“Idol Puerto Rico” and “Idol Kids” Debut in U.S.

By admin July 29, 2013 14:10

“Idol Puerto Rico,” the Puerto Rican version of the most successful reality show franchise in the world and the highest-rated television series in Puerto Rico, and “Idol Kids,” Puerto Rico’s first reality show singing competition featuring children, will be available for the first time to U.S. audiences this summer exclusively on WAPA America, the U.S. network arm of Puerto Rico’s leading broadcast network, WAPA Television. WAPA America is available in more than five million homes on all major cable, satellite and telecommunications providers in the U.S.

Coproduced by WAPA Television and FremantleMedia, producers of “American Idol,” “Idol Puerto Rico” follows the same format as “American Idol” but featuring Puerto Rican talent. “Idol Kids” features the best young singers in Puerto Rico between the ages of 6-12.

“Idol Puerto Rico” will debut on Monday, July 29 (9pm ET) with a special edition on Tuesday, July 30 (9pm ET). “Idol Kids” will premiere on Sunday, August 4 (8pm ET).

In 2012, the inaugural edition of “Idol Kids” and the second season of “Idol Puerto Rico” set unprecedented ratings records in Puerto Rican television. The Grand Finale of “Idol Puerto Rico” peaked at a phenomenal 78% audience share among the coveted women 18-49 demographic—the highest-recorded rating in Puerto Rican television to date. The program averaged greater than a 50% audience share among all key demographics—more than all of the other networks combined. The November 11 finale of “Idol Kids” averaged a 43.5% audience share (27.3 rating) among Households, doubling the rating of the nearest competitor, Univision Puerto Rico.

“Idol Puerto Rico has been the most ambitious and successful series to air in Puerto Rico’s history and we are thrilled to be the first network to make the Idol format available to Hispanic audiences in the United States in their native language,” said Jose E. Ramos, President of WAPA Television. “This is a tremendous opportunity for advertisers to reach the millions of U.S. Latino fans of this highly-successful series.”

Many of the same advertisers of “American Idol” have signed on as sponsors of “Idol Puerto Rico,” including Coca Cola, AT&T, Ford, and Burger King. Goya, Pfizer, and local Puerto Rican company, El Instituto de Banca & Comercio are also sponsors.

The well-known judges in the 2013 edition of “Idol Puerto Rico” include Puerto Rican music producer and television host Topy Mamery, Latin Grammy-winning Dominican Merengue music sensation Milly Quezada, and chart-topping Mexican/Argentinian musician Noel Schajris. Television personality Jaime Mayol will host the show for the third consecutive year.