In an unprecedented move, Disney+ Latin America and Colombia’s Caracol TV aired and streamed a series simultaneously, shattering distribution windows that typically start with a free-to-air (FTA) broadcast – if an FTA network is producing – then followed by streaming on a platform.
With “Peter the Great: Greater Than Ever” (“Pedro el escamoso: más escamoso que nunca”), the sequel to Caracol TV’s hit series “Pedro el escamoso,” the sitcom became Caracol TV’s most successful series in recent years with a grand finale that reached a 47.1% share and a 9.3 rating, surpassing its direct competitor, “Yo Soy Betty La Fea,” which reported a 25.1% share and a 5.0 rating.
The Caracol TV and Disney+ co-production dominated prime time during its 23 x 60’ episodes, reaching an average rating of 9.3 and a 44.2% share. More than 6.5 million Colombians, on average per episode, were transfixed with the story, according to Caracol.
“It is definitely uncommon to launch a property simultaneously on a Direct-to-Consumer Platform (DTC) and a Free-to-Air network and it is even more unusual to launch a property like ‘Pedro el escamoso’ on a Monday through Friday primetime schedule on a network like Caracol TV and all episodes at once on a platform like Disney+,” said Fernando Barbosa, SVP & general manager, Media Networks, The Walt Disney Company Latin America, who is attending Mipcom.
“The compositions of the FTA and DTC audiences are different though, therefore, there isn’t much risk of cannibalization, at least in Colombia. Each territory holds its own composition and story and by no means does this hold true everywhere. But yes, it’s the first time we do it and we chose to move forward because at the end we felt it was a win-win for both Caracol & Disney. It worked extremely well and over-performed for both,” he told Variety.
The sequel begins with Pedro Coral’s return to his hometown after more than 20 years abroad. Upon arriving, he is confronted with a reality far removed from the one he left behind when he was forced to seek opportunities in the United States. To his astonishment, he finds that his son, Pedro Jr., has grown into a successful and prosperous professional. Eager to earn his son’s respect and admiration, Pedro weaves a web of stories to mask the years of sacrifice and hardship he endured. However, these fabrications begin to crumble when he is forced to take a job as a messenger at the very company where his son serves as vice president.
“’Pedro el escamoso’ is a phenomenon that has captivated multiple generations. 30 years later, it returns with a new story that has connected with new audiences and platforms. Having an ally like Disney allowed us to transform this story into a multi-screen success, transcending into a global conversation,” said Lisette Osorio, VP of Business Affairs, Caracol TV.
Per Barbosa, to measure its audience on Disney+, they looked at key performance indicators such as the number of hours streamed, its reach, first streams and completion rate, among others.
“Pedro el escamoso” was launched on Disney+ Latin America, the Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, the Balkans, Andorra, Spain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Ireland and Hulu in the U.S. It was also distributed to FTA networks across Latin America, he said.
It begun airing on U.S. Hispanic network Univision and streaming on the UnivisionTelevisa ViX platform in September.
Said Barbosa: “When we first began experimenting with local productions in Latin America (an area by the way where we were the pioneers) our very first co-productions 23 years ago were with Caracol TV. We co-produced three telenovelas with Caracol back in the day: ‘La Baby Sister,’ ‘Amor A Mil’ and ‘Siete Veces Amada.’”
“We are certainly looking forward to continuing co-producing further seasons of ‘Pedro el escamoso’ with Caracol TV and I am sure there will be other properties in the making as well,” he commented, adding: “We were thrilled to see the effect of travelability of ‘Pedro el escamoso’ on Disney+. Not only did we see a robust number of streamed hours consumed on Disney+ Latam in Colombia, but also in multiple territories throughout Latin America creating a truly regional hit, which can be so challenging these days.”
Because both Caracol TV and Disney have strong content distribution organizations, both companies are distributing the property. “We are sharing Pedro’s distribution throughout the World. The effect is the same, we are 50/50 partners in this venture,” said Barbosa.
