Q&A: Tatiana Rodríguez

Tatiana Rodríguez, the senior VP of programming and creative strategy for Nickelodeon Latin America, says the kids’ audience is one of the most demanding because “they’re constantly looking for immediate satisfaction, they’re not very patient and they want to see new things.” Rodríguez talks with TV Kids Weekly about the challenges in producing kids’ content and the importance of local production. She also discusses the company’s corporate responsibility, specifically on the One Laptop Per Child initiative, where the company looks to provide computers for education in remote parts of Latin America.

TV KIDS: How important has the last year been for the company in terms of new business opportunities?
RODRÍGUEZ: 2010 was a very important year for both channels [Nickelodeon and Nick Jr.]. Last year’s results were really great in every region and we’re very satisfied to have reached our target audience of kids 7 to 14. We always knew it was Nickelodeon’s strongest target and the channel was number one in this demo.

We’ve also had a strong lineup of new product, as well as having new seasons of existing successful shows. SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, iCarly and Big Time Rush have been renewed for new seasons. We’ve added a bunch of new-genre programming. We’ve introduced mystery with House of Anubis, as well as magic with Grachi. We were looking at how to include magic in a fun way for a while and I think we found the formula on how to do it with Grachi. It’s our little witch series, very colloquial, sort of like Sabrina, the Teenage Witch meets Bewitched. We wanted to have a daily show where magic was part of the everyday.

With Nick Jr., the battle for distribution continues, but we’re garnering great results in territories like Mexico, where we have distribution in 80 percent of the country.

TV KIDS: Are there plans to increase original productions for both channels?
RODRÍGUEZ: We definitely want to continue working on local production. Our strategy is to have many more hours than we currently do, and we want to keep local product on the air during time slots throughout the year.

We’ve produced a lot for preschool. We co-produced a show with Mixer in Brazil called Escuela de cachorros, a preschool animation, and we’re already working on the second season. For older kids we have Grachi, and we’re working on another show in Brazil, which will be a series. Also in the works are two pilots we’re planning after Grachi.

TV KIDS: How would you describe your experience in the creative process for the kids’ audience?
RODRÍGUEZ: It’s joyous when you work for an audience like Nick’s. It’s gratifying to see how hidden talents become stars and are recognized wherever they go. It’s very satisfying to develop new talent in the region. To see the audience’s response, create live shows and have many CD sales is a testament that you can garner wonderful results when you work with passion, love and effort.

We definitely work for the most gratifying audience. It’s probably the most difficult and cruel one to work with because kids tell it like it is, but when they like something, they become faithful followers.

TV KIDS: How are you positioning the channels to compete in this tough kids’ market?
RODRÍGUEZ: We need to be looking for the next big thing kids want to watch. We have to create content that’s available on every platform. We know that our viewers aren’t only in one place. The important thing is to come up with compelling content that can branch out to mobile platforms and online, and being able to develop a presence wherever kids go.

The second thing is the element of surprise. They want to see what’s coming next. Kids are always looking to satisfy their needs immediately, they’re not very patient and are constantly looking for new things. We always try to keep things fresh on the air and we’re adding new genres we didn’t have before. We’ll surprise them one way or another.

I think that one of the things drawing kids’ interest is that we’re leveraging known brands. Powers Rangers is an example. People would never have thought it would air on Nickelodeon. We gave the series a twist. For the first time you’ll be able to see the faces behind the masks. We’ve humanized the series where the characters have feelings, and I think we went back to the original concept by adding lots of humor.

TV KIDS: How important are the company’s corporate responsibility initiatives?
RODRÍGUEZ: We have a global campaign we do with all the Nickelodeon channels called Ayuda a tu mundo. We divide it into four stages and talent from Nick, like Miranda Cosgrove and characters from Big Time Rush and Victorious adopt a cause and represent it during a trimester in the year. The initiative goes on during the whole year and topics we address are health and conservation, among others.

We also work on an initiative with a NGO called One Laptop Per Child, and we’ve teamed up with them in an effort to provide computers for education in remote parts of Latin America. Supporting education is one of our main objectives this year.

TV KIDS:

What can viewers look forward to for the rest of the year?

RODRÍGUEZ:

We have lots of rollouts. We’re focusing on a lot of new stuff. [We’ve launched]

House of Anubis

, [and there will be launches for] three animations, including

Kung Fu Panda

, live-action shows and new seasons for just about everything. We’re also boosting our social campaigns and continuing to develop new local shows that we’ll reveal shortly.