By: Valerie Milano – MIAMI BEACH, FL (Hollywood Today) 1/23/12

Today at a beautiful press luncheon at the Eden Roc Hotel, Telemundo Media announced  that it has partnered with Argos Television to produce series and novelas in Mexico and has signed a landmark 600-hours global distribution agreement with Cadena 3 in Mexico and Televen in Venezuela.

In a press conference, only in Spanish, we tried to interpret what the announcements were.  But in speaking with Emilio Romano, president, Telemundo Media I summized  that these deals are part of Telemundo’s strategy to continue to strengthen their production capabilities as the #1 producer of Spanish-language primetime content in the U.S. and to solidify their international competitive position by further expanding and diversifying  the novela content offering.  When asked to expound, Romano said  “We are expanding to Mexico to produce original content with Epigmenio Ibarra from Argos who brings a wealth of production expertise, a great creative team and access to top local talent in Mexico. In addition, Telemundo International keeps growing its portfolio by adding hundreds of additional novela hours from Cadena 3 and Televen, cementing our position as the second largest provider of Spanish-language content in the world.”

The  lavish luncheon of about 200 plus press and executives took part in an only Spanish speaking clips of their productions.  With wine and steak to be had by all, the cast of these shows came table to table to speak of their endeavors and the characters they play.

Telemundo Studios, the production arm of Telemundo Media led by Joshua Mintz, has contracted production services from the leading Mexican producer Argos Television to produce a dramatic series and two novelas in Mexico. Telemundo Studios will supervise the project and Argos will provide the equipment and staff to execute all local production. Argos partnered with Telemundo Studios in a similar fashion for the production of certain episodes in Mexico of its blockbuster novela “La Reina del Sur” last year and has produced highly-rated novelas for Telemundo Studios in the past, including “Los Plateados,” “Gitanas” and “Marina,” among others.

Telemundo International, the international division of Telemundo Media led by its president Marcos Santana, signed a three-year global distribution agreement with Cadena 3 from Mexico (Grupo Imagen) and Televen from Venezuela (Grupo Camero) to distribute 600 hours of high quality HD-novelas in the international markets, except Mexico and Venezuela. The deal includes the distribution of six novelas featuring an international cast and global appeal, the first of which is already in pre-production.

At the end of the evening, Telemundo gave a VIP entrance to their exclusive party list @ LIV in the Fountainbleu.  Having many stars on their red carpet from their Telenovelas,  the high energy extravaganza event which consisted of scantily clad  acrobats and light up costumes plus loads of dancing and confetti was the highlight of NATPE Day 1.

More to come during NATPE Day 2