In a second life, series like 'Acacias' or 'La que se avecina', find in the radio format a way to complement the contents of their linear broadcast
J. MORENO
Sunday, 8 November 2020
Listening to fiction through the ears is not original in our country. At the height of Franco's dictatorship, radio stations popularised the genre of radionovels, which for decades paralysed the daily life of humble households. Those generations were hooked on the dramatic stories of 'Ama Rosa' (1959), on Cadena SER, or 'Simplemente María' (1971), on the Red de Emisoras del Movimiento (REM); both became phenomena at a time when access to culture was experienced as a social event.
Later, the series moved to television, to the screen schedule, transferring their great radio success to the small screen. FM and AM stations gradually disappeared while the programming focused more on information and other types of entertainment. However, sound fiction is once again resonating strongly today thanks to the 'podcast' format, a new experience that has opened the door to producers and creators. And it is not for less, since 40 % of the Spanish Internet users consume audio through this support, according to a report elaborated by Reuters Institute.
In this new scenario, television has become the best ally of the 'podcast', and vice versa. It is the case of 'Maitino', a product created by RTVE and Boomerang TV from two characters of the daily series 'Acacias 38'. The love story between Maite and Camino, played by the actresses Ylenia Baglietto and Aria Bedmar, continued as a 'spin off' in this twelve-minute soundtrack that evoked the radio soap opera of yesteryear. Without a doubt, the format has managed to rejuvenate itself and attract new audiences thanks to the 'boom' of this platform.
Maitino's social network audience was much younger than that of the daily series (female and over 65). We thought of combining the nostalgia of the radio soap opera, which the audience of 'Acacias' experienced directly, with the new platforms and sound resources of the 'podcast'. We didn't want to leave out any kind of audience," explains the coordinator of the R+D department of the Boomerang TV Fiction production company, Pablo Sanhermelando. The podcast has opened up an opportunity for the TVE series by extending the fiction plot and thus complementing its linear broadcast. This support, Sanhermelando points out, allows "to experiment more without running too many risks" as "in budgetary terms it implies lower figures" compared to the audiovisual format. "Many narratives flow and converge with each other. It is a very good option, because without running risks you have greater creative freedom. It's beneficial for everyone," he says.
Infinite possibilities
In this sense, 'La que se avecina' (Telecinco) has chosen to transfer its crazy comics to the 'podcast' format, in this case to Amazon's audio platform, Audible, which has just landed in our country. According to its creator, Alberto Caballero, the decision was made to record ten new chapters in audio as they were "complicated plots to produce because of the cost". Another fiction, 'El Ministerio del tiempo' (TVE), also extended its success with the characters played by Rodolfo Sancho and Hugo Silva.
Other series, on the other hand, have used this audio format to complete the linear broadcast of the fiction with notes from the actors, scriptwriters or directors. In the case of 'Patria' (HBO), which premiered its own 'podcast' in 'Spotify' with Bernardo Pajares and its creator, Aitor Gabilondo, to tell the story of the filming. El corredor de la muerte' (Movistar+) also premiered its own version on the Podium Podcast and was narrated by Nacho Carretero, the journalist who wrote the play that inspired the production.
In short, all these projects define a new market that has yet to be explored and which production companies, television stations and streaming platforms are already taking into account to complement their productions. "Today, we are working on several ways with the 'podcast': create a 'spin off' of a series, recover some of our emblematic fictions through audio or raise independent projects. The possibilities are infinite", concludes Sanhermelando.
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