Kids Programming in Peru

So after reading a random New York Times Business article about Nickelodeon and Nick Jr’s marketing strategies and recovery, and it got me a-thinking. That stuff is actually pretty popular here in Perú. By that stuff, I mean kids and tween programming.

The Jonas Brothers just came to Lima a week or so back. Kids know Hannah Montana that other girl with the Spanish name,, and I see programs like “Lazy Town” on TV all the time. My homestay sister hums songs from High School Musical, and 20 year old men tell me that the Jonas Brothers are an awesome band. The Disney channel really infiltrated my small town. Regular Peruvian TV is filled with telenovelas, movies, and random variety shows. Nothing is really aimed at kids nor are many of the TV personalities in that age group. But not on the Disney channel.

Every program (from Hannah Montana, Witches of Waverly Place, and a whole library of Pixar movies) are dubbed over and feature age identifiable characters for youth, which amounts to 40% of the population of my town. Most families have a TV and cable (or their neighbors), so its easily accessible. The programs use a lot of situational and goofy humor, which always translates well into any culture. And while the majority of the actors and actresses are white, that’s really not too different from the majority of news presenters and television personalities in Perú and the whole of Spanish-speaking North and South American regions.

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