Were Mexican Imports On TLNovelas A Miss On DStv?

As I've reported, TLNovelas will be going dark on DStv in the coming weeks likely as part of Canal+'s aggressive cost cuts at MultiChoice. The channel is on track to wrap up Love To Death and It Had To Be You as Fall Into Temptation concludes this week.

Fans of the shows feel like MultiChoice's response is vague because often when a channel is removed the same statements. All consumers want is some clarity and what led TLNovelas to become an afterthought as Telemundo lives another day.

Over the years, Telemundo had seen a major drop in primetime and TLNovelas was regarded to some of these viewers as their holy grace. It features content from Mexico's biggest broadcasters Las Estrellas with Rubi, Love Spell and A Woman Of Steel.

What went wrong?

Firstly, we live in a market which is dominant by African stories and this content takes up a 40% audience share in primetime. TLNovelas was most likely not pulling up those same numbers making it vulnerable to potential cuts.

As for Telemundo, this is basically the HBO of Spanish television with shows like Iron Rose and Queen Of The South commanding a wider audience. It wouldn't be something you'd just let go despite Canal+'s scrutiny.

TLNovelas entire existence was solely based on archived Mexican telenovelas and those can often lead to low viewership.

Another problem stems from TelevisaUnivison, they had existing agreements with other local broadcasters for these shows. TLNovelas was basically another Discovery Family or Nicktoons funneled with repeats for some viewers.