THE TWO SEASONS OF VENEZUELAN TV

Telenovelas are habit. And to that end, they must be broadcast regularly. That's how they become an ingredient of the everyday life of those who watch them. 

Regarding the desired regularity in their broadcast, (and in addition to the constant interruption of the mandatory presidential broadcasts--cadenas presidenciales), we can say that Venezuelan television has two clearly defined seasons. And these present different levels of difficulty for the regular transmission of telenovelas. 

Season 1--March-August: 

• Telenovelas can be interrupted because of Mardi Gras (if it happens to fall on March), and because of Holy Week. 
• But, the main difficulty that this season presents is that during school vacations in July and August, the audience tends to lack constancy in its daily schedules and habits. 
• I should also mention that in the years in which the FIFA World Cup is played in a country whose time zone requires evening broadcast in Venezuela, telenovelas suffer interruption in their transmission during June and/or July.

Season 2--September-February: 

• September means back to school and to the daily routine. 
• However, from October to February, telenovelas broadcast in Venevisión suffer from many interruptions due to the Venezuelan baseball season and, later, the Serie del Caribe. When these telenovelas aren't broadcast, the audience turns to the competing melodramas and Venevisión telenovelas' numbers suffer. 
• Christmas and New Year festivities also interrupt regular programming in Venezuela. 
• If there are elections (presidential and regional elections are traditionally held in the last quarter of the calendar year), telenovela transmission is further interrupted by special election and pre-election coverage. 
• In addition to these many interruptions, we should mention that media space pre-sales (preventa) also occur in the last quarter of the calendar year. This, coupled with the premiere of the new season of all U.S. and European series broadcast in cable, heightens the level of competition and difficulty of the September-February season for telenovelas.