (“it happened because ...”, “I laughed
so much with her dancing”, “I knew he was not bad and was going
to change, he just needed a chance”).
4. Highlights of the year
In the view of national fiction production, the highlight of the
year was Saeta Channel 10 change of strategy of programming and
production, which since 2009 had been the channel that most bet on
continued development of national television fiction. Of the 13 titles
released between 2009 and 2013, seven were Saeta’s productions,
which reached a year issue of two own productions. It was a change
that had already been noted in 2013, when it offered the co-production Historias de Diván, the only national fiction of the year and
that, in fact, had been produced in 2012. A projected second edition
of the unitario Somos was put on hold. We emphasize these aspects
because the absence of national TV fiction in 2014 is directly linked
to the withdrawal of Saeta.
Saeta’s production strategy was oriented towards entertainment programs: competitions in the form of game or quiz and several variants of talk show segments, including humor. To this type
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 463
of programs that were already being produced (Salven el Millón,
Yo y Tres Más, Lo Sabe, no lo Sabe) was added Escape Perfecto,
presented as the main novelty in 2014 schedule. It added a strong
presence of imported productions, such as Ahora Caigo, which was
aired almost daily. The overall programming strategy was to cover
the entertainment screen time and concentrate TV fiction on American series (Bones, CSI, El Mentalista, for example).
Due to the new legislative framework that establishes the requirement for 60% of national production in programming for each
channel and within the inclusion of two hours a week of television
fiction or film premiere, it is useful to have specific data to see how
close broadcast television has been to meet these requirements in
the same year that the new law was enacted. In the case of Teledoce, 53% of broadcast hours corresponded to national production,
privileging genres like entertainment, which accounted for 34.6% of
the total hours of domestic production, and news, which constituted
32.4% of it. In Montecarlo Channel 4 domestic production occupied
50.5% of total airtime. Predominant genres were news, with 49.6%,
and entertainment, with 39.2%. Saeta Channel 10 devoted 54.7% of
its screen to national productions, with priority for entertainment,
with 38.4%, and news, with 31.1%. In the public broadcaster TNU
Channel 5, domestic production occupies 58.9%: 55.6% for news,
26% for entertainment and 2.2% for fiction.
These data revealed that none of the channels reached the percentage of domestic production required—although they are not
far to do so—and none meets fiction television quotas according to
the legislation. However, domestic production on broadcast television tends to be standardized by concentrating almost exclusively
on news and entertainment, both in the case of independent producers working for television, or products made by the channels.
Even in the public channel, entertainment occupies the second
highest percentage of hours devoted to Uruguayan productions.
The most promoted local productions of Teledoce and Saeta were
respectively Yo me Llamo (a contest in which participants imitate
464 | Obitel 2015
famous singers) and Escape Perfecto (a competition that combines
questions and tests). The only channel that programmed national
fiction was TNU, by issuing films and some repetition of television
fiction.
As a counterpart of this, it is necessary to include other significant fiction events in the year. One of them is the realization of
foreign fictions on national locations and with national producers.
Such is the case of El Hipnotizador, an HBO series based on a comic book of the Argentinian author Pablo de Santis, whose shooting
was done in Montevideo with Uruguayan producer Oriental Films
and Argentinian, Brazilian and Uruguayan actors. This producer
is developing a service department (Oriental Features) of production and development of feature films and television series, running
some co-productions with Brazil. Another example of this type of
involvement in foreign production was shooting the Brazilian film A
Floresta que se Move, a film by Vinicius Coimbra, co-produced by
Globo Films and EH Films, and that was filmed largely in Uruguay
with Uruguayan technicians and a local producer, Salado Films.
At the same time, some public funds to promote audiovisual
production supported television fiction25 projects that are in different stages of implementation, but have not been issued yet. Among
the television series projects are: Los Misterios de Rolo y sus Amigos, series of thirteen episodes produced by OzMedia, emerging
from a side character of Laboratorio en Casa and focused on children; Paleodetectives, nine educational chapters, directed by Leonardo Lagos; and police series Vicente, produced by Antídoto Films.
Finally, in 2014 the development of internet TV channels started,
mainly journalistic, as it is the case of Observador TV. Vera TV has
also been expanded, a product developed by Antel (the state-owned
telecommunications company, which concentrates on local internet
and has the largest market share of mobile phones) that allows access to content from national and international channels and began
25
SOLOMITA, Mariangel. Nuevas historias: cine y televisión por venir. El País, May
10, 2014. Available at: <http://www.elpais.com.uy/sabado-show/nuevas-historias.html>
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 465
producing its own programs. At least two other projects of online
television channels are underway, PopTV and another one linked to
the daily El País. This opens potential development of internet television whose significance and impact must be weighed in relation
to the data of internet penetration that we have exposed previously.
To sum up, while legislative policies and the offering of public funds to support the domestic producing industry required the
creation of national fiction, it disappeared from open television and
those who produced it retract. However, there seems to be an audiovisual development that appears to take other roads that leave more
questions than answers regarding TV fiction and open television.
5. Theme of the year: gender relations in the television fiction
On the topic set for this year, two theoretical perspectives converge. On the one hand, the social representations, understood as
the way we learn the different dimensions of social experience in
everyday life, that is to say, a form of knowledge, a naturalized
understanding which integrates what we call common sense.26 On
the other hand, the gender perspective, understood as a cultural development, relates to the meanings configured around a difference.
These meanings, historically situated and socially constructed originally from biological differences between sexes, are reproduced and
become everyday practices, operate as experience organizers, promote and censor behavior, discipline bodies.
The concept of social representation is useful to understand
such configurations of meanings since it explains both permanence
and change: figurative scheme or core, consisting of the set of basic
attributes that make up an image of the fringe of a life, in our case
of gender identities, tends to consolidate into repeated speeches, but
also undergoes transformations to the requirement in order to incorporate new practices and give a place in the organization of senses.
26
According to Moscovici (1979), social representation has both a symbolic and a practical dimension: it turns reality intelligible, allows the exchanges in everyday life, its function is the development of behaviors and communication between individuals.
466 | Obitel 2015
Social representations are a source of production of stereotypes—
the attributes that make up a stereotype correspond to the central
core of a social representation—, but admit nuances, while the stereotype does not: the reduction to a few features and the hyperbole
tendency make stereotype a generalizing and rigid scheme applied
to a social group that is so often caricatured. Television fiction often
works with stereotypes, but sometimes it approaches more complex
dynamics of representations in transit or in conflict.
As Moscovici (1979) says, social representations are almost
tangible entities. They circulate, intersect and crystallize constantly
in our everyday world through a word, a gesture, an encounter. Most
of the narrow social relationships of the objects produced or consumed, of the exchanged communications are infused with them.,
We know that they correspond, on the one hand, to the symbolic
substance that comes into its development and, on the other, to the
practice that produces the substance. TV fiction is part of this network of circulation and production of senses and perhaps like no
other contains the most visible and available discursive repertoire
regarding gender representations.
In Uruguay, national TV fiction production had an intermittent
and brief history. In return, Uruguayan audiences have arranged a
symbolic repertoire of representations of different gender and nuanced, provided by the long consumed Ibero-American TV fiction.
It is in this context that gender representations present in national
fictions must be located—theme which we propose to analyze here.
In the last 15 years, there were 22 television fiction titles, from telenovelas to unitarios. Of that short and fragmented history, we will
analyze two fictions: Las Novias de Travolta and Porque te Quiero
Así. Both made up the top ten in their respective years of release and
are illustrative of the type of gender representations contained in
Uruguayan fictions over the past years.
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 467
Las Novias de Travolta was the first Uruguayan television drama
that entered the top ten in 2009.27 However, this is not the main reason
for the choice for this analysis, but because gender is at the center of
its narrative structure. Four female characters—Cris, Gabi, Estela and
Lucía—deploy different configurations of meanings about femininity, masculinity and lesbianism. In addition, this fiction is explicitly
presented as a narrative genre. Thus, in the promotional trailer, the
voice announced: “the story of four friends, each of them like someone you know [...] they lived most of their lives as they were taught
to, but they know something more [...]”. The construction of each of
these characters represents different searches and ways of living their
gender identity appealing to identification and recognition.
One of the structural aspects of gender representation in this
fiction is the passing of time. The nostalgic look about youth is presented in the title, which refers to the friendship forged in adolescence, and the soundtrack of disco, specifically the Saturday Night
Fever. But Gabi’s birthday is an instance in which the significance
of the passing time manifests. Its significance is directly linked to
the body and the mandates regarding the imposed standards of female beauty: keeping youth translates into having a firm and slim
body. The dialogue of the characters reveals both the strength of the
imperative of maintaining a young body as well as the confrontation of that plan. So, Cris dismisses Gabi’s efforts to keep her body
in line with diet and diuretics and uses the phrase “youth is in the
mind”. Gabi’s strong response more than reaffirming the mandate of
the female body could be seen as a post-feminist irony28: “Tell your
In a year in which there were two other national ictions in programming, Las novias de
Travolta ranked tenth in the top ten in 2009, with a rating of 13.8% and 23.9% share . See
Obitel Yearbook 2010. Miniseries of 13 chapters, issued by Teledoce between September
and December at night, on Sunday. It is an adaptation of a play by Andrés Tulipano who
also wrote the screenplay for the television version. Studio: High Point to Teledoce. Direction: Viviana Guadarrama. Cast: Roxana Blanco, Alejandra Wolff , Jenny Galván and
Andrea Davidovics . After the television broadcast, the play returned to the theater with
performances in Chile, Argentina, Mexico and Spain.
28
See: McROBBIE, Angela (2004). Post-feminism and popular culture. Feminist Media
Studies, v. 4, n. 3.
27
468 | Obitel 2015
mind that has to be attentive, because at any time your ass drops”.
On the one hand, Gabi is a woman with professional development,
independent and resolute, yet feels threatened by time and sees its
limits with realistic rawness.
We focus on another scene that illustrates the perceptions of
the female body, so naturalized that a woman discriminates another
woman for being overweight. This is the scene in which Gabi, account director of an advertising agency, has to choose a woman for
a commercial for diet desserts and rejects an applicant, who asks
for explanations: “Because you’re fat, baby. That is why”, answers
Gabi, as if it were an indisputable and common sense argument,
what she confirms with her gestures. The performative gender theory holds that the repetition of actions, language, gestures is what
constitutes both the persistence of gender identities and their transformations. In this respect, dialogue and gestures of this scene reveal the naturalized conceptions, not only about the body but also
about other dimensions. The discriminated lady, rather than discussing Gabi’s argument, uses the authority of his father: “the factory
owner is my dad”. Gabi’s sight is a gesture of acceptance, in the
way she looks up from a position of physical and verbal submission,
“You look a little fat, but... you’re so cute”.
From the title, the four women are set in the patriarchal mandate for femininity: they are brides. However, these four stories are
in tension with the traditional heterosexual marriage. Three of them
are divorced, and the other is not resigned to the course of her marriage. They are self-employed women with initiative, with a selfperceived identity, different from that of their mothers’ generation.
However, the family mandate burdens in at least two of the characters: Cris studied medicine to please family expectations, Estela
deals with her father business. While in all, having a partner is valid
ideal of success and/or happiness.
The gender system formed in this series is also a representation
of masculinity. The way the narration is organized about the role of
four women left men in a second stage and, in some cases, they are
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 469
in a relationship of dependency: it is women who guide. Men do
not listen, do not sustain everyday life, on the contrary, women are
containing and rescuing.
Another gender representation is embodied in the character
Lucía, the lesbian friend, which returns from exile in Sweden to
where she fled with her parents during the dictatorship. Lucía does
not have any outward sign that would betray her lesbianism, but the
character is built on some features that highlight the difference: her
appearance and her youthful way of dressing, more informal but
not masculine. She is a photographer and shoots images of the city
that reveal her artistic sensibility; she comes from another world,
the first world, from Sweden, where she lived for more than two
decades. The features from which gender difference is set on this
representation of lesbianism integrate the idea of “the other”, “the
weird” until it dilutes in “normality”, while it becomes legitimized.
This representation of homosexuality is in line with what some
studies have suggested as a subtopic within the narrative of heterosexuality. That is, homosexuality is accepted, it is not associated
with laughable or criminal caricature as television fiction used to
do, but acceptance is the integration to a heteronormative model: a
couple, a family and children. This type of representation often goes
hand in hand with a “narrative of revelation”. The concept refers to
the moment when gay characters in fiction have no obvious signs
and it reveals as the story develops, and as part of the conclusion of
the plot (Colling, 2008). In order to have revelation, there should be
a secret or at least ignorance. In Las Novias de Travolta, Lucía’s lesbianism remains hidden from the other characters and the audience
in very small sections of the narrative. Even though, the revelation
occurs and quickly Lucía is linked with her mate, integrating the
heteronormative project of family and reproduction.
This approach is akin to the movements that adopt a posture of
assimilation, in other words, those who promote the idea that homosexuals are equal to heterosexuals and this is stated in a repetition
of the heterosexual model: love, marriage, family. In contrast, queer
470 | Obitel 2015
studies claim the rarity and point to the violation of the rule to bring
it into evidence (Gamson, 2002).
Another is the range of representations that Porque te Quiero
Así proposes: a fiction of 2010, which took second place in the top
ten and represents the boost of fiction production Saeta Channel 10
had between 2009 and 2013, as well as a bet for the integration of
national and international resources.
The story and the spaces in which this fiction is developed
allow the deployment of gender representations related to work,
neighborhood and home. There male and female models reproduce
some features of the traditional patriarchal conception of gender, in
coexistence and tension with gestures and actions that suggest the
idea of fairness.
The serial revolves around two central characters, Susana and
Lito, their agreements and disagreements. Susana returns from
Spain to see her father and to get her ex-husband, Washington, to
sign the divorce papers. Her decision to live in Spain is linked both
to get away from Washington as well as from her feelings for Lito,
a widowed carpenter, father of two children and with whom she
had a furtive relationship after discovering her husband’s infidelity.
The football club in the neighborhood, The Olympic, is the meeting
point of all the characters. Susana’s father is the president of the
club, and her ex-husband develops his mafia skills to deceive old
and gullible Don Omar.
One of the core elements of the representation of masculinity
in this series is the connection between men and football. Much of
the storyline revolves around the problems of the club and football
team, center of the neighborhood: a man’s world where women are
generally in a subordinate role, although there are two narrative situations representative of the transgression of those roles. One is that
of Rosario, Lito’s daughter, presented as an assistant of the club
doctor: it causes surprise that a woman occupies that role in a soccer
team and the prevalence of their professional status is emphasized
above that of woman. However, simultaneously the possibility of
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 471
a relationship between the woman and the doctor is suggested, as
if just such a link could be developed in this area. Therefore, the
significance of gender equity in the work of Rosario’s soccer team
could have diluted in a traditional model: what matters is the development of feelings (love and jealousy) that her presence will trigger. The other narrative situation of interest for this subject is when
Susana applies for the presidency of the club. The character wins
the election in front of two male candidates (Lito and Washington).
Some comments of the characters reveal the stereotypical perception against the idea of a woman chairing the club. So Lito’s friends
react with alarm and say “she will turn the club into a shopping”.
The description might suggest that Susana shows a breakdown
of the traditional representation and conquers a place of equality.
But these actions are placed in a narrative scheme that ends up reinforcing a representation of the reproductive kind of patriarchal
precepts: she wins the election, but her involvement with the club is
part of her obedience to her father’s wishes. Susana also falls into
the trap of an indictment of electoral fraud, so she does not reach the
position and becomes a victim who needs to be rescued. In addition,
the character moves by the relationship with men (father, husband,
lover) and barely referred to her working life, a job waiting in Spain.
The season begins with the arrival of Susana to Montevideo and
ends with her return to Spain, but these movements are not signs of
autonomy and professional development, it does mean she comes
and goes driven by the need to move away from two love relationships.
Overall, a subaltern place is reproduced in areas characterized
as masculine. It is the case of football, but also the murga that appears in several scenes with male predominance (there is only one
female member). Instead, the female is constrained to the development of affective and loving relationships.
As for the representation of masculinity in this series, it consists of a central core of distributed traits between the characters:
men occupy places of leadership and decision making; they are
472 | Obitel 2015
linked to the technical and physical skills (woodshop, soccer); in
terms of romantic relationships, they take the initiative. However,
the character of Lito represents a more nuanced masculinity: devoted father who took care of raising children, serving the domestic,
but complemented by Pochi, the neighbor who is in love with him
and acts as a domestic and emotional support. But men’s domestic
performance depends on female intervention.
Transvestism is also introduced in the narrative of this fiction.
It is presented as an artistic practice and the exercise is linked with
homosexuality. It is also a hidden, shameful practice that, when
noticed, implies social sanction, something the character actually
would suffer. Santiago is the doctor of the football club and crossdresses to act at a night show. The character carries a narrative of
revelation, but that does not imply the assumption of a gay identity.
He is heterosexual, but adopts transvestism as an artistic vocation.
The humorous tone in which the story develops makes use of
exaggeration of some features of the characters and situations that
sometimes lean towards stereotyping representations of gender,
even though this fiction shows ambiguities and tensions in the social
representations of gender homogeneity and, instead of opposing, reveals coexistence.
Without pretending to exhaust the subject, both cases represent
the spectrum of representations that the national fiction has offered
during its most productive continuity and better audience. Some aspects of the fictions mentioned here could be understood from the
concept of double entanglement, according to Angela McRobbie
(2004), which refers to the coexistence of neoconservative values
regarding gender, sexuality and family life concerning liberalization
processes about the choice and diversity of household, sex and kinship (McRobbie, 2004). Without going to the extreme paradigm that
the author observed in products of popular culture, such as Bridget
Jones’s Diary, in both cases this entanglement of opposing interpellations is noted.
Uruguay: a wishful law. Between rules and production | 473
References
ARAYA UMAÑA, S. (2002) Las representaciones sociales: ejes teóricos para
su discusión. Cuadernos de Ciencias Sociales, n. 127. Costa Rica: Flacso.
BUTLER, J. (2007) El género en disputa. Feminismo y subversión de la identidad. Barcelona: Paidós.
COLAIZI, G. (1990) Feminismo y teoría del discurso. Razones para un debate.
Madrid: Cátedra.
COLLING, L. (2008) Homoerotismo nas telenovelas de rede globo e a cultura.
In: CANELAS RUBIM, A.; RAMOS, N. (eds.). Estudos da cultura no Brasil e
em Portugal. Salvador: Edufba.
GAMSON, J. (2002) Sweating in the spotlight: Lesbian, gay and queer encounters with media and popular culture. In: RICHARDSON, Diane; SEIDMAN,
Steven (eds.). Handbook of lesbian and gay studies. London: Sage.
GRUPO RADAR (2014). El perfil del estudiante universitario. Available at:
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GRUPO RADAR (2014). El perfil del internauta uruguayo. Available at:
<http://www.gruporadar.com.uy>
McROBBIE, A. (2004) Post-feminism and popular culture. Feminist Media
Studies, v. 4, n. 3.
MOSCOVICI, S. (1979) El psicoanálisis, su imagen y su publico. Buenos Aires: Ed. Huemul.
PEARSON, Judy C.; TURNER, Lynn H.; TODD-MANCILLAS, W. (1993)
Comunicación y Género. Paidós: Barcelona.
SÁNCHEZ VILELA, R. (2014) Uruguay: stop-and-go national fiction. In:
LOPES, M. I. V.; OROZCO GÓMEZ, G. (coord.) Transmedia production
strategies in television fiction: Obitel Yearbook 2014. Porto Alegre: Sulina.
TASKER, Ivonne; NEGRA, Diane (eds.) Interrogating postfeminism: gender
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