In the following report, ttvnews compiles the testimonies of buyers interviewed in the second quarter of the year to decipher the main trends among the most in-demand genres and formats in the international market.

In an industry as ever-changing as the entertainment industry, it is imperative to stay ahead of the latest trends and understand what the international market is demanding in terms of content.

To this end, ttvnews presents the Buyers: What are buyers looking for? initiative to gain firsthand insight into the programming needs of buyers around the world.

This time, we compiled a new collection of testimonials obtained in recent months to list the common threads and the types of content most in demand by platforms and channels in Latin America and the international market.

One of the most classic genres on Latin American television networks, it’s no surprise that telenovelas continue to be among the most in-demand productions by buyers in the region. This was highlighted by Gabriela Rodríguez, EVP of Content at R Media Honduras: “We’re always going to look for the best dramas, because in our Latin American territories there’s a large audience for telenovelas, great series, and the offerings are there for that.”

Along the same lines, Pedro Lascurain, Director of Acquisitions at TV Azteca, explained that in 2024, “the telenovela-style series we’re producing are definitely working for us, which have been very drama- and comedy-style. They’ve been the best ratings we’ve had on Canal1, which is our most important channel, the family channel.”

Erick Pulido Rabay, Director of Content and Programming at Imagen Televisión, also continues to focus on drama when acquiring content, especially from regions that produce sustained successes like Turkey and Brazil: “Generally, I look for dramas. They don’t necessarily have to be Turkish dramas. We’ve also had a very high level of acceptance with Brazilian dramas, specifically with biblical stories.”

Regarding the Brazilian market, Tatiana Costa, Director of Digital Content Management and Pay Channels at Globo, said: “What really moves us are Brazilian stories. That’s what sets Globoplay apart. And I would highlight the original telenovela. And we have a very rich pipeline of premium series to come.”

Along with telenovelas, another one of the most popular genres among buyers are entertainment formats, where it’s always important to stay on top of new developments, as Sandra Smester, Executive Vice President of Programming and Content Development at NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, explained: “When you develop a programming and content strategy, it’s done well in advance, but that doesn’t mean a good format won’t emerge from a market.”

“It’s happened to us that with an already established strategy, a good format comes to us. For example, Los 50, the first time it was integrated, we basically found it at MIP in late October and then saw it again in January. It was already airing by summer. We basically have a schedule with Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C; but if we find something that we know will connect with the audience and that has that Telemundo DNA, we implement it.”

In addition, Eugenio Restano, Programming Manager at Teledoce, said: “Since last year, we’ve been committed to having a primetime show where we have a different entertainment offering every day, mostly adaptations of internationally proven formats. We’ve had great success with La Máscara, which ran for four seasons; and Grill Master, the Sony format we call Fuego Sagrado. For 2025, we’re already pre-producing two important formats: The Floor, a Talpa format, and Tu cara me suena, a Banijay format.”

Betting more on unscripted formats, Adolfo Álvarez, General Director of Content at ¡Hola! TV, summarized: “Our content always focuses on the same things: celebrities, royalty, lifestyle, fashion… all pretty high-end.”

When it comes to families, another genre that’s always in demand is kids’ content. Fabiana Quinteiro, Acquisitions Coordinator at TV Cultura, said: “We are a television channel. We have general programming, but our main space today is children’s content. Our main focus is partnerships with major brands, but sometimes we need to acquire content to keep this space fresh.”

“In addition to children’s content, we always look for documentaries, especially about nature and wildlife, as well as series about science, nature, the environment, travel, and technology,” she added.

And along with children’s content, a genre that always attracts families to the TV screen are feature films, where Alexander Pérez, director of content and acquisitions at Novazul Entertainment, explains the importance of including them in their offering. “I have a very traditional market where they try to maintain the status quo that works, especially in the area of films, which is our strong suit. In the Dominican Republic, films continue to be profitable, they continue to have high ratings, and there is a good commitment to everything related to this programming. Last year we worked on 60% action films, and the other 40% is divided between soap operas, family films, and comedy,” he explained.

Finally, large groups with the capacity to produce and generate their own original content often opt to combine acquisitions with original production, as is the case with WBD.

Andres Mendoza, Head of Content Acquisition, Programming for Premium & Streaming Latam at Warner Bros. Discovery, said: “In our case, we are a company fortunate enough to not only acquire finished content and traditional licenses, but also own and original productions. In that sense, we go to markets with a combination of looking for new opportunities while simultaneously supporting our development teams to find new ideas that can be turned into original productions.”

Along these same lines, Gustavo Grossmann, CEO of Venevisión, is also betting on a combined strategy: “I’m basically looking for formats that I can make in our country, in Venezuela. I’m also looking to sell Venevisión as a place where we can produce telenovelas for third parties at low cost. And we’ve once again restarted acquiring films. Formats come first, telenovelas come second, films come third, and selling Venevisión as a production location for third parties comes fourth.”

Finally, Javier Pérez De Silva, CEO of Beta Entertainment Spain, highlighted his commitment to content with international potential: “I’m very interested in fiction, but also in projects that have a dual scope that you can do, scripted and unscripted, under the same umbrella, and you can sell it as a more global and general project, not just fiction or good entertainment. From a general perspective, that’s what interests me and what I’m looking for. Stories that have their origin in Spain and travel to the Americas, or vice versa, that have their origin in the Americas and travel to Spain.”

The first 2025 edition of this report can be found here.

The full testimonials from each of the buyers interviewed can be found in our weekly newsletter, TTV Buyers: What Are Buyers Looking For?, here.