Carlos Sobera opens ‘First Dates Hotel’ and tells us where he would like to see the programme

Regarding the central axis of the format, we will see the same as in ‘First dates’. Dates around a bar and restaurant table, but we also see the dates before these dates, the moment they arrive and how they feel and above all the date after they see if they like each other, if they sleep together or do something special at night. The next morning, after spending a night together, they make the final assessment of the relationship and check if they will continue or if it is the beginning of true love.

‘First dates‘It goes back to Telecinco. Do you think the good reception of the Valentine’s Day special has made them want to go back to the main chain?

Yes, but I also think it is necessary to separate the two products. At Cuatro there was an intention, and it seemed healthy to me, not to confuse the normal ‘First dates’, which have a special niche and a magical place, with a special version of the format that is a bit different. The change of personnel and the chain allows the products to be clearly distinguished.

Before I announce this Carlos Latre When you came to Telecinco, did you ever think that ‘First Dates’ could make the leap to Telecinco as a daily strip?

No, clearly not. I believe that the network, which has proven the power of the format a long time ago with very good results on Access prime time, is very convinced that it will work on Telecinco at some point, but the network has always given very good results. Of course, it is never appropriate to undress one saint and dress another on television, although there was a Valentine’s Day special on Telecinco. What you do on the one hand, you lose on the other. Cuatro is an important channel for Mediaset and it is clearly strengthening its series and it makes no sense in its television strategy to destroy all this in order to strengthen it, with products and formats that have been creating consumer habits for a year. I think the network has always been clear that this is a success, let’s try it on Cuatro, it is going great for us and it is very good for Mediaset as a network.

‘First dates’ started in a restaurant, now staying at a hotel after the cruise, what other venues would you like to see the format in?

I must admit that the version I like the most is the hotel version because it gives a spatial dimension and an extraordinary warmth and appearance, the ‘First Dates’ restaurant is quite successful. I would like to see it in a campsite, a ski resort… I think it is a format that allows for many locations and all of these locations can add a plus to the original dating format.

Media set continues to look for entertainment formats. Is there a chance for ‘The Price is Right’ or ‘The Wall’ to come back again?

I don’t know. It’s good to revive and save a successful format from time to time, but I believe there is plenty of audiovisual creativity to look for new formats and bring them to the Mediaset screen. ‘The Fair Price’ was a format that did not perform badly, especially in prime time, when we broadcast it, it had a formidable rival in ‘Pasapalabra’, but it was a salvageable format. ‘The Wall’ is not so clear to me because it is a slightly more technological, complex format and therefore has less emotional charge and passes less on the big screen.

Television looks back and rescues formats like ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ or ‘Get a Million’. Do you think the nostalgia factor affects the performance of these programmes?

In some cases yes. The nostalgia factor makes many people get excited about the format again, but that illusion is short-lived. It happened with ‘The Grand Prix’ which had a great audience last year and had a 25% audience share, and ‘The Grand Prix’ which is now at 15%, or ‘Un, dos, tres’. I think it helps at first, it gives you a boost which is not bad at all at first but eventually even if it is quality it may come and it may not grab you as much as it did in the past. It was a breath of fresh air. The newer formats of the time, ‘Catch a Million’ and ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?’ are perhaps the ones that have a long life because they haven’t been completely exhausted like ‘Pasapalabra’.

You returned to competitions this year with ‘Mental Masters’. Would you like to follow in those footsteps and return more to your roots in family entertainment?

My origins are actually the conversation with people and the freshness of daily contact on the street. That’s what life gives me in ‘Catch a Million’, in ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ or ‘Date el Pot’ or now in ‘First Dates’. It gives me a wonderful, fresh and spontaneous language, that’s what surprises me about television. Any format surprises me. I don’t miss the competitions, but I love them because they allow me to do what I tell you. Also, the structure of the competitions is usually very fun. It’s a mechanic that leads to everything and in that sense it’s always very satisfying. They seem like great formats to me, but I don’t miss them because I’m very happy with ‘First Dates’ and the adventures in ‘Survivors’. If I can do that, like in ‘Mental Masters’, where I had a great time, I’m very happy.

Big Brother is back this September. After a year where the formats featured a lot of celebrities, do you think we should focus more on anonymous people on the programmes?

For television, rescuing people from the streets is interesting to me. I think I miss them. It feels very good to return with ‘Jorge’s Diary’ because it is a window to the street and a window to the world for people on the street. It is good to have stories from normal people who have happened to all of us, more or less. I think that rescuing unknown people is essential in television. I do not know if a reality show is so necessary, I would prefer other types of formats to rescue anonymous people, but I think it can also have its place on Telecinco and I refer to the evidence. The historical ‘Big Brother’ who swept everything away, who worked and never disappointed, was one of the people who were not famous.

You have also taken on the responsibility of ‘The musical of your life.’ Do you think talk shows are in the worst shape with the rise of biopics and documentaries?

Probably. It’s great to have a good atmosphere on TV, to be nice and pleasant, but talk shows that only work in one direction, namely recognition and flattery without any discussion, lose a bit of competitiveness on the grid compared to others. Maybe that’s one of the problems that ‘Music of Your Life’ has. On the other hand, having only one hero per show is too little and too intense. Our viewers today, especially the young, are not used to this intensity, and even get a little uncomfortable.

Competitions have evolved a lot since you started. How do you evaluate the increase in glamour in this genre?

I think it’s indispensable. The traditional Q&A quiz show hasn’t changed much. Now, a different kind of technology is used to present the questions, but other than that, there’s not much else. In an attempt to turn the genre on its head, gadgets or technical features have been introduced that sometimes help and sometimes don’t. Sometimes they’re a good excuse to appeal to a certain audience that is afraid of a culture or Q&A, but they don’t really contribute to the essence of the show as we’ve always understood it. A close-up of a contestant sweating or celebrating for getting a question right is still gold on TV, no matter how much technology we throw into it.

‘Survivors’ continues unrivaled. What do you think is the key to success despite the chain’s bad streak?

I think it’s a great format, it always has been, and it’s been great this year too, with some improvements like reducing the delay or improving the footage taken by the production. In addition, the team looked for surprising new evidence, and all of that helped, but ultimately the essence of the show is the contestants. What’s important is that they’re interesting, there are attractive profiles, and interesting coexistence scenarios that captivate the audience naturally emerge. We’ve had that this year, and despite the general crisis of television, we’ve had an excellent result.