So how have local players responded?
Mexico’s Televisa is one of the country’s most powerful and influential TV networks, controlling 59.9% of the pay TV market, according to March 2019 data from the IFT. Televisa has played a major role in boosting the popularity of Spanish-language TV content, having produced some of the most popular telenovelas in Mexico—and arguably all of Latin America.
And because of changing video-viewing behaviors, Televisa has had to adapt its strategy, including what it does on YouTube. Andrés Bayona, content and digital production manager at Televisa, said that using YouTube’s “Premieres” feature has been effective in bridging the provider’s TV and digital video content.
YouTube officially launched Premieres in June 2018, which lets content creators debut prerecorded videos as a live moment. When creators release a Premiere video, YouTube automatically creates a shareable watch page to build anticipation and hype around the new content. Through the watch page, viewers can chat with each other and the creator in real time, building a sense of community around the content. Several networks now use Premieres to air the first 10 to 15 minutes of a show, while simultaneously broadcasting it on linear TV.
Televisa has used Premieres to test the waters and create new types of disruptive and appealing content. For example, the company includes a call to action for certain programs, inviting viewers to continue watching on TV.
“We discovered that YouTube is an excellent platform to allocate digital long-form content, as well as a great way to serve as an extension of linear productions or what you essentially see on the TV screen,” Bayona said. “We’ve had great success finding these integrations between linear TV and digital through YouTube with this strategy.”
As Mexican consumers’ viewing habits continue to change, no single company can predict what the future holds. However, Bayona firmly believes that “you can certainly create it—and [doing so through] video content is a great way to do that.”