Telenovela Channel (informally abbreviated TNC, stylized as TeleNovela Channel) was a

telenovela A telenovela is a type of a television serial drama or soap opera produced primarily in Latin America. The word combines ''tele'' (for "television") and ''novela'' (meaning "novel"). Similar Drama (film and television), drama genres around the w ...

-based cable

channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Australia in Queensland and pa ...

in the

Philippine The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

network owned by Beginnings at Twenty Plus, Inc. under a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

with

TelevisaUnivision TelevisaUnivision (formerly known as Univision Communications) is a Mexican-American media company headquartered in Miami and Mexico City that owns American Spanish language broadcast network Univision and free-to-air channels in Mexico such as ...

. The network launched in the summer of 2011 with test broadcast before fully launching on November 14, 2011. The network ceased operations on March 1, 2024.

History

Beginning of the broadcast of telenovelas in the Philippines

During the 1990s, the Philippines started to air Latin American telenovelas on free-to-air television networks including RPN 9 (since 1994 with ''La Traidora''), ABS-CBN 2 (since 1996 with '' Maria Mercedes''), ABC 5 (now TV5, since 1996 with '' Morena Clara''),

GMA 7 DZBB-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Metro Manila, Philippines, serving as the flagship of the GMA television network. The digital service is known as DZBB-DTV by only a few people. It is owned and operated by the network's namesa ...

(since 1996 with '' Agujetas de color de rosa'') and IBC 13 (since 2001 with ''

Por un beso Por or POR may refer to: Por * Por (Thai word) * Por, Armenia, a town * Por, a Spanish preposition * Por, a Portuguese preposition POR * POR (gene), cytochrome P450 reductase * Portugal, IOC country code * Power-on reset * Program of Record ...

''). The telenovelas aired on Philippine television, especially those produced in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, were dubbed in Filipino and were shown in primetime and afternoon slots. However, the late 2000s saw the dwindling popularity of the Latin American telenovelas.

Channel launch and initial programming (2011–2013)

Beginnings at 20 Plus, Inc. launched a channel dedicated to Mexican telenovelas in 2011. Beginnings at 20 Plus, Inc. is a multi-media company that produces concerts, events and offers television production services as well. The company produced the dubbed Tagalog version of the Chinese historical drama series '' Judge Bao'' in 2007–2008, aired on ABC-5. A landmark agreement between Beginnings at 20 Plus, Inc. and Mexican network

Televisa Grupo Televisa, S.A.B., simply known as Televisa, is a Mexican telecommunications and broadcasting company. A major Latin American mass media corporation, it often presents itself as the largest producer of Spanish-language content. In April ...

marked the start of a new channel dedicated to telenovelas. On November 14, 2011, Telenovela Channel started its maiden broadcast with '' In the Name of Love'', '' The Two Sides of Ana'', ''

Passion Passion, the Passion or the Passions may refer to: Emotion * Passion (emotion), a very strong feeling about a person or thing * Passions (philosophy), emotional states as used in philosophical discussions * Stoic passions, various forms of emotio ...

'' and '' La Madrastra''. These telenovelas were dubbed in Tagalog and were aired in original

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

audio as well until 2013 as the new telenovelas were dubbed in English. The year 2012 saw the introduction of new telenovelas as well. These are '' A Woman's Word'', ''

Big Love ''Big Love'' is an American drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer that aired on HBO from 2006 to 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a Mormon fundamentalism, fundamentalist Mor ...

'', and ''

Love Spell Love magic is a type of magic that has existed or currently exists in many cultures around the world as a part of folk beliefs, both by clergy and laity of nearly every religion. Historically, it is attested on cuneiform tablets from Mesopotam ...

''. The same year also marked the return of '' Marimar'', this time on cable via this channel. With its aim to be a purely Filipino telenovela cable channel, Spanish audio versions of the telenovelas were stopped in order to give way to Tagalog dubbed shows. On August 13 to 19, 2012, episodes of various telenovelas were aired again by viewers' request due to brownouts caused by strong monsoon rains ( Habagat) on August 7 to 9, 2012.

Transition to English audio and programming changes (2013–2016)

In 2013, the channel made a major shift as the new telenovelas acquired are now dubbed in English starting with ''

Soy tu dueña ''Soy tu dueña'' (Literal English translation: I’m your owner, International English title: ''A Woman of Steel'') is a Mexican telenovela produced by Nicandro Díaz González for Televisa. It is a remake of the telenovela ''La Dueña (1995 Mex ...

'' and ''

Rafaela Rafaela is a city in Argentina, located in the central-west region of the Santa Fe Province. It serves as the head of the Castellanos Department and is the third most populous and significant urban center in the province, following Rosario, Santa ...

''. In June 2013, the channel's airtime was reduced to give way to Home TV shopping blocktimer ''TeleVShop'' which was later replaced by ''TV Shop Philippines'' in 2014. On June 2, 2014, the telenovela returned on Free TV as '' The Two Sides of Ana (Dalawang Mukha ni Ana)'' during ATC@

IBC-13 DZTV-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Metro Manila, Philippines, serving as the flagship of the IBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's namesake corporate parent. The station maintains studios at the IBC Compound, Lo ...

block. On July 7, 2014, Telenovela Channel launched the return of the popular telenovela '' Cuidado con el ángel'', under the English title ''Don't Mess with an Angel''. The said telenovela already aired on

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

as ''Maria de Jesus: Ang Anghel sa Lansangan'', dubbed in Tagalog from 2009 until it ended in 2010. Also in 2014, reruns of last 5-10 episodes of each telenovela were aired, afterwards a new telenovela was replaced. As of 2015, no full-length reruns of telenovelas aired after the rerun of '' The One who Couldn't Love''. Since April 2015, all telenovelas and an anthology are aired in English.

Exploring new genres and remakes (2017–2019)

On January 16, 2017, Telenovela Channel aired its first and only non-telenovela program '' The Rose of Guadalupe'', an anthology featuring standalone inspirational stories each episode. Three new novelas subsequently aired on summer: '' Head Over Heels'', '' I Don't Trust Men Anymore'' and '' La Malquerida''. For the first time, Telenovela Channel launched its first and only Brazilian telenovela '' Carrossel'', which is a remake of the 1989 telenovela ''

Carrusel ''Carrusel'' () is a Mexican Child, children's telenovela produced by Valentín Pimstein for Televisa in 1989. It is based on the Argentina, Argentinean character :es:Jacinta Pichimahuida, Jacinta Pichimahuida (first televised in 1966), and produ ...

''. The telenovela, produced by SBT and distributed by Televisa (for international markets), replaced '' I Don't Trust Men Anymore'' on October 23, 2017. With 252 episodes using the international version (instead of 310 in the original airing), this is the overall longest-running telenovela aired on TNC, although ''Big Love'' (2012–2013) remains the longest running Mexican soap opera with 205 episodes. Two programs premiered on

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

of 2018: '' My Heart is Yours'' and '' The Color of Passion''. ''I Don't Trust Men Anymore'' had its repeat broadcast on July 2, 2018, the first program to have a full run rerun since ''The One who Couldn't Love'' in 2015. '' Secrets at the Hotel'' was launched on September 3, 2018, replacing ''La Rosa de Guadalupe''. This is the second-period soap opera the channel aired after ''

'' in 2011. '' Simply María'', a remake of the 1989 telenovela (already aired on RPN from 1996 to 1997), was launched on September 17, 2018. '' Fooled Into Love'' and '' Ask God for Forgiveness Not Me'' premiered in late November as 2018 draws to an end. Telenovela Channel aired the program '' Corazón indomable'' under the title ''Wild at Heart'' in January 2019. The said telenovela was already shown on

GMA Network GMA Network (an acronym of its legal name, Global Media Arts and commonly known as GMA) is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine commercial broadcast network, serving as the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network (company), ...

in 2015, with a slightly reduced number of episodes along with Tagalog audio. This is the third time a previously Tagalog-dubbed telenovela on free TV will be aired in English on TNC after ''Don't Mess with an Angel'' and ''Rubi''. ''Wild at Heart'' is based on the 1994 telenovela ''Marimar'' which was broadcast on TNC in 2012. Alongside with it is the launch of ''

The Stray Cat ''The Stray Cat'' (Original title: ''La Gata''; ) is a Mexican telenovela produced by Nathalie Lartilleux for Televisa. It is a remake of the Venezuelan telenovela ''La Gata'', produced in 1968 and Mexican telenovela ''Rosa salvaje, Rosa Salvaje'' ...

'', which is produced by Nathalie Lartilleux, the same producer of ''Wild at Heart''. In June 2019, Telenovela Channel premiered three telenovelas on the same day: '' The Three Sides of Ana'', '' Las Amazonas'' and '' Unforgivable''. In September 2019, Telenovela Channel aired telenovelas '' The Neighbor'' and '' Passion and Power'' which was the last telenovela that famous actor

Fernando Colunga Fernando Colunga Olivares (; born 3 March 1966) is a Mexican actor known for his work in Mexican telenovelas. Colunga gained international fame for playing Luis Fernando de la Vega in the Mexican soap opera '' Maria la del Barrio''. He is also ...

starred in Televisa until 2023.

COVID-19 pandemic programming interruption (2020)

In January 2020, three new programs premiered: '' Anything But Plain'', '' Shadows of the Past'' and '' Along Came Love''. Due to the Enhanced Community Quarantine imposed by the Philippine government, as a preventive measure to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, office operations were affected and thus the channel was forced to air reruns from April to June 2020 except ''Passion and Power'' which finished its broadcast in early April followed by a rerun of the program's last few weeks until May. In July 2020, Telenovela Channel resumed regular programming with new episodes. After the three new shows ended their runs in October–November, the channel aired reruns of '' The Neighbor'', '' Passion and Power'', '' The Three Sides of Ana'' and '' Las Amazonas.''

New titles and new normal programming (2021–2023)

In February 2021, Telenovela Channel premiered two new programs: '' Sightless Love'' and '' Fall Into Temptation''. It was then followed by '' My Husband's Family'' in May, '' Lying Heart'' in June and the two telenovelas, '' The Candidate'' and '' In Love with Ramón'' in July. In celebration of its 10th anniversary, the channel launched three new shows in October, '' I Plead Guilty'', '' It Had to Be You'' and '' Papa a Toda Madre''. In 2022, Telenovela Channel launched 10 new programs in a year. This was started with '' Griselda Blanco: The Dark Widow'', a co-production between Televisa and RTI Colombia; and '' The Two Lives of Estela Carrillo'' with Ariadne Diaz in the titular role. Also launched in March 2022 were the romance-themed '' Road to Destiny'' and the period drama '' Corazón Salvaje'' (with reruns a year later). In the summer of 2022, '' A Beloved Man'' and '' My Sweet Curse'' (a remake of

Telemundo Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Comcast. It provides content ...

's ''

Lola Lola may refer to: Places * Lolá, a or subdistrict of Panama * Lola Township, Cherokee County, Kansas, United States * Lola Prefecture, Guinea * Lola, Guinea, a town in Lola Prefecture * Lola Island, in the Solomon Islands People * Lol ...

'', already aired on GMA in the last quarter of 2013 with reduced episodes) were premiered. September 2022 saw the launch of three novelas: '' Wild Lands'', '' Love to Death'', and '' Moon Daughters''. '' Muchacha italiana viene a casarse'' made its comeback on Philippine TV after being aired on BEAM TV as a telenovela blocktimer from 2015–2016 in Tagalog audio. This time, it was aired on Telenovela Channel with its English audio. The year 2023 marked its last year of bringing new titles, and also the first and only telenovela that is dubbed both in Tagalog and English. ''

Mi pecado ''Mi pecado'' (international title: ''Burden of Guilt'') is a Mexican telenovela that was produced by Televisa and aired on Canal de las Estrellas from Monday, June 15, 2009, through Friday, November 13, 2009. It stars Maite Perroni, Eugenio Si ...

'' was launched on January 2, 2023 with

Maite Perroni Maite Perroni Beorlegui (born 9 March 1983) is a Mexican actress, singer, songwriter and producer. She gained international fame in 2004 after starring in the Mexican youth telenovela ''Rebelde'', which launched the pop-rock and Latin Grammy-nom ...

and

Eugenio Siller Eugenio Siller Margain (born April 5, 1981) is a Mexican actor, singer, and model who is best known for starring in popular novelas '' Rebelde'', '' Código Postal'', '' Al Diablo con los Guapos'', '' Mi pecado'', ''Aurora'', '' Una Maid en Manh ...

as its protagonists. On May 1, 2023, ''Love Spell'' made its comeback on Telenovela Channel, using its original Spanish title ''Sortilegio'' and with English audio. The said telenovela was aired in 2012–2013 (with reruns) on TNC and 2015–2016 on BEAM TV block. ''

Teresa Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; ) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Classical Greek, Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or rea ...

'', a remake of the 1989 telenovela starring

Salma Hayek Salma Valgarma Hayek Pinault ( , ; ; born September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa (1989 TV series), Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well a ...

, premiered on June 5, 2023, once again with

Angelique Boyer Angelique Monique-Paulette Boyer Rousseau (born 4 July 1988), simply known as Angelique Boyer, is a Mexican actress. Among her most notable works is her participation in soap operas such as ''Rebelde'', and ''Teresa''. Early life Boyer was b ...

in the lead. This was followed by '' Mar de Amor'' on June 12, 2023, marking the first and only appearance of international star Mario Cimarro on Telenovela Channel, and also the last new telenovela to be aired.

Final programming and channel closure (2024)

Reruns of ''Crown of Tears'', which was aired in 2016, were shown from August 14, 2023 to January 16, 2024. Reruns of ''Road to Destiny'' (September 4, 2023), ''Wild Lands'' (January 8, 2024), and ''Love to Death'' (January 22, 2024) are the last telenovelas in the final programming line-up. As of February 1, 2024, the channel had aired 65 Mexican telenovelas (including co-productions), one Brazilian telenovela (distributed by Televisa), and one anthology. It was announced on February 1, 2024 that the channel would close after 12 years on March 1, 2024.

Cignal TV Cignal TV, Inc. (formerly known as GV Broadcasting System), also known by its legal trading name Mediascape Inc., is a Filipino media and telecommunications firm in the Philippines. A wholly owned subsidiary of the media company MediaQuest Ho ...

already had stopped carrying the network on January 2, 2024.

References

External links

* {{Philippine cable channels 2011 establishments in the Philippines Defunct television networks in the Philippines English-language television stations in the Philippines Television channels and stations disestablished in 2024 Television channels and stations established in 2011 Television networks in the Philippines