"Idol Puerto Rico" and "Idol Kids" to Debut in United States Exclusively on cable network WAPA America

MIAMI, July 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- "Idol Puerto Rico," the Puerto Rican version of the most successful reality show franchise in the world and the highest-rated television series in Puerto Rico, and "Idol Kids," Puerto Rico's first reality show singing competition featuring children, will be available for the first time to U.S. audiences this summer exclusively on WAPA America, the U.S. network arm of Puerto Rico's leading broadcast network, WAPA Television. WAPA America is available in more than five million homes on all major cable, satellite and telecommunications providers in the U.S.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130725/CL52687 )

Coproduced by WAPA Television and FremantleMedia, producers of "American Idol," "Idol Puerto Rico" follows the same format as "American Idol" but featuring Puerto Rican talent. "Idol Kids" features the best young singers in Puerto Rico between the ages of 6-12.

"Idol Puerto Rico" will debut on Monday, July 29 (9pm ET) with a special edition on Tuesday, July 30 (9pm ET). "Idol Kids" will premiere on Sunday, August 4 (8pm ET).

In 2012, the inaugural edition of "Idol Kids" and the second season of "Idol Puerto Rico" set unprecedented ratings records in Puerto Rican television. The Grand Finale of "Idol Puerto Rico" peaked at a phenomenal 78% audience share among the coveted women 18-49 demographic—the highest-recorded rating in Puerto Rican television to date. The program averaged greater than a 50% audience share among all key demographics—more than all of the other networks combined. The November 11 finale of "Idol Kids" averaged a 43.5% audience share (27.3 rating) among Households, doubling the rating of the nearest competitor, Univision Puerto Rico.

"Idol Puerto Rico has been the most ambitious and successful series to air in Puerto Rico's history and we are thrilled to be the first network to make the Idol format available to Hispanic audiences in the United States in their native language," said Jose E. Ramos, President of WAPA Television. "This is a tremendous opportunity for advertisers to reach the millions of U.S. Latino fans of this highly-successful series."

Many of the same advertisers of "American Idol" have signed on as sponsors of "Idol Puerto Rico," including Coca Cola, AT&T, Ford, and Burger King. Goya, Pfizer, and local Puerto Rican company, El Instituto de Banca & Comercio are also sponsors.

The well-known judges in the 2013 edition of "Idol Puerto Rico" include Puerto Rican music producer and television host Topy Mamery, Latin Grammy-winning Dominican Merengue music sensation Milly Quezada, and chart-topping Mexican/Argentinian musician Noel Schajris. Television personality Jaime Mayol will host the show for the third consecutive year.

"Idol Kids" will have an equally impressive set of judges, among them singer/songwriter Kany Garcia, singer/actress/dancer Ana Isabelle, and former boy-band "Menudo" creator Edgardo Diaz. Puerto Rican actress and model Karla Monroig will host the show.

The first editions of both "Idol Puerto Rico" and "Idol Kids" will feature auditions from throughout the island. Once the finalists have been chosen, viewers will be able to watch the live performances broadcast from the Fine Arts Center in Caguas, Puerto Rico (Centro de Bellas Artes de Caguas). For the first time, U.S. viewers will be able to vote to keep their favorite contestants in the competition.

"Idol Puerto Rico" will air every Monday at 9pm ET and "Idol Kids" will air on Sundays at 8pm ET, exclusively on both WAPA America in the U.S. and on WAPA Television in Puerto Rico.

For more information, viewers can visit www.wapa.tv.

About WAPA America: WAPA America is the U.S. cable network affiliated with WAPA Television, Puerto Rico's leading broadcast network with the highest primetime and full day ratings on the island. WAPA Television produces the most local entertainment programming in Puerto Rico, and is the island's news leader with more than 30 hours per week of local news coverage produced by the largest and most-trusted news network in Puerto Rico. WAPA America is currently viewed in more than five million homes throughout the U.S. and distributed on major cable, satellite and telecommunications providers, including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Cox Communications, Bright House Networks, DirecTV, Dish Network, Verizon FiOS, and AT&T U-verse. WAPA America is a subsidiary of Hemisphere Media Group, Inc., the only publicly traded, pure-play U.S. Hispanic TV/cable networks and content platform. For more information, please visit www.wapa.tv.

About FremantleMedia: FremantleMedia is one of the leading creators, producers and distributors of television entertainment brands in the world. FremantleMedia is part of RTL Group, the leading European entertainment network, which is in turn 92 percent owned by the international media company Bertelsmann. FremantleMedia is responsible for many of the world's highest rated prime time entertainment, drama, serial drama, factual entertainment and kids & family programming, with market leading capabilities that extend from content creation to licensing, digital and branded entertainment, gaming and home entertainment. The FremantleMedia Group (which includes FremantleMedia North America, UFA, FremantleMedia UK, FremantleMedia Australia, Ludia, @radical.media and Original Productions, among others) has one of the most comprehensive global networks with operations in 22 countries, creating over 9,200 hours of programming a year, rolling out more than 60 formats and managing over 300 individual titles. The company also distributes more than 20,000 hours of content in over 150 countries. FremantleMedia has some of the world's most sought after and long running formats in its catalogue, and globally produces such programs as: Idols, Hole In The Wall, Got Talent (co-produced with Syco in the UK and the US), The X Factor (co-produced with Syco in the UK and the US), Take Me Out, Family Feud, The Price is Right, Farmer Wants A Wife, Gute Zeiten Schlechte Zeiten, and Neighbours.remantlemedia.com. For more information, please visit www.fremantlemedia.com.

SOURCE WAPA America