Telemundo To Use Subtitles Online

For some time, many have wondered why Spanish-language broadcasters haven't looked to broaden audiences by occasionally offering English subtitles as an option. The Web, however, may be another story.

Univision offered closed captioning for an online-only novela, "Vidas Cruzadas (Crossed Lives)," that aired last August. Telemundo said Thursday it would begin providing subtitles for online streams as it launches a new HD broadband player.

Subtitles could have appeal to younger Hispanics who communicate mostly in English and gravitate to all sorts of online video.

The advanced broadband technology from MSN gives Telemundo some grist as it advances a "New Now" theme in its upfront pitching, which serves as a tag for the "anywhere, anytime" consumption climate and how advertisers need to adapt.

One method the network is pushing -- and has for some time -- is through product integration in its original telenovelas and other offerings. Another is via grassroots, event-marketing initiatives -- a program dubbed "Eventos Telemundo" -- where advertisers can associate with Telemundo tours, such as those where talent appears to promote upcoming novelas.

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A "new now" also starts quite literally for Telemundo on Monday when it drops a game show from its 7 p.m. hour on weeknights that gives it novelas from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. And the first entrant in the opening hour is a high-profile adaption of ABC hit "Grey's Anatomy."

Like "Grey's," "A Corazón Abierto (An Open Heart)" is produced by an arm of Disney. Airing first in Colombia, the show also chronicles the lives and loves of surgical residents in a big-city hospital.

Another novela coming to Telemundo is "La Reina del Sur (The Queen of the South)" based on a book published in 19 languages. The series features a demure Mexican girl from a small town who ascends to become a powerful drug trafficker in Europe.

For its mun2 network designed to appeal to young multilingual Hispanics, Telemundo said it would launch "From Beyond" and piggyback off the burgeoning fascination with the paranormal. The "documentary-style" show "follows a team of renowned paranormal investigators" who look to uncover supernatural activity in "Latino and urban communities."

This summer's upfront should mark the last under the guidance of NBC Universal as Telemundo is set to move under the control of Comcast as the cable operator takes a majority stake in NBCU.

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