Soccer Coverage & Turkish Drama Highlights for Azteca’s 2015-16 Season

NEW YORK: Azteca America is entering the 2015-16 season with a programming slate featuring soccer coverage, telenovelas and a Turkish-drama pickup.

A network addition is The Winning Hour (La Hora Ganadora), a one-hour block of interactive programming geared toward the entire family. Shows debuting through this block are the dance competition Dance if You Can (Baila si puedes), the game show All or Nothing (Todo o nada), celebrity-impression show I’m Your Double (Soy tu doble), and the prize challenge The Perfect Escape (Escape perfecto).

On the telenovela front, the network will premiere three new prime-time titles: The Roads of Guanajuato (Caminos de Guanajuato), So Much Love (Tanto amor) and The Promise (La promesa). As for series, Azteca is set to debut the Turkish drama The Fugitive (Kaçak) and the ripped-from-the-headlines title Scandals (Escándalos).

Sports will also be a priority for the network, which kicks off weekends with broadcasts of Mexican soccer matches on Friday Night Fútbol (Viernes fútbolero). A new reality show is the Honduras-set The Island (La isla), while family fare include the daytime variety program Hasta mañana al lunes and the afternoon entertainment series Viva el show. In addition, the channel will be counting on several returning hits, among them the morning entertainment show Venga la alegría and the celebrity-gossip program Ventaneando.

Azteca’s programming announcement follows recently sealed partnerships Google and Adobe. The company will collaborate with Google DoubleClick to create and launch The Hispanic Audience Platform (HAP), a digital video planning platform. Azteca has also allied with Adobe in the development of Adobe’s Audience Manager Suite to help power the network’s audience segmentation and insights.

“Last year, I made a commitment to our advertisers and partners to deliver new executive leadership, a new Azteca Station Group, a stronger brand, more solid programming and innovative partnerships,” said Manuel Abud, the president and CEO of Azteca America. “One year later, we have delivered on those promises, made impressive strides and achieved significant milestones. Tonight, we are proud to be presenting our most ambitious programming lineup which reflects our long-term strategy of delivering compelling, quality content and programming that keeps our audience engaged.”

“Our Viernes fútbolero (Friday Night Fútbol) sports franchise has become appointment television for our audience, delivering major ratings success for our network and our clients,” stated Court Stroud, the executive VP of network sales and digital at Azteca America. “This upfront season we continue to innovate and deliver the most value and maximum ROI to our agencies and clients through expanded, cutting-edge, on-air brand integrations, digital content marketing and creative branded entertainment solutions.”