One of the main objectives of the public group Radiotelevisión Colombia (RTVC) is to become a relevant multimedia for local audiences with its radios and TV channels, Señal Colombia and Canal Institucional as well as the OTT RTVC Play.
PRENSARIO interviewed Silvana Orlandelli, director of Señal Colombia, who highlighted: ‘We are working to bring quality content to the public media system as a whole, generating synergies between them and promoting transmedia products. Some of them even have their first window on RTVC Play, such as the Hola Flinko series, a co-production with Dinogorilla and 17Films’.
‘In order to have a project on screen, we do not need a Colombian production company to be involved. What’s more, having an international quality product puts our creatives in competition with the international market,’ said the executive, although she clarified that there are several local projects.
Among them, the Territorio Mágico slot/program stands out, a daily live action with three seasons (180 episodes), which is offered in short capsules as Correo de los Magos in newscast format, and Cuentitos Mágicos, a content for early childhood (0-6 years) with 150 characters; o Profe en tu Casa, developed for children with workshops provided by the Ministry of Education.
‘We also have important co-productions in the children-youth segment that are very relevant: they are 13-16 per year with 6 of them animations. We can finance from 10 to 70% of a project, which is usually no more than USD 86,000, which is an important value being a public television station’, added Orlandelli, who also highlighted that it is associated with PakaPaka (Argentina), RTVE and Chucho. TV (Uruguay) in La Orquestita.
‘Public TV screens no longer remain, they are key players in creating, financing and promoting local and regional cultures. We are guarantors of the territoriality of the content. That a content reaches our screens is a treat for the producers: they have total freedom, we do not fight for the rating and therefore we do not have the pressure of private TV ‘, she highlighted.
And she continued: ‘First, the public wants to see good products again; second, public television stations can be ‘reservoirs’ of that content that can be accessed when and how you want; and third, they should always make sure they have the best possible content to build audiences.”
The search for programming, then, focuses on: general products with an impact on various targets; multiplatform, that can be seen on various screens and devices; and disruptive, that differ from the content of international screens.
In this sense, an alliance with Red Bull stands out for Freestyle Total, the first improvisational reality show that brought together the best rap exponents produced by Cristina Palacio in 2021. ‘We are already working on the second season, it was a total success reaching a young audience, generating synergies between RTVC Play and Señal Colombia’, added Orlandelli.
And it concluded with two other differentiating projects: Relatos Amarillos, an interview program with taxi drivers, and Nación Rebelde, a documentary about the history of rock in Colombia that will have a television format, as well as a podcast and a concert with the National Symphony at the Teatro Colon in Bogota.
