Globo, Telemundo Unveil Co-Pro Details at L.A. Screenings

LOS ANGELES, May 15: Globo
TV International and Telemundo Internacional will jointly handle sales of the
version of the Brazilian novela hit The Clone that is being produced for the U.S. Hispanic
market.

As previously announced,
Telemundo Studios and Globo TV International have signed a co-production deal
for a new version of El Clon
for broadcast on Telemundo. Telemundo Studios will handle the production, with
filming to take place in its Colombian studio facilities, U.S. locations and a
yet-to-be-determined Arab country. TV Globo is providing the original format as
well as the expertise of the show’s original director, Jayme Monjardim, and
author, Glória Perez.

Telemundo Internacional
will be responsible for distribution throughout Latin America, Spain and Asia.
Globo TV International will distribute it to the rest of the world.

“There’s no doubt this co-production is an
opportunity to take our main strategic asset, our extensive expertise in
creating and producing original high-quality stories, to various countries
throughout the world,” said Raphael Correa Netto, TV Globo’s international sales director. “And
we’re aware and confident we’ve selected the right partner, someone who values
and respects the quality parameters that a good show needs to reflect.”

“We
found in Telemundo a company we felt comfortable doing this project with,” Correa
Netto noted at a press conference in Los Angeles today.
“It has been a beautiful date from the very beginning. It’s a project that will
travel around the world.”

Marcos Santana, the president of Telemundo Internacional, added, “One decisive
factor in choosing The Clone
for this co-production project was the telenovela’s reception potential in the
U.S. Hispanic market. The original version, broadcast by Telemundo in 2002, was
the network’s biggest viewer success of all times in the 10 p.m. slot.”

Santana added: "It’s an enormous project and we are very excited. It
has been a dream of ours to do this novela."

The Clone was a huge hit for Globo, scoring a 70-percent
share in Brazil and going on to sell in more than 90 countries.

—By Mansha Daswani