Telemundo Has a New Game Plan

NEW YORK — Years before Regis Philbin knotted his shiny tie and walked on to the set of ABC's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," producers in Sevilla, Spain, were enjoying the success of their game show, "Numeros Rojos" (Red Numbers), where contestants vied for the chance to jettison their personal debt. It might not sound as sexy as collecting a million cool greenbacks, but walking away from a car payment, mortgage and credit card debt seemed chock-full o' euphoria for viewers in Spain.

And television executives want nothing if not euphoria.

So, make way for "Numeros Rojos," Saturday nights at 8 on the Spanish-language television network Telemundo. The hourlong program will include, on occasion, contestants who sit on wooden construction horses and use Don Quixote lances to catch Frisbees thrown by members of the studio audience. Telemundo unveiled its new fall programming Monday evening, with a clear goal of cashing in on overseas hits, like "Numeros Rojos," and the tried and true strategies on U.S. networks, like wrestling and morning news shows.

The South Florida-based network has recovered from a disastrous programming decision aimed at lifting old TV series scripts like "Charlie's Angels" and recasting and shooting in Spanish. That sent ratings plummeting in the fall of '98. The network has since returned to a prime-time block of the well-loved telenovelas, Spanish-language soap operas that run for only a few months.

"We are very pleased with the overall progress we've made in marching back from ratings in Siberia," said Jim McNamara, the CEO and president of the Telemundo Network Group, whose first day on the job was last August. "I took over in the summer, when ratings are always low. It was also a time when we were unsure of our direction."

Morning Hosts and Weekend Wrestling

Telemundo's Latino household ratings for adults have increased by 67% from April '99 to last month, but that increase is tempered by the raw data--the network's April '99 rating was 0.8 as compared to last month's rating of a 1.4. (In terms of market share this year, Telemundo has a 22 share, while rival Univision still dominates with a 78 share.)

In an effort to build on those numbers, the network announced a new staple of its weekday programming: a 7-9 a.m. morning news and information show called "Buenos Dias," the network's first morning show. The co-hosts are former CBS "This Morning" host Jose Diaz-Balart and Gloria Calzada, who used to anchor for Univision.