Ratings For "La Esclava Isaura" On Telemundo

The Brazilian telenovela "La Esclava Isaura" is racking up strong ratings for Telemundo. Not a massive audience but the show is being watched by a good-sized and growing number of viewers. Certainly, it is doing far better than the show it replaced "Sin Vergüenza", which lasted only a few weeks in primetime before being bumped to the afternoon (See here for more about Telemundo and Brazilian Telenovelas).

According to Nielsen Media Research, the first half hour of "La Esclava Isaura" on May 23rd was seen by an estimated 1,083,000 viewers. That number is equivalent to a 0.7 rating on the Nielsen Television Index.

By way of comparison, "Don Francisco Presenta" had more than 3.2 million viewers and a 1.8 NTI rating on Univision during the same time slot. 

"La Esclava Isaura" ratings tend to fall during the second half hour. On Wednesday night, the number fell modestly to 1,049,000 viewers. On previous nights, the drop has been quite sharp. I don't know why.

I also don't know why Telemundo's online forum for "La Esclava" is so thinly populated given the large number of viewers. By the way, this novela is a remake of the original and hugely successful Globo production from 1976. Ironically, I found this synopsis of the original at rival network Univision's Web site.

The remake of "La Esclava" pulled in huge ratings in Chile. There must be something viscerally attractive about the storyline. Or maybe it is the coffee plantation setting, which also worked for the Fernando Gaitán novela "Café, con aroma de mujer".

You can see some clips from the show here and decide for yourself.

Comments

[l]

Perhaps your success is based on the fact that a largely ignored demographic of is finally being portraid on television; and dispite their circumstances thay are being portraid with DIGNITY and as HUMANS with hearts!! How much better the viewership would be for other shows if people of African heritage were seen as other than servants or lowly slaves. I wonder which network will be the first to actually "get-it". It's a mistake to ignore such a large spanish speaking demographic. The Brazilians seem to get it. Hmmmmm.

I

[D.]

Perhaps your success is based on the fact that a largely ignored demographic of is finally being portraid on television; and despite their circumstances thay are being portraid with DIGNITY and as HUMANS with hearts and minds!! How much better the viewership would be for other novelas if people of African heritage were seen as other than servants or lowly ignorant slaves. I wonder which network will be the first to actually "get-it". It's a mistake to ignore such a large spanish speaking demographic. The Brazilians seem to get it. Hmmmmm....

I