In the following interview with ttvnews, Doris Volgelmann, Vice President of Programming and Operations at V-me Media, shares what content they want to add to their catalog in the international market.
In an industry as evolving as the entertainment industry, it is imperative to stay one step ahead of the latest trends and know what the international market demands in terms of content.
To this end, ttvnews presents the Buyers: What are buyers looking for? initiative to learn first-hand about the programming needs of buyers around the world.
This time, we spoke to Doris Volgelmann, Vice President of Programming and Operations at V-me Media:
What content would you highlight among those that worked best for the company in 2024?
Factual programming is doing very well, especially content related to crime. I don’t know why it will be so popular, but it’s doing very well. It’s funny because it’s specifically for women, as our audience is primarily female.
In the case of V-Me Kids, we have a lot of programs with a lot of screen time, such as Pororo or Caillou, which have always been well-received. Generally, they are educational animations, and they do very well.
For Primo TV, Mr. Young stands out, an old series, but kids still seem to like it and come to watch it on the VOD platform, which we have available for our cable channel users.
What kind of content is your audience demanding the most?
The audience keeps asking for crime and series as well. Especially white or family series, when we change the schedules, they complain, but that’s good; it’s indicative that people are watching.
What kind of content or formats or genres are you looking for at industry events?
Regarding acquisitions, we are looking at closing packages not only at the drama level. We’ve had conversations with AMC, Fremantle, and other companies that have outstanding programming. These are conversations we are having market after market.
In terms of genres, we are looking for crime, which is what the audience is asking for, and very white and family-friendly series. A third category is animals, which is very well received.
For kids, we look for fresh, educational, edutainment, and infotainment programming. We are always very open to these genres.
For Primo TV, I buy every three years, and I look for edutainment, infotainment, a little bit of science, technology, and animals; for children from 6 to 16 years old, it is a little more complicated, but we are attentive to see who has the best to offer.
Where do you see the greatest growth potential for the company today, and how is this reflected in your programming strategy?
Growth is based on looking for different platforms where we can interact with users. Today, VMe TV, VMe Kids, and Primo TV are three cable channels we have, and we know that the industry is shrinking, so it is necessary to start looking for alternatives.
For this reason, we have started working on a YouTube channel to reach a larger audience and with the expectation of monetizing it.
In terms of programming strategy, we have to start thinking about which programs will work within the YouTube channel and expand original programming.
Many of our acquisitions within cable channels only have Pay TV rights, so creating original content would help us increase the number of hours of programming for the YouTube channel.
How do you assess market trends in 2025?
Latin America has been going through a recession in terms of purchases, which affects our part of the work because sometimes products are unavailable because there is no one to buy them; it’s a bit complicated.
I hope that this year, things will get better; if we don’t all readjust, we will find a better way to work and monetize the content. Because it is happening that there is a lot of content that is difficult to monetize, and that is not necessarily bringing the necessary return.
This year is a difficult one, but one of reunion to look for solutions and find a way to continue growing as professionals and channels.
