lippert bettyer

8/12/2019 Lippert Bettyer

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The Bettyer Way to Success

Bianca Lippert

With an average market share of over 50 per cent, Yo soy Betty, la fea (Im Betty, the Ugly One , RCN Televisin, 19992001), the story of an ugly duckling who becomesa swan, is one of the most successful telenovelas ever broadcast in its home terri-tory of Colombia. 1 But its success soon spread. It not only captivated LatinAmerican audiences (an exception forColombian productions), but it also reachedmillions of viewers in over 80 countries around the world. But the success did notstop there: over 15 country-specic adaptations have since been made, 2 each of which display astonishing cultural diversity. 3

Investigating the circulation of Yo soy Betty, la fea and its international counter-parts this study offers insight into the global exchange of individual TV productsand their formats. Firstly, it focuses on the Colombian original, to highlight thedening characteristics of this show. I distinguish Yo soy Betty, la fea f rom othertelenovelas to offer some explanation for its worldwide appeal. I then investigatethe successful translations of Yo soy Betty, la fea , its adaptations and spin-offs.Looking at how these different products interact, and how the networks schedulethem, allows me to draw conclusions about the prospects for success.One country-specic adaptation stands out above the rest in terms of its method of production,content and export rates: namely, the US version, Ugly Betty (VentanarosaProductions/Reveille Productions/ABC, 2006-present). This article concentrateson some of the obstacles faced by Ugly Betty , for example in the homeland of theoriginal telenovela and also, surprisingly, in Germany, where US imports are nor-mally high-rated products. These developments raise the following questions: whathappens in countries with local adaptations of their own? Are local products morehighly prized than foreign imports? Do countries with no domestic adaptationsnd the imported versions enriching, furthermore are those with their own adap-

tations enthusiastic about foreign imports? The reasons for success and failure areevaluated and further developments are presented in order to offer furtherthoughts on what is next for the telenovela.


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20 Critical Studies in Television 3/2

Once Upon A Time

Prominent eyebrows, geeky shell-rimmed glasses and xed braces have becomethe worldwide trademark of Betty. Along with her distinct physical features herclumsiness, bad taste in fashion, intelligence and kind heart have, despite culturalvariations, marked each production. Ugly may be sold to us as the new beauti-ful, but this story of the ugly duckling does not disturb cultural ideals of beauty.Instead what intrigues is how the series differs from the traditional telenovela.Being different contributed to its huge success in Colombia. Most telenovelasshare a similar plotline : the story tells of the poor but beautiful girl who afterseveral challenges nds the (rich) man of her dreams. Yo soy Betty, la fea hardly deviates from this narrative formula, except that the girl is not beautiful at thestart. Furthermore, unlike the heroines of traditional telenovelas, Betty is notwaiting for Prince Charming to rescue her, but is instead determined to climbthe social ladder on her own. But the major difference is how Yo soy Betty, la fea uses humour as well as more realistic storylines, set as it is in a fashion company with the daily routines of ofce life dominating. The main protagonist is intelli-gent and hardworking Beatriz Aurora BettyPinzn Solano (Ana Mara Orozco),who is not quite as attractive as her co-workers. Despite enduring continualtaunts over her appearance, suffering humiliation and overcoming numerousobstacles, she wins the heart of her boss Armando Mendoza Senz (JorgeEnrique Abello).

According to Joseph Straubhaar, 4 telenovelas evolved from the US radio soapmodel, developed by Colgate-Palmolive,Procter and Gamble and Gessy-Lever, andtargeting the female consumer. Since the mid-1950s, the telenovela has spreadrapidly across Latin America.5 Generically it replicated the US formula with itsroots in earlier melodramatic forms, but adapted them with localised themes suchas class conict, social mobility and the escape from poverty.

One of the reasons for Yo soy Betty, la fea s average 50 per cent market share isthat the target group changed and broadened over the course of the show. 6 In aninterview Fernando Gatan, writer of Yo soy Betty, la fea , explains: In the case of Betty, it was like putting the whole country into an ofce of a few square meters.No two characters are alike. There are the poor, the rich, the divorced, the ambi-tious, the successful and the ones who want to be successful. 7 Suggested here is thatthe shows diverse characters offer a number of identication points for viewers,which, in turn, allows the show to reach the broadest possible constituency. Set inthe public world of fashion and commerce stories deal with a range of topics thatappeal to both men and women.Thus this particular telenovela extends classic nar-rative tropes, dealing primarily with family, to include other challenges such asnancial problems, hostile takeovers and unemployment. But at the same time it

remains suitable for a family audience, as it is a novela blanca : meaning, a serialwithout violence.


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The Bettyer Way to Success 21

Ugliness Without Frontiers

While the above-mentioned factors may have contributed to the enormous successof Yo soy Betty, la fea , it was the high exportability of the franchise that proved mostastonishing (which was even more extraordinary given the fact that the LatinAmerican majors such as Televisa, Globo TV and Venevision usually dominate theinternational export and sales of telenovelas). 8 The virulent circulation of the Yo soy Betty, la fea franchise, through exportation, format selling and licensing, bothof the original telenovela and its adaptations, make visible the multilayeredprocesses involved in the international television market.

Numerous local adaptations within diverse cultural contexts may testify to theuniversal attraction of the Yo soy Betty, la fea story, but how the ction has beentraded is instructive. There are, for example, ofcial adaptations, including theMexican one, La fea ms bella (The Most Beautiful Ugly , Televisa, 2006), for whichFernando Gatan wrote. La fea ms bella was a resounding success, and it wasgranted a second season in 2007. The US network, Univision, acquired the broad-casting rights for this Mexican version, and it instantly became the most viewedSpanish-language programme in America. 9

Some countries have, on the other hand, produced unlicensed versions inspiredby the Colombian original. These include the Venezuelan telenovela, Mi Gorda Bella (My Fat Beauty , RCTV, 20023) as well as the Mexican,El amor no es como lo pintan (Love is Not How it is Painted , TV Azteca, 20001), which preceded the of-cial adaptation.

Local versions have often inspired spin-offs. The astonishing success of Yo soy Betty, la fea , for instance, led to EcoModa (a reference to the name of the fashioncompany in the Colombian original, RCTN, 2001) and Betty Toons (ConexinCreativa, 2001). In Germany Verliebt in Berlin (Falling in Love in Berlin , SAT.1,20056) returned as Verliebt in Berlin II (SAT.1, 20067) with a new protagonistBruno Lehmann (Tim Sander), the half brother of Elisabeth Lisa Plenske(Alexandra Neldel), the German Betty; 10 and the popularity of the Russian serialNe Rodis Krasivoy (Be Not Born Beautiful , STS, 2005-present) was followed by thecartoon serial UmaNetto on the Internet platform, ToonGuru (www.toongu.ru).

Furthermore the exportation of dubbed adaptations proved internationally lucrative. For example, the German version has been sold to the Ukraine, Hungary,Bulgaria, Slovakia, Latvia, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada and France; 11 and the USversion reaches at least 130 territories worldwide. 12

As Straubhaar argues, and as the extraordinary success of the franchise illus-trates, certain television products are simultaneously globalised, localised andhybridised, which, in turn, involves complex cultural and structural factors limit-ing, guiding and constraining media production and consumption: [. . .] as these

forces move into a new country or cultural space, they hybridize, becoming part of the ongoing history of that country, interacting with previous forces, and becom-ing localized, enacted, and received by local people with their own identity, history and agendas.13
http://www.toongu.ru/http://www.toongu.ru/


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As the circulation of the Colombian original, as well as other national adapta-tions shows, the concept of cultural proximity is crucial. Straubhaar contends thatmost audiences seem to prefer television programmes that are as close as possiblein language, ethnic appearance, dress, style, humor, historical references, andshared topical knowledge.14 It is exactly this cultural-specic look and feel thatparticular national broadcasting contexts seek to create when adapting the origi-nal format; and this is precisely what happened to the Yo soy Betty, la fea franchise,as it was bought and adapted by diverse cultural markets, from Russia to India,from Turkey to Israel. Changes in the way the franchise looks and feelsas it movesfrom one territory to another further conrms the concept of cultural proximity,where local audiences prefer locally produced cultural products to imported ones.

Bettys BattleNowhere can a better example be found concerning the complex handling of theYo soy Betty, la fea franchise than in Spain, where four different versions werebroadcast. Three were derived from the same geo-linguistic region conrmingJohn Sinclairs argument that geo-linguistic regions have been the initial basis formedia globalisation, precisely in relation to television programmes and services.Regions are not only dened by geographical borders, but also by commonalitiesof language and culture. This natural constituency, Sinclair argues, is one of thereasons that telenovelas are avidly consumed by Spanish-speaking nations. 15 Buthe goes on to add that there is diversity and regional difference within each geo-linguistic region. Meant here is that productions from the same geo-linguisticbackground have as good a chance as any to succeed. But what is more interestingis that as soon as another production with even closer ties to the cultural and lin-guisticcharacteristics of a particular region is transmitted, then that more localisedproduct may be preferred; and this is certainly what happened with the Spanishadaptation of Betty .

The Colombian original rst broadcast in 20012 on the private TV stationAntena 3.16 Four years later, in 2006, and the private channel Telecinco adapted itwith the title Yo soy Bea (I am Bea ) for the Spanish market. To counter the threatposed by this local Spanish production, Antena 3 bought the Mexican adaptation,La fea ms bella . Already successful in other countries, this version, as previously mentioned, had become the most viewed Spanish-language programme in theUnited States. 17 The channel scheduled La fea ms bella to start a couple weeksbefore the Spanish version was due to air on Telecinco. 18 However, and despiteintense promotion, the Mexican telenovela failed to nd an audience in its 4pmslot. Antena 3 rescheduled the show, repositioning it in the morning so as to avoiddirect competition with the Spanish adaptation, which started on 10 July 2006. 19

Yo soy Bea soon achieved huge ratings, to become Spains most viewed afternoonprogramme, with an average of 4 million viewers and a market share of up to 40per cent. 20 At the same time another private TV channel, Cuatro, acquired therights for the US version, Ugly Betty , as early as 2006; but Telecinco blocked its



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transmission until spring 2008. As owner of the rights to the Colombian original,which allowed them to produce the Spanish version, Telecinco also managed toobtain the monopoly rights for transmission. This effectively meant that while Yo soy Bea was on air no other version, Colombian or otherwise, could be shown onSpanish screens. Antena 3, in turn, acquired the rights for the Mexican versionbefore Telecinco signed the contract for the Colombian original. Nonetheless it willbe interesting to see how Cuatro decides to handle the transmission of Ugly Betty ,especially given that Telecinco only has the monopoly rights until the end of April2008, and that Yo soy Bea will presumably continue until June. 21

As scheduling strategies and the strict licensing rights policy in Spain illustrate,producers and programme specialists are keenly aware of the risks and problemsinvolved in competing versions of the same TV product. Foreign imports, whichhave already proved successful in another broadcasting territory, are expected tond domestic audiences, especially if they belong to the same geo-linguisticcontext.

More fascinating still is that the presence of the US version, in competition withother national adaptations, is judged as stimulating rather than dominating theEuropean telenovela market. I think having Disneys show in the mix will actually heighten the interest in telenovelas over here says Naomi Joseph, executive vice-president of worldwide drama for FremantleMedia. 22 Their involvement in pro-ducing the German, Dutch, Belgian and Greek versions may explain Josephsmagnanimous attitude. With different products on the market, daily versus weekly productions, FremantleMedia are not in direct competition but offering differentkinds of products to suit a diverse marketplace. Thus an awareness of powerfullocal productions obviously leads to strategies that avoid direct competition.As theexample of FreemantleMedia shows, internationally orientated production com-panies are keenly aware of the concept of proximity. Instead of producing, forexample, a European-wide version of Betty , they opted instead to produce differ-ent national versions. The optimistic estimation of the US-version in the Europeanmarket may also reect that it is completely different from the local versions.Straubhaar contends, This tendency toward guiding cultural choices based on cul-tural proximity seems strong, but most members of a society are also interested insome amount of diversity and difference as well.23 To this end, the US Betty seemsto have found a kind of globalniche aimed to attract a worldwide audience throughits difference from classic telenovela.

The American Way of Betty

16.1 million people watched the debut of Ugly Betty on 28 September 2006; it wasABCs largest audience for a scripted series for its time slot since Matlock (Dean

Hargrove Productions/Fred Silverman Company/The Matlock Company/ViacomProductions, 198695) in 1995, according to Nielsen Media Research. 24 Like theColombian original, Ugly Betty tells of the intelligent, big-hearted, but klutzy andnot-so attractive Betty who works in the big city. She is an assistant to a fashion



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magazine editor, who she periodically bails out in his private and professional life.But this is where the similarities end. In contrast to the other country-specicadaptations, Ugly Betty is not a telenovela. It is a weekly produced serial, broadcastfrom season to season, and dependent on the commercial vicissitudes of a USnetwork.

Here we see the hybridisation of different cultural backgrounds starting toemerge. Marwan Kraidy interprets hybridity, or the cultural logic of globalisation,as about localised adaptations of global patterns. 25 In the case of Ugly Betty , it hasbeen transformed from a telenovela into an episodic network serial with high-production values. For example, the nancial capital available to the US networksenables programme-makers to spend money in ways that others working in dif-ferent national contexts cannot. As producer of the US version Ben Silvermanexplains, the high-end look of Ugly Betty , making visible the glamorous, haute couture world of the New York magazine scene, could never have been achieved ona traditional budget for telenovelas. 26

There is another issue related to audience expectations. Silvermans statementexemplies what Joseph Straubhaar understands by feedback processes linking theexpectations of audience and producers.With reference to Paul Ricoeurs model of narrative and how individual narrative patterns may become part of a largerculture, 27 Straubhaar speaks of a general pool of cultural knowledge, from whichindividuals draw a personal repertoire of symbols and interpretative understand-ings: This pregures or shapes the work of writers, producers, actors, and othersin the production process. It provides boundaries and rules, as well as resources forthe moment of creation. As producers create, they structure not only their work but also pregure the viewing experience of the audience. 28 Bearing in mind thecommercial patterns of US broadcasting and the expectations for weekly network series in primetime, Silverman knows that American audiences are more used towatching weekly network serials with high-production values than a daily mass-produced serial like a telenovela.

The result is a hybridisation of the genre, which Jason Mittell denes as not only a set of textual parameters, but also cultural products constituted in and througha range of media practices, such as production techniques, audience habits andcritical discourses,which are, in turn,subject to ongoing change and redenition. 29

The Colombian original has changed from Bogot to Hollywood, from a telenov-ela to a Latin-American style primetime dramedy.

Bettys Beat

So far the US version has proved a hit in nearly every foreign territory where it hasbeen sold, including the geo-linguistic countries of the United Kingdom, 30

Australia31 and New Zealand. 32 But scheduling has been crucial to that success.Forexample, programme managers for the New Zealand network TV2, which airedUgly Betty , feared competition from another international format Dancing with the Stars (with a local cast), scheduled to appear on its sister channel TV1. Ugly Betty



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may have been the second highest rating show in New Zealand among 1849-year-olds, after Desperate Housewives (Cherry Alley Productions/ TouchstoneTelevision/Cherry Productions, 2004-present). 33 But it was still interrupted foreight weeks while Dancing With The Stars aired because the network judged theaudience for both programmes as being too similar. The network was justiably cautious given what had happened in Australia. Ugly Betty haemorrhaged its audi-ence when the nale was scheduled up against the start of the international formatIdol , in this case Australian Idol (with a local cast). Ugly Betty suffered its lowestratings since it started broadcasting as a consequence of this scheduling clash. 34

Illustrated here is that programming context and adequate scheduling are vital tobroadcasting success.

John Ellis views scheduling strategies as

[. . .] the locus of power in television, the mechanism whereby demographic spec-ulations are turned into a viewing experience. And it is more than that as well, for any schedule contains distillation of the past history of a channel, of national broadcast-ing as a whole and of the particular habits of national life. 35

Timothy Havens goes even further by identifying the importance of schedulingstrategies as he underlines the hybrid character of international television ows;both local and imported forms of knowledge about viewers behaviours and pref-erences constitute scheduling practices, he argues. 36 Referencing Ellis, Havens

stresses that cultural forces are largely domestic and play a role in resisting global-ising tendencies. None the less he illustrates how scheduling practices across muchof the world increasingly derive from both uniquely local conditions as well asimported ideas. 37 The examples of Australia and New Zealand not only conrmthese scheduling strategies, but also seem to follow the concept of proximity; thatis, as long as an international show has no direct local competition, it can poten-tially have enormous success. Local programming, as in the case of Australia andNew Zealand, is obviously genre-independent (serial vs. casting show) but can alsobe based on an international format (as long as the cast is local).

Unlike Australia and New Zealand, where the local trumped the international,in the Netherlands the US version was successfully broadcast alongside the localversion. The domestic production Lotte was a daily serial, promoted as a telenov-ela and scheduled at 6.30 pm, Monday to Friday, on the private channel Tien.During broadcasting from February 2006 until April 2007 the show attracted onaverage 200,000 viewers,38 peaking at over 300,000 for the nale.39 In August 2007,the weekly US version debuted with an staggering 578,000 viewers during prime-time (8.30 pm) on the private channel Net 5, 40 but this number dwindled in thenext episodes to around 340,000. 41 The appearance of actress Rebecca Romijn

(who plays Alexis Meade in Ugly Betty ) who has Dutch roots (her father is Dutch-born and her American mother is of Dutch descent) gave the show a boost andaudience gures climbed to approximately 473,000. 42 In this case, the internationalproduct was even more successful than the local version. Important here is how



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both versions were scheduled and did not impede on the success of the other, espe-cially given that the local one, Lotte , had already nished its run by the time Ugly Betty began.

In marked contrast to the Australian and New Zealand experience, anotherlocalised international show Holland s Next Top Model (RTL Nederland), althoughrunning in direct competition, did not hamper the success of Ugly Betty . Both pro-ductions enjoyed equally high ratings when the reality TV show started inSeptember 2006. 43

Perhaps the international casting of Ugly Betty may offer us another clue as to itssuccess abroad. Several of the actors are clearly chosen for their appeal to localaudiences when the serial is sold abroad. For example, Romijn with her Dutchroots strengthens viewer loyalty in the Netherlands. The same could be said of New Zealand-born Alan Dale and his appeal to New Zealand audiences; and as one of the original cast members of the hit Australian soap Neighbours (Grundy Television Australia, 1985-present) he also had a reputation with internationalaudiences including those from Australia and the UK. Scottish actress Ashley Jensen, who had recently won national fame playing Maggie Jacobs opposite Ricky Gervais in Extras (BBC/HBO, 20057), would have been familiar enough with thesame demographic that watch Ugly Betty in the UK; and certainly when Ugly Betty reached the UK she was marketed as part of the appeal. Then there is, of course,America Ferrera who plays Betty Suarez. As a child of Honduran parents born andraised in Los Angeles, Ferrera ethnically bridges Hispanic and White America,alluding to the issues associated with an immigrant background and racial iden-tity. And this is to say nothing of the involvement of Salma Hayek who acquiredand adapted (along with Ben Silverman) the Colombian rights, but also had cameoroles: rstly as a star of the telenovela watched in the Suarez household (thus bring-ing that television tradition right into the very heart of Ugly Betty ); and secondly as Soa Reyes, a magazine editor. Hayek may bring a local Latino audience to theUS version but she also brings international Hollywood glamour that extendsbeyond the US borders.

Identication processes are a crucial part of a shows success. Given that export-ing abroad is a vital part of the US business plan when producing television, pro-ducers are mindful to address different cultures with its multinational cast.We aregiving more and more recognition that our content is built for the globe [. . .] and you see inside that content more and more foreign actors. We have three Englishactors in the lead of four of our new dramas. We have Japanese actors, we haveIndian actors, we have French actors, and I think you can see more and morecontent that is built for a global market, said Silverman, who is now co-chairmanof NBC Entertainment and NBC Universal Studios, at the international audiovi-sual content market MIPCOM in Cannes 2007. 44 Taking into account the growing

recognition to meet global demands, as executives like Silverman do, the new trendmight be described as the diversication of the cultural. Meant here is that moreand more actors of a different cultural background are being contracted, are speak-ing with distinct national/regional accents (sometimes with subtitles), act in



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different cultural locations and exhibit culturally specic behaviours, in terms of dress codes and eating habits.

This diversication of the cultural is nothing new, as Roland Robertsondescribed at the beginning of the 1990s. For example, Hollywood attempts toemploy mixed,multinationalcasts of actors and a variety of localsettings whenit is particularly concerned, as it increasingly is, to get a global audience.45

Robertson highlights the academic discourse on the relationship between the localand the global, and emphasises that globalisation is not equivalent with homogeni-sation. Instead, he maintains that globalisation involves the creation and the incor-poration of locality, thus leading in many cases to a hybridisation on a globalscale.46 The casting of Ugly Betty goes one step further than just broadening the cul-tural background of the show. For example, in the second season, Korean Americanactor John Cho playing Kenny, a co-worker of Henry (Christopher Gorham), usesslang expressions borrowed from rap and hip-hop. At rst glance this culturalcrossover supports the humorous approach of the show, but it also invites us tothink about what Jan Nederveen Pieterse called global mlange as it questions thepolitics of hybridity namely, the terms and conditions of mixing. 47

Homeward Journey

But can America Ferrera, the gurehead of the Hispanic girl living the AmericanDream, convince Hispanics living in Latin America? As Sibylla Brodzinsky andGlenn Garvin in their article for McClatchy newspaper say, Colombians are not sureif they like the idea of Ugly Betty returning. 48 Brodzinsky and Garvin quote FabianSanabria, an anthropologist at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, who com-pares watching Ugly Betty to reading Cien anos de soledad (100 Years of Solitude) by Gabriel Garca Mrques in English, and for him it makes no sense. Sanabria refersto the fact that the Spanish book can never be translated into English without losingits distinct cultural and national characteristics. Brodzinsky and Garvin also quoteCarolina Padula, chief programmer at Sony Entertainment Television (SET), whichoperates a Latin American cable channel reaching 17.7 million viewers. Padula ismore optimistic about the success of Ugly Betty in Latin America, believing that theUS version brings a different approach to the well-known story of Yo soy Betty la fea .Sensing that Ugly Betty will nd an audience, SET is ghting for the right to broad-cast the US version in Mexico, where its competitor TV Azteca is also bidding fortransmission rights as it anticipates high ratings. 49 So too does Televisa, which hasobtained the rights for the country-specic adaptation La fea ms bella .50 It seemsBettys battle continues even at the executive level of TV companies with an equiv-alent standing. Although moves to acquire rights are a sign that some believe the USversion could nd a home in Latin America, not everybody seems convinced. This

series could be a moderate success around the rest of Latin America, or it could evenbe as successful as The Sopranos [Chase Films/HBO, 19992007] or 24 [ImagineEntertainment/20th Century Fox Television/Real TimeProductions, 2001-present].But in Colombia, no one will watch it, says Omar Rincon, a TV critic at Bogotas El



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Tiempo newspaper.51 But Colombians are not strongly opposed to every foreignadaptation, as the response to the Mexican La fea ms bella proves. Perhaps thisversion is more acceptable because of the involvement of Gatan. Allowing for gen-eralisations a cursory look at bulletin boards seems to suggest that young peopleremain open-minded to the US adaptation, as this shortened entry suggests:

I am from Colombia and watched Yo soy Betty, la fea . It was very funny but very spe-cic to our culture and traditions. It was intended to make fun and somehow exposethe inuence that social classes have in our country. I have also watched some episodesof Ugly Betty and I can see its value and its contribution tobringingattention to impor-tant issues such as immigration and cultural differences. [. . .] Ugly Betty gives humortoelements that cause conict in this country the same way that Yo soy Betty, la fea gavehumor to elements that cause conict in mine. At the end, it is easier to face and deal

with something if we talk or even laugh about it. So I say lets make more Ugly Bettiesand expose all the things that separate us and divide us. Maybe with a smile on ourfaces wewillbe morewilling toopen upand embrace eachother.As it ismeant to be!! 52

This example and its remark on differences in culture and tradition hint at whatStraubhaar calls the cultural discountof a foreign audience against imported pro-ductions. The discount could be provoked through that with which audiences areunfamiliar, such as jokes requiring cultural context to unlock precise meaning orvisual environments which audiences may nd confusing. 53 In the case of Ugly Betty , the producers tried to minimise this discount through the diversication of the cultural, and the export rates of the US serial seem to support the point.

Interestingly , Fernando Gatan views the success of Ugly Betty on US televisionas an achievement for his country. He even takes delight over it winning a GoldenGlobe in January 2007, quoted as he is in El Tiempo saying that Half the Globe ismine.54 For journalist Mara Antonia Garca, it seems a shame that the only way Colombia can stand out in the United States is through a telenovela; 55 whereas Felix Guitierrez, professor of Journalism and Communication in the University of Southern Californias Annenberg School for Communication, reads the enormoussuccess of Yo soy Betty la fea as a reversal of U.S. cultural imperialism.56

Such debate is reminiscent of the furore created by the global popularity of USsoap opera Dallas (Lorimar Television/CBS, 197891). At the beginning of the1980s this TV show exported across the world,as much criticised as it was watched.The French Minister for Culture, during a conference in Paris 1983, even pro-claimed Dallas as the symbol of American cultural imperialism. 57 Tamar Liebesand Elihu Katz, in their study of cross-cultural readings of Dallas , examined thedecoding strategies of overseas audiences, and found that this show resulted inreexive talk about self and society.58 Such research exemplies that viewers criti-cally consume imported programmes as well as responding to the topics presented

on screen in terms of cultural relevancy.It would be interesting to chart how this debate continues, bearing in mind that

the worldwide success of Yo soy Betty, la fea was initially claimed as the reversal of cultural imperialism but now strikes back in the form of the US remake in its home



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country Colombia. We will have to wait and see for the full reaction of the TV audi-ence; and hopefully, as with Dallas , the show will be successful despite the discus-sion. But the opportunity to watch different countrys adaptations, whether or notthey suit personal tastes, provides a rare opportunity to compare different culturalapproaches to the same story.

Made in Germany

The chance to watch different country-specic versions bypassed Germany, at leastin the rst run. It seems that the market for telenovelas in Germany is limited.Looking at the past fate of this format, it is striking that although Latin Americanproductions were broadcast in the 1980s, they only met with moderate success.Thetrend was recently reversed with the rst German production Bianca Wege zumGlck (Bianca: The Ways to Happiness , ZDF, 20045). But it was Verliebt in Berlin ,the German remake of the Colombian, Yo soy Betty, la fea , which was to becomeone of the most successful telenovelas ever broadcast in Germany. RainerWemcken, CEO of Grundy UFA, the German production company responsible forVerliebt in Berlin , identies the secret of its success: if a telenovela wants to achievehigh ratings in the country, it has to be made in Germany. 59 This is more than theconcept of proximity suggests, for cultural characteristics are not enough, at leastfor a daily television show in Germany. As Michael Esser, scriptwriter for Verliebt in Berlin , explains: the main adaptive changes involved softening the hilarious orig-inal and introducing a more realistic touch so that German audiences could closely relate to the characters. 60 Jens Richter, also involved in the adaptation, commentsthat by setting the story in Berlin, not only allowed the German but also a widerEuropean audience to identify with the modern metropolis that affords glimpsesof local cultural habits and aesthetic values. 61 It could therefore be argued that thisEuropean setting is also a reason for the dubbed Verliebt in Berlin s successfulexport to other European countries such as France, Hungary and Bulgaria. 62

With Alexandra Neldel playing the German Betty, Verliebt in Berlin attracted anaverage of 3.95 million viewers (16.1 per cent of the market share, which translatesto 22.8 per cent of the relevant target group) during the period from 28 February 2006 to 1 September 2007. The last episode, a 90-minute special with a huge pre-and after-show celebration of the marriage of Lisa and David Seidel (MathisKnzler), attracted an overwhelming 7.35 million viewers. 63 Of course, SAT.1wanted to run with the success for as long as possible, and thus launched a sequelwith a new, this time male, protagonist Bruno, the half brother of Lisa. Most of theoriginal cast remained, but Bruno was not able to conquer the hearts of Lisa fans.Therefore, in April 2007, the ugly duckling, a.k.a. Lisa Plenske, now in the form of a beautiful swan, was called on to return to the show for a short comeback. Of

course, the reason was to lure back former fans and it worked. During this periodratings rose, although not as high as expected.64 At the same time, the US versionstarted to air on the same channel SAT.1, once a week in a Friday primetime slot. Itis not clear if Ugly Betty suffered from Lisas brief return,but ratings for the US series



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remained poor. If ratings for the rst Friday were bad (0.78 million viewers in therelevant target group), then those for the second were even worse (0.58 millionviewers). So much so that SAT.1 decided to immediately cancel Ugly Betty .65

No Bettymania in Germany

Given that the US serial performed well in other countries, even those withlocalised versions of the Colombian original (as in the Netherlands), and given thatUS serials/series normally do well in Germany, why did Ugly Betty fail? Taking aclose look at promotion, scheduling, ratings and audience feedback a complex picture begins to emerge.

Initially the US import was promoted as having the same origins as Verliebt in Berlin : namely, that both were based on the Colombian telenovela. 66 SAT.1 may have sold Ugly Betty as inspired by the US blockbuster, The Devil Wears Prada (David Frankel, 2006),but its press release did not do enough to distinguish the USversion from the German. 67 It gave a short synopsis of the pilot episode, empha-sising its similarity to, rather than difference from, the German adaptation. Thiscontradictory message did not help and audiences were not convinced that the USshow offered anything new.

If, as previously mentioned, scheduling plays such an important role in thesuccess of any programme, 68 then what happened in the case of Ugly Betty provesinstructive. SAT.1 failed to nd an appropriate timeslot for its newest US import. Itis questionable whether the Friday primetime slot was the most appropriate one forits target 1849-year-old demographic.But it does beg the question why didSAT.1not even consider a different time slot? (For example, US hit Grey s Anatomy [TheMark Gordon Company/Touchstone Television/ShondaLand,2005-present] failedto make an impression when it was initially broadcast on SAT.1s sister channelProSieben.69 But the channel adjusted the time slot, ratings picked up and the serialhas gone from strength to strength, with the third season topping the ratings. 70)

Despite SAT.1 cancelling the serial, it seems that if comments on the various bul-letin boards are to be believed, ratings might have improved if the channel waiteda little longer for the audience to nd the show. Analysing ratings for the Germanand US versions it is noticeable that the Verliebt in Berlin community were neverinterested in Ugly Betty . Only a few got a taste for it, and, despite having mixedopinions, were prepared to discuss the US serial on the Verliebt in Berlin fan bul-letin board. 71 But many longed for the romance of Verliebt in Berlin , as this abbre-viated entry demonstrates:

What I miss about Betty are the feelings. These are expressed in gestures, words andspecial moments. They transform seconds into something special, moments that

directly lead to my heart magic moments. 72

Others disliked the scene in the pilot when Betty is humiliated during a photo-shoot; similar situations occurred in the German version, but not as overtly as in



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Ugly Betty .At the same time, there were viewers who may have given the US versiona chance, confessing that they just needed more time to get used to the differentapproach. Some Verliebt in Berlin fans, in fact, liked the comedic elements and theexaggerated characters of the US version. One user summarised the paradoxicalattitude many German viewers had toward the US adaptation, suggesting that onone hand, Verliebt in Berlin fans found Ugly Betty to be too ostentatious or werenot interested in seeing the same story again, even if told differently. On the other,the user made the point that there were those who disliked telenovelas in general,and Verliebt in Berlin in particular, and so never tuned into the US version.

No doubt another reason why audiences favoured the German version over theUS one was because of the immense popularity and appeal of the character LisaPlenske.This at least is suggested by an online opinion poll conducted in 2005 with6,455 fans.73 85 per cent voted the ugly protagonist the most popular character onthe show, in particular citing her cooperativeness and intelligence as part of herappeal. The audience also liked the actress Alexandra Neldel for her portrayal of the character and for not being afraid to perform ugly.

Senta Krasser, media commentator for Sddeutsche Zeitung , located the maindifference in how the US and German productions approached the same plot: If the country bumpkin Lisa Plenske was dreaming of her Mr. Right, Bettys goal is toclimb the social ladder by means of her own efforts. Social criticism is totally absentin ViB and romanticism in Ugly Betty .74 This main difference was never madeclear by the private channel SAT.1 when it was initially promoting the US version.SAT.1 failed to reach the potential target group: neither did it appeal to those whowatched Verliebt in Berlin or other telenovelas; nor did it capitalise on nding exist-ing audiences who enjoyed other US serials. The sister channel Pro Sieben, knownfor broadcasting successful US serials, is scheduled to give Ugly Betty a secondchance in late summer 2008; but this time clearly promoting the US version as dif-ferent, a satiric dramedy and highlighting the shows high production values. 75

That said, Ugly Betty is not scheduled for the 2008 autumn line-up; and when Iapproached Pro Sieben they said that the release date could not be conrmed.

Act Glocally

Borrowing the slogan from Friends of the Earth founder David Brower, think locally,act globally ,76 Roland Robertson uses it to describe the strategies that televisionproduction companies and networks follow when blending the foreign with thelocal.77 Glocalization is an approach that combines the principles of mass pro-duction with the possibilities of offering customised local products. To this end, itbecomes clear why buying a format instead of developing in-house shows is pro-ductive. A production company adapting a programme can rely on the experience

of the original creator. At the same time, it benets from the exibility of makingadjustments to the cast, the content and the environment to suit local require-ments. Furthermore, the adaptation can prot from the recognition associatedwith the original show, even if that means the spin-off suffers from high audience



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expectations, especially if it is adapted badly (in whatever sense). All in all, theadvantages outweigh the risks.

Ultimately, variety is the key. Adapting shows should not be the only strategy that production companies and networks follow. The import and export of dubbedproductions remains a basic pillar of the television business. 78 Interestingly, thesales of formats and the export of dubbed productions overlap in a glocalizedworld.As described earlier, Verliebt in Berlin was also successfully exported to othercountries as a dubbed production. Considering local needs for a broader region in this case, Europe the format of Yo soy Betty, la fea was adapted to attract notonly German viewers, but also other European audiences. This is especially inter-esting, as the European broadcasting market is considered a largely territory-basedaffair. As Petros Iosidis, Jeanette Steemers and Mark Wheeler point out, previousefforts to create a pan-European satellite television were singularly disappointingand American-owned thematic channels like MTV have been compelled to localisetheir programmes. 79 Iosdis, Steemers and Wheeler contend: The historical ori-gins of broadcasting as a national concern, and the enormous cultural and lin-guistic diversity within Europe, have meant that the vast majority of television isstill produced for and targeted at distinct national audiences. 80 Localised telenov-elas taking a European approach like Verliebt in Berlin may be a good starting pointto cross the inner European borders.

As an alternative to buying dubbed productions or formats, there is always thepossibility of producing local serials to sell as a dubbed product or even as a format.In fact, the rst German telenovela, Bianca Wege zum Glck , a local German story,was sold as a format to the US network, Lifetime. It was adapted for a US audiencein cooperation with FremantleMedia as a weekly episodic primetime novelarunning for 20 weeks. 81 Even while this example might be an exception to the rule,a reverse ow against the mainstream of US imports into Europe, it nonethelessshows the complex processes involved in global trade,a story often neglected whenfocusing only on the dominant global ows.

Whats Next?Format sales of telenovelas are nothing new, at least in the Latin American world.Adapting successful telenovelas within Hispanic communities is common practice. 82

But the Bettycation phenomenon challenges everything that has gone before.Colombian telenovela Yo soy Betty, la fea and its country-specic versions have trav-elled beyond their geo-linguistic borders, to enter territories never before hooked by telenovelas untilBetty and her culturally specic alter egos.Before, for example, wehad never sold in India, Holland or Germany. An important factor was that itappealed to markets looking for a comedic telenovela, rather than the more tradi-

tional ones, comments RCN international sales director Maria Lucia Hernandez. 83Fernando Gatan, Bettys literary father, has been surprised by the internationalresponse. He concludes that Bettys worldwide success is a sign that female vanity isuniversal.84 To briey summarise the successful formula: take one universal human



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trait, mix it with a pinch of humour and season it with local avour, et voil , a globalhit is served. Of course, audience taste may vary and the recipe adjusted. Let us sneak a peak at the menu of diverse chefs de cuisine in the television market, and see if it isreally as easy to satisfy the audience as the recipe implies. MyNetworkTV (MNT)tried different adaptations of telenovelas for the US market, including Fashion House (20th Century Fox Television/Gone Fission/ Stu Segall Productions, 2006) andWicked Wicked Game (Gone Fission/Twentieth Television, 2006). 85 Colombian dis-tributor Caracol Television International, the original scriptwriters of another MNTadaptation called Desire (original title: Mesa para tres/Table for Three , MyNetwork TV, 2006-present), supervised the US version to ensure the original story was pro-tected.86 Unfortunately, none of these productions could hook an audience, which isperhaps moreused to haute cuisine (high-productionepisodicnetwork serials) thanfast food (cheaply produced mass serials). Or perhaps US gourmets simply do notwant to eat the same thing every day, as Greg Meidel, president of MNT, implies:Trying to get people to watch serialized dramas every night on MyNetworkTV wasasking the impossible.87 Despite this failure, executives at ABC, CBS and NBC con-tinue to believe in the potential of this format. 88 AlthoughBetty fever, which startedin 1999, seems far from over, producers have started looking for the next poweringredient to brew another success formula and seem to have found it: Caf .Apparently Colombia, famous for its coffee exportation and as the birthplace of Yo soy Betty la fea , bodes well. Based on the motto never change a winning team,Fernando Gatans Caf con aroma de mujer (Women-avoured coffee , RCNTelevisin, 1994) is one of the selected telenovelas hoping to replicate the success of Yo soy Betty, la fea . The same production companies involved with Bettymania haveacquired the rights for Caf con aroma de mujer : Reveille for the US market andFremantleMedia for pan-American versions. 89 Two Mexican adaptations of Caf already exist. One from TV Azteca entitled Cuando seas mia (WhenWillYou Be Mine )aired in 20012 and is similar to the original except for the ending90. The other fromTelevisa called Destilando amor (Distilling Love , 2007) changed its recipe for successfrom the ingredient coffee to tequila. Instead of working in a coffee plantation, theMexican heroine harvests the cactus that produces tequila.This change yielded goodresults. The nale of Destilando amor aired on 3 December 2007 on the Hispanic-American network Univision, and with 27.7 million viewers was the most watchedshow, beating channels likeABC, CBS,NBC and FOX.91 According to Variety ,theUSversion may be set in a wine vineyard.92 Let us wait and see if a German version hitsthemarket, changing the ingredient for success to beer with its plot revolving aroundthe cultivation of hops as cultural proximity rules.

Another aspiring Betty successor is the telenovela Sin tetas no hay paraso (Without Breasts There is No Paradise ), by coincidence or not, from Colombia. Thestory is based on the homonymous novel by Gustavo Bolvar, and was produced

for television by Canal Caracol since 2006. The successful, and at the same timecontroversial, story is about a poor young girl, who works as a prostitute to earnmoney for breast augmentation, which she thinks will help her climb the socialladder. 93 Although using different approaches, both Yo soy Betty, la fea and Sin tetas



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no hay paraso offer social critique. Ben Silverman also believes in the success of theColombian serial, and has acquired the rights for Sin tetas no hay paraso , this timein his position as co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and NBC UniversalTelevision Studio. 94 Yet, NBCs Spanish language broadcasting unit, Telemundo, isalso planning its own version, which will air in the United States. Based on its pos-itive experience with its Bettys Spain has also jumped on the bandwagon andreserved the rights for a local adaptation of Sin tetas no hay paraso .95 These exam-ples indicate that the trend of geo-linguistic proximity is no longer the only factorin success. Global players like NBC have already diversied its company structures(in this case with Telemundo) to deliver as many localised products as possible. AsHollywood branches out into the telenovela genre, the Latin American majors likeTelevisa must adjust to strong competitors with huge budgets and high reputa-tions. This leads to strategies that diversify classical telenovelas.As Timothy Havensillustrates, Televisa has already developed different telenovela sub-genres incorpo-rating animation, music videos and reality shows. 96

The technological developments in recent decades have burst the constraints of geographical and national borders, and red the imagination of universally acces-sible media communities. However, theoretical possibilities have not yet beenimplemented in practical everyday media consumption. Kai Hafez rightly scruti-nises the emergence of a global public sphere and emphasises the importance of regionalisation in televisual landscapes. 97 But,as Havens notes, common sense sug-gests that the largest hurdle faced by global television merchants is cultural differ-ence, which impedes the ow of both programming and prots. Then again, hisresearch has shown how cultural difference also forms the basis of global televi-sion sales, as buyers and sellers strive to distinguish themselves from their com-petitors based upon genre, nationality, ethnicity and the like 98 and thus creatingdiversity. No greater example than this is Bettys itinerary in all its country-specic varieties, hybridising local avours with transnational patterns.

Notes

1 Betty, la nuestra,Semana , 8 July 2000, 2429.2 The following countries have adapted the Colombian telenovela, Yo soy Betty, la fea , or,

according to Canal RCN and Tony Lagarto, are in process of developing it: China (indevelopment, in co-operation with Televisa and its local adaptation, La fea ms bella ),Belgium, Brazil (Rede Record in partnership with Televisa), Czech Republic, Croatia,Germany, Greece, India, Israel, Italy (Grundy Italy is in advanced negotiation with Raiction), Mexico, Netherlands, The Philippines (since September 2008), Poland(October 2008), Russia, Spain, Turkey, United States, Vietnam (in development).Ugly is the New Beautiful. An International Bettybase http://sirlizard.prohosts.org//internacional.html mytop. accessed 15 October 2008.

3 Fernando Gatan, Interviewed by Bianca Lippert, Bogot, 31 March 2008; and LinaMara Waked, Interviewed by Bianca Lippert, Bogot, 3 April 2008.

4 Joseph D. Straubhaar, World Television: From Global to Local , Sage Publications, 2007,pp. 15253.



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5 For an overview of the development of the telenovela in Latin America: Jos IgnacioCabrujas, Y latinoamrica invent la telenovela , Alfa Grupo Editorial, 2002, pp. 16782.

6 Betty, la nuestra,Semana , 2000.7 In the original Spanish:En elcasodeBetty, era comometer a todoelpasenuna ocina

de unos pocos metros cuadrados. No haba una lnea de personajes unicas. Estn lospobres, los ricos, las seperadas, las casadas, el ambicioso, el hombre de xito o elaspirante a serlo. Translated by author. Lorenzo Vilches, Betty, la fea , entre Telenovela y Sitcom (I),Guionactualidad,20 March2007, http://antalya.uab.es/guionactualidad/spip.php?article981, accessed 18 December 2007.

8 Another exception is the telenovela, Caf con aroma de mujer (Woman-avoured coffee,RCN Televisin, 1994),written by FernandoGatan, which proved an international hit;Gatan, Interviewed by Bianca Lippert, Bogot, 31 March 2008.

9 Toni Fitzgerald, The One Show Idol Cant Stop: Bella ,Media Life Magazine , 2 January 2008, http://www.medialifemagazine.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=418&num=9856, accessed 31 January 2008.

10 Manuel Weis, Quotencheck: Verliebt in Berlin 2 , Quotenmeter.de , 19 December 2006,http://quotenmeter.de/print.php?newsid=17938, accessed 6 January 2008.

11 SevenOne International verkauft Verliebt in Berlin an ukrainischen TV-Sender ICTV,Presseportal , 26 November 2007, http://www.presseportal.de/print.htx?nr=1091207.htm, accessed 1 January 2008.

12 Ugly Betty Licensed to 130 Territories Worldwide, WorldScreen.com, 21 May 2007, http://www.worldscreen.com/print.php?lename=disney052107.htm, accessed1 January 2008.

13 Straubhaar, World Television , p. 3.14 Ibid ., p. 26.15 John Sinclair, Latin American Television: A Global View , Oxford University Press, 1999,

pp. 12.16 Javier Cid, Antena 3 descubre la gallina de los huevos de oro con Yo soy Betty, la fea ,

Elmundo.es., 16 April 2002, http://www.elmundo.es/2002/04/16/comunicacion/1131512.html, accessed 2 January 2008.

17 Fitzgerald, The One Show Idol Cant Stop: Bella , 2 January 2008.18 Ana Porto, Antena 3 estrena La fea ms bella y Telecinco ultima Yo soy Bea ,Elmundo.es ,

26 June 2006, http://www.elmundo.es/2002/04/16/comunicacion/1131512.html,accessed 2 January 2008.

19 Antena 3 traslada La fea ms bella a las mananas y ampla Rebelde en las tardes,FormulaTV.com, 7 July 2006, http://www.formulatv.com/1,20060707,2439,1.html,accessed 11 December 2007.

20 Yo soy Bea cumple este lunes 300 captulos en Telecinco, FormulaTV.com, 28 September2007, http://www.formulatv.com/1,20070928,5595,1.html, accessed 11 December 2007.

21 Telecinco bloquea el estreno de Ugly Betty en Cuatro, Vertele.com, 17 December 2007,http://www.vertele.com/noticias/detail.php?id=17371, accessed 2 January 2008.

22 Elizabeth Guider, Bettys Do Battle. Skein Competition Could Get Ugly, Variety.com, 9October 2006, http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=print_story&articleid=VR1117951583&categoryid=19, accessed 2 January 2006.

23 Straubhaar, World Television , p. 27.24 Associated Press,Ugly Betty Tops Ratings Among New Series So Far, FOXnews.com, 29

September 2006, http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,216715,00.html, accessed 8 January 2008.

http://antalya.uab.es/guionactualidad/http://www.medialifemagazine.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=418http://quotenmeter.de/print.php?newsid=17938http://www.worldscreen.com/print.php?filename=disney052107.htmhttp://www.elmundo.es/2002/04/16/comunicacion/1131512.htmlhttp://www.elmundo.es/2002/04/16/comunicacion/1131512.htmlhttp://www.elmundo.es/2002/04/16/comunicacion/1131512.htmlhttp://www.formulatv.com/1,20060707,2439,1.htmlhttp://www.formulatv.com/1,20070928,5595,1.htmlhttp://www.vertele.com/noticias/detail.php?id=17371http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,216715,00.htmlhttp://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,216715,00.htmlhttp://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,216715,00.htmlhttp://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,216715,00.htmlhttp://www.vertele.com/noticias/detail.php?id=17371http://www.formulatv.com/1,20070928,5595,1.htmlhttp://www.formulatv.com/1,20060707,2439,1.htmlhttp://www.elmundo.es/2002/04/16/comunicacion/1131512.htmlhttp://www.elmundo.es/2002/04/16/comunicacion/1131512.htmlhttp://www.elmundo.es/2002/04/16/comunicacion/1131512.htmlhttp://www.worldscreen.com/print.php?filename=disney052107.htmhttp://quotenmeter.de/print.php?newsid=17938http://www.medialifemagazine.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=418http://antalya.uab.es/guionactualidad/


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25 Marwin M.Kraidy, Hybridity, Or TheCultural Logic of Globalization, Temple University Press, 2005.

26 Bill Carter, American Telenovelas Have Lost Their Allure, New York Times , 8 January 2007.

27 Paul Ricoeur, Time and Narrative , Volume 1, University of Chicago Press, 1984.28 Straubhaar, World Television , p. 147.29 Jason Mittell, Genre and Television: From Cop Shows to Cartoons in American Culture,

Routledge: 2004.30 Jason Deans, Ugly Betty Attracts 4.5m, MediaGuardian , 8 January 2007, http://www.

guardian.co.uk/media/2007/jan/08/overnights/print, accessed 4 January 2008.31 Seven Daily Ratings Report, Ebroadcast.com, 19 February 2007, http://www.

ebroadcast.com.au/enews/Daily_Ratings_Report_190207.html, accessed 4 January 2008.

32 Vicki Rothrock,Ugly Betty Gets Big Kiwi Welcome. Premiere Tops Ratings in New Zealand, Variety.com, 22 January 2007, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117957907.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&nid=2562, accessed 4 January 2008.

33 Save The Last Dance For Ugly Betty , NZherald.co.nz , 5 April 2007, http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10432781, accessed 4 January 2008.

34 TEN Daily Ratings Report, Ebroadcast.com, 6 August 2007, http://www.ebroad-cast.com.au/enews/ten-tv-ratings-060807.html, accessed 4 January 2008.

35 John Ellis,Scheduling: The Last Creative Act in Television?Media, Culture, Society ,22,2000, 26.

36 Timothy Havens, Global Television Marketplace , b Publishing, 2006.37 Ibid ., p. 123.38 Lotte tot mei iedere werkdag bij Tien, Mediacourant.nl , 11 December 2006, http://

www.ebroadcast.com.au/enews/ten-tv-ratings-060807.html, accessed 4 January 2008.39 311.000 kijkers voor Lotte , Mediacourant.nl , 9 April 2007, http://www.mediacourant.

nl/?p=2978, accessed 7 January 2008.40 NET 5 blij met succesvolle start Ugly Betty , Mediacourant.nl , 21 August 2007,

http://www.mediacourant.nl/?p=3793, accessed 4 January 2008.41 1 miljoen kijkers voor Pauw en Witteman, Mediacourant.nl , 5 November 2007,

http://www.mediacourant.nl/?p=4288, accessed 4 January 2008.42 562.000 kijkers voor Nova/Den Haag Vandaag, Mediacourant.nl , 19 November 2007,

http://www.mediacourant.nl/?p=4353 accessed 4 January 2008.43 422.000 kijkers voor Hollands Next Top Model , Mediacourant.nl , 15 October 2007,

http://www.mediacourant.nl/?p=4148, accessed 4 January 2008.44 Ben Silverman, Interview with Ross Westgate, MIPCOM Meets Hollywood: Keynote Ben

Silverman , Video-Stream. Cannes, 9 October 2007, http://www.mipcom.com/App/homepage.cfm?appname=100495&moduleid=411&campaignid=11612&iUserCampaignID=43822922, accessed 25 March 2008.

45 Roland Robertson, Glocalistion: Time-Space and Homogeneity-Heterogeneity, inMike Featherstone, Scott Lash and Roland Robertson, eds, Global Modernities , SagePublications, 1995, p. 38.

46 Ibid ., pp. 3244.47 Jan Nederveen Pieterse, Globalization as Hybridization, in Featherstone, Lash and

Robertson, eds, Global Modernities , pp. 5368.48 Sibylla Brodzinsky and Glenn Garvin,In Colombia, Ugly Betty Not a Pretty Sight, The

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Providence Journal , 26 December 2007, http://www.projo.com/lifebeat/content/lb-uglybett_122607_AN7VSB0_v13.ef5523.html, accessed 2 January 2008.

49 Alex Madrigal, Quiere con Ugly Betty ,El Universal , 2 January 2007, http://www.eluni-versal.com.mx/espectaculos/73734.html, accessed 5 January 2008.

50 Mala noticia Ugly Betty no se ver en Mxico, Univision.com, Online posting, 9October 2007, http://foro.univision.com/univision/board/message?board.id=salma-hayek&message.id=17090, accessed 5 January 2008.

51 Quoted in Brodzinsky and Garvin, In Colombia, Ugly Betty Not a Pretty Sight, 26December 2007.

52 Ugly Betty : An Outcast Among Her Own People, AfterEllen.com, Online posting, 12December 2007, http://www.afterellen.com/blog/thelinster/ugly-betty-an-outcast-in-colombia, accessed14 January 2008.

53 Straubhaar, World Television , p. 147.54 Medio Golden Globe es mo; MaraAntonia Garca, La suerte de la fea, El Tiempo .com,

23 January 2007, http://www.eltiempo.com/opinion/columnistas/otroscolumnistas/ARTICULO-WEB-NOTA_INTERIOR-3410631.html accessed 24 January 2007.

55 Ibid .56 Bet[t]y la fea es un icon,Univision.com, Online posting. 13 October 2006, http://foro.

univision.com/univision/board/message?board.id=univision&message.id=29425,accessed 5 January 2008.

57 Ien Ang, Watching Dallas: Soap Opera and the Melodramatic Imagination , Routledge,1996, p. 2.

58 Elihu Katz and Tamar Liebes, Interacting with Dallas : Cross Cultural Readings of American TV, Canadian Journal of Communication s, 15, 1, 1990, 4566, 58ff.

59 Sigrid Eck, Umstrittene Liebe mit Happy End, Werben und Verkaufen , 11 May 2006,567.

60 Estrategia: Producir para apostar por los mercados europeos, TVMASmagazine.com,August 2005, http://www.tvmasmagazine.com/agosto2005/telenovelas1.php, accessed7 January 2008.

61 Alemania: Celebra los altos ratings y el share de la telenovela, TVMASmagazine.com,August 2005, http://www.tvmasmagazine.com/agosto2005/telenovelas.php, accessed 7January 2008.

62 SevenOne International verkauft Verliebt in Berlin an ukrainischen TV-Sender ICTV,Presseportal , 26 November 2007, http://www.presseportal.de/print.htx?nr=1091207.htm, accessed 1 January 2008.

63 Manuel Weis, Quotencheck: Verliebt in Berlin , Quotenmeter.de . 9 September 2006,http://www.quotenmeter.de/index.php?newsid=16405, accessed 6 January 2008.

64 Uwe Mantel, Verliebt in Berlin : Lisa-Effekt lie schnell nach, DVDL.de Das Medienmagazin , 8 May 2007, http://www.dwdl.de/article/news_10802,00.html,accessed 6 January 2008.

65 Julian Beck, Fehlstart fr Alles Betty Miese Quoten bei RTL, TVblogger.de , 28 April2007, http://www.tvblogger.de/fehlstart-fur-alles-betty-gute-quoten-bei-rtl/, accessed5 January 2008.

66 Ab heute ist im Fernsehen Alles Betty , ProSiebenSat.1.com. 27 April 2007, http://www.prosiebensat1.com/pressezentrum/sat1/2007/04/x02568/, accessed 7 January 2008.

67 Ibid .68 Havens, Global Television Marketplace , 2006; Ellis,Scheduling: The Last Creative Act in

Television?, 2538

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69 Alexander Krei, Nach miesem Start: Greys Anatomy rutscht ab, Quotenmeter.de . 22March 2006, http://www.quotenmeter.de/index.php?newsid=13773, accessed 8January 2008.

70 Torben Gebhardt, Quotencheck: Greys Anatomy , Quotenmeter.de , 29 November2007, http://www.quotenmeter.de/index.php?newsid=23748, accessed 8 January 2008.

71 Alles Betty Online posting. Community.SAT.1.de , 9 May 2007, http://community.sat1.de/php-bin/sat1/index.php?page=Board.PopupPrint&subject=R , accessed 9 May 2007.

72 Original bulletin board entry in German: Was mir bei Betty fehlt sind die Gefhle. Diesich in Gesten, Worte und Augenblicke ausdrcken. Und damit Sekunden zu etwasbesondern macht. Die Momente die auf direktem Weg in mein Herz steuern DerZauber, die Magie. Alles Betty. . . Online posting. Community.SAT.1.de , 9 May 2007,http://community.sat1.de/php-bin/sat1/index.php?page=Board.PopupPrint&subject=R , accessed 9 May 2007.

73 Mut zur Hsslichkeit, sozioland.de,September2005, http://www.sozioland.de/rp/vib/,accesssed 15 January 2008.

74 Original quote in German:TrumtedasMuschenLisa Plenske von Rettung durch denPrinzen, so ist Bettys Ziel der soziale Aufstieg aus eigener Kraft.Das Sozialkritische gehtViB vllig ab und Ugly Betty dafr die Romantik, Senta Krasser, Betty und ihreSchwestern, Sddeutsche Zeitung , 16 April 2007, 1F2 15.

75 Bernd Michael Krannisch, Pro7: 24 und Ugly Betty kommen im Sommer , 8 March2008, http://www.serienjunkies.de/news/pro7-laquo24raquo-17548.html, accessed 20March 2008.

76 Ralph Keyes, The Quote Verier , Simon & Schuster, 2006.77 Robertson, Glocalization: Time-Space and Homogeneity-Heterogeneity, in Feather-

stone, Lash and Robertson, eds, Global Modernities , pp. 2444.78 Havens, Global Television Marketplace , 2006.79 Petros Iosidis, JeanetteSteemersand Mark Wheeler, EuropeanTelevision Industries,b

Publishing, 2005.80 Ibid ., p. 132.81 Bianca Goes Primetime With Lifetime in the US, Televisionpoint.com, 6 June 2006,

http://www.televisionpoint.com/news2006/newsfullstory.php?id=1149583488,accessed 15 January 2008.

82 Gatan, Interviewed by Bianca Lippert, Bogot, 31 March 2008.83 Quoted in John Hecht, Telenovela Market, Hollywoodreporter.com, 26 Sepember 2006,

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/international/features/e3iCAGp1f%2FrC6qEU8LDUEO2lg%3D%3D, accessed 2 January 2008.

84 Anna Marie de la Fuente,Ugly Betty Grows Into Swan Around Globe. Telenovela TakesOff in Many Territories, Variety.com. 5 February 2006, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117937365.html?categoryid=14&cs=1, 2 January 2008.

85 Bill Carter, American Telenovelas Have Lost Their Allure, 2007.86 Guillermo Chavez, Passion Travels, Worldscreen.com, April 2007, http://www.world-

screen.com/featurescurrent.php?lename=novelas0407.htm, accessed 10 January 2008.

87 John Dempsey,Soaps Not Sudsy For MyNetwork TV. Network Revamps Its Schedule,Variety.com, 1 February 2007, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117958532.html?categoryid=14&cs=1, accessed 10 January 2008.

http://www.quotenmeter.de/index.php?newsid=13773http://www.quotenmeter.de/index.php?newsid=23748http://www.sozioland.de/rp/vib/http://www.televisionpoint.com/news2006/newsfullstory.php?id=1149583488http://www.variety.com/http://www.variety.com/http://www.televisionpoint.com/news2006/newsfullstory.php?id=1149583488http://www.sozioland.de/rp/vib/http://www.quotenmeter.de/index.php?newsid=23748http://www.quotenmeter.de/index.php?newsid=13773


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88 Bill Carter, American Telenovelas Have Lost Their Allure, 2007.89 Anna Marie de la Fuente, Beating the Telenovela Bushes For Another Betty . Caf May

Be Headed For the U.S, Variety.com, 19 November 2006, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117954163.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&query=ugly+betty+TV+azteca,accessed 5 January 2008.

90 Cuando seas ma (TV Azteca 2001), Todotnv.com, 24 Sept. 2006, http://www.todotnv.com/cuando-seas-mia-tv-azteca-2001.html, accessed 11 January 2008.

91 El nal ms visto en EU,Esmas.com, 6 December 2007, http://www.esmas.com/desti-landoamor/noticias/684452.html, accessed 11 January 2008.

92 de la Fuente, Beating the Telenovela Bushes For Another Betty . Caf May Be HeadedFor the U.S, http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117954163.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&query=ugly+betty+TV+azteca, accessed 5 January 2008.

93 Sinopsis. Sin tetas no hay paraso, Canal Caracol , 2006, http://www.canalcaracol.com/plant_contenido.asp?hid_id_menu=206, accessed 11 January 2008.

94 Marta Alonso, Sin tetas no hay paraso tendr tambin version norteamericana, Vaya tele . 15 June 2007, http://www.vayatele.com/2007/06/15-sin-tetas-no-hay-paraiso-tendra-tambien-version-norteamericana, accessed 15 January 2008.

95 Ibid .96 Havens, Global Television Marketplace, p. 56.97 Kai Hafez, The Myth of Media Globalization , trans. Alex Skinner, Polity Press, 2007, p.

69ff.98 Havens, Global Television Marketplace , p. 157.

http://www.variety.com/http://www.todotnv.com/cuando-seas-mia-tv-azteca-2001.htmlhttp://www.todotnv.com/cuando-seas-mia-tv-azteca-2001.htmlhttp://www.canalcaracol.com/http://www.canalcaracol.com/http://www.todotnv.com/cuando-seas-mia-tv-azteca-2001.htmlhttp://www.todotnv.com/cuando-seas-mia-tv-azteca-2001.htmlhttp://www.variety.com/

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