Timing is Everything

Timing is Everything

Streaming services and websites have completely revolutionized the way telenovelas are watched and consumed by audiences. Rather than fighting for time slots and having an entire country turning on their televisions at ten p.m. to watch the best one, countless telenovelas are readily available on services like Netflix or Telemundo’s website. This totally changes the manner in which telenovelas are watched and understood, and it definitely changed my experience watching “La Reina del Sur.” 

We discussed so many times during class about the importance of the timing of telenovelas on their networks. Networks will fight for a good time slot, many times between eight and ten at night. This aspect of competition challenges telenovelas to create something worthy of a good time slot. They have to find a way to impress and engage viewers so much that they become the favorite telenovela to watch out of the many options. In turn, this has caused telenovelas to become increasingly creative and unique. 

The nightly time slots also are a huge reason why so much of the world is on the edge of their seats every night waiting for the next episode of their favorite telenovela to air. This has allowed the telenovelas to become part of a routine for so many. They have also been able to become people’s favorite part of the day, and something that people look forward to as they keep the telenovela in their mind throughout the day, waiting for it to air. 

This massive component of telenovela consumption was definitely changed as streaming services and websites made them more accessible and readily available. Instead of building up anticipation and having to wait for the next telenovela episode to air every night, people can binge watch any amount of episodes at a time. While it is certainly a good thing to have these telenovelas available to larger audiences at their disposals, it also changes the way that telenovelas are viewed. An important reason why they became so widely successful was because they were able to build anticipation and have a huge audience wrapped around their fingers and on the edge of their seats, night after night. Putting them on a streaming service completely changes the way people can watch telenovelas, because there is no waiting game or anticipation built. When a scene ends on a cliffhanger, people are able to get their answer within seconds as they click “next episode.” 

From what I have learned about this situation from watching “La Reina del Sur,” I definitely do wish that I was able to watch it as it came out nightly. It was a lot more difficult to become entranced in this telenovela because I was watching it on my own time. I had the power to choose when I viewed it, and the lack of motivation to watch it on my own time became a chore. I certainly still appreciate “La Reina del Sur;” it is a great telenovela with so many interesting aspects. However, the feeling of being addicted to a telenovela did not feel realistic to me, and I think that was largely because I had the power of when to watch it. I think being able to watch telenovelas on your own time is fantastic for being able to expose a lot of people to so many great telenovelas, but I definitely think that it has some trade off for the addictive aspect.

By Elizabeth Heuser