HOPE THE LATINO reality TV show "Q'Viva! The Chosen" gains a cult following that keeps it on the air in the United States for another season or two. Modeled after "American Idol" and hosted by pop superstars Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, Q'Viva is a ground-breaking talent show in three languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese) that showcases performers from Latin America.
Originally shown on Univision, Q'Viva's Fox network debut earlier this month drew 30 million viewers, mostly in South America. The numbers are dropping quickly in North America. For whatever reasons, the show hasn't caught on yet with U.S. primetime audiences. Great idea, but maybe a few years early. The cross-over demographics in the United States and other countries will catch up soon, though. Call it the new global mainstream.
At some point, a cross-border partnership of TV networks and production giants surely will stage a global, multilingual talent show for the world. The logistics would be nightmarish, like a mini-World Cup or Olympics. But imagine the world-class performers, the audience of hundreds of millions, the corporate advertisers (Coca-Cola, Walmart, Procter & Gamble, GE, McDonald's, Haier, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony, et. al.), the $2 trillion global media entertainment market forecast by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Viewers in each country would cheer for their performers, the same way they cheer for their athletes. It would make media history. Oh no it wouldn't. Oh yes it would.
- LATimes.com, "Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony hope 'Q'Viva! The Chosen' translates" by Yvonne Villarreal.
- Entertainment Weekly PopWatch blog, "Q'Viva! React: JLo and Marc Anthony reunited and it feels so good?" by April Daley.
- AdAge, "Fox's Gamble on Cross-Culture Reality TV Could Be a Game-Changer: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony Take Their Univision Show Mainstream, With Subtitles -- Will Viewers Follow?" by Rochelle Newman-Carrasco.
- PricewaterhouseCoopers, "Golden age of the digitally empowered consumer: A new collaborative entertainment & media industry emerges from the global recession."
- USA Today and ABC News, "U.S. Companies Carry a Torch for Olympics" by Edward Iwata.
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