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 As cases of coronavirus mounted
in Mexico, producers were forced to scratch
physical contact from their typically steamy
telenovelas. Then the cameras stopped rolling
altogether.
“We follow the motto: The show must go on,” said
producer Lucero Suarez, who halted production of
her hit "Te Doy La Vida" ("I Give You Life") in
March.
“Never in my life have we stopped a novela."
After decades of keeping viewers on the edge of
their seats with its high-octane soap operas,
Mexico's largest broadcaster is facing a
cliffhanger of its own.
When will Televisa's army of producers, actors
and actresses return to the set? Even the
company’s top executives can’t say for sure.
Like its Hollywood peers, Grupo Televisa was
forced to suspend production of series and
novelas - the soaps that typically air daily
episodes during the week - to avoid spreading
coronavirus among cast and production crews. The
broadcaster hopes to resume filming in late May
or early June, albeit with fewer moments of
passion.
Televisa's shares have slumped 78% over the past
five years amid anemic earnings growth. More
recently, advertising has waned as the federal
government and companies make cuts. Streaming
giants such as Netflix Inc and Amazon.com Inc
have also made a run for an audience that
Televisa long had almost to itself.
Like all broadcasters and media companies that
rely on advertising income, the coronavirus has
further complicated Televisa's fortunes,
analysts say.
"On the one hand, with everyone staying home,
ratings are through the roof," said Gilberto
Garcia, an analyst with Barclays. "On the other
hand, given that everybody has to stay in,
advertisers are very much cutting back on their
budgets."
With more people staying inside, Televisa's
audience in Mexico has risen 19% over the past
three weeks, a spokesman said. Novelas, which
dominate the primetime lineup, are crucial to
the equation.
The company’s stash of fresh content should last
well into the summer, Co-Chief Executive Alfonso
de Angoitia said on an earnings call last week.
Televisa's unit providing cable TV and broadband
has become its biggest moneymaker. Yet content
still accounts for 27% of net sales and could
become even more vital as growth in the cable
unit slows, Garcia said.
For decades, Televisa profited handsomely from
low-budget novelas that dominated Mexican
airwaves and were successfully exported to
far-flung markets overseas, too.
The broadcaster still holds a commanding lead in
Mexican ratings, but in recent years it has lost
viewers to streaming services that have invested
heavily in Latin America and hooked audiences
with flashy dramas such as Netflix's Spanish
thriller "Money Heist."
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 Televisa has an admirable
record of holding novelas to their production
schedules in the past, even after a devastating
earthquake struck Mexico City in 1985. Strikes
that occasionally delay filming in Hollywood
have been virtually unheard of.
At least two of its shows have been disrupted by
the coronavirus, however. Crime drama “Imperio
de Mentiras” (“Empire of Lies”) was only able to
complete about 20% of filming before production
ground to a halt. Once scheduled to debut in
late April, its premier has been pushed back to
the summer.
Suarez’s show, “Te Doy la Vida," is focused on a
love triangle involving the adoptive and
biological parents of a boy with leukemia and
debuted in March to strong ratings.
As cases of coronavirus rose in Mexico, Suarez
and her team ramped up production, tacking on an
additional day of filming on Saturdays. With the
finale tantalizingly close, Suarez said she was
tempted to press on. But as her team grew more
nervous, she halted production.
In the last stretch, scenes were filmed with
social distancing measures – no hugs, kisses or
other physical contact between cast members.
At times, actors struggled to channel their
characters’ emotions within the new rules of the
game. Cesar Evora, a Televisa veteran of roughly
27 years, recalled filming a wake in which
characters gathered to mourn without ever
embracing.
“It was pretty surreal,” he said.
Suarez has churned out hit novelas for decades,
soldiering on through injuries to her leading
men and other unforeseen obstacles. She is
nervous about navigating the return to the set,
fearing it will be like “starting over.”
Most vexing of all could be the love scenes. But
Suarez said she has already reworked some,
opting to show the moments just after passion,
such as one character touching up her appearance
at the vanity while the other lounges in bed.
“You get the idea,” said Suarez, who spoke with
Reuters by phone last week.
She noted she had taken to watching a lot of
Turkish soaps, which have borrowed Televisa’s
formula with great success, though intimacy is
only implied.
“If my last scene is not a kiss ... we will make
do,” Suarez said. “Sometimes you can convey love
with just a glance.”
(Reporting by Julia Love; Editing by Christian
Plumb and Tom Brown)
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