"Soy Tu Dueña" A Telenovela Hit

Not since “Betty La Fea,” a show so successful it was copied all over the world, has Univision seen a hit like this.

The Spanish-language telenovela "Soy Tu Dueña" (which Univision translates as "A Woman of Steel" but literally translates as "I Am Your Master") has become one of the hottest shows on television since its debut in June of this year. The show, which ended its run Monday night, regularly ranked one of the top five TV shows in broadcast television, and was one of Univision’s top-rated primetime novelas of all time, according to the network.

The latest coup for the Mexican soap opera, about a woman who changes her life after being left at the altar, was last Tuesday – when it outperformed popular TV shows like CBS’ “NCIS: LA” and NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” special in the coveted 18-49 demographic.

The cult-like following of the show gave it a successful run during a particularly dismal week for all the networks. Last week, two versions of the telenovela had more viewers than anything on either ABC or Fox, according to Nielsen Co.'s ratings report. The week was dominated by reruns and holiday programming, while Hispanics were glued to their television wondering about the love interest of Valentina Villalba (Lucero).

The primetime show pulled in 3.7 million viewers in the key 18-49 demographic (out of 5.8 overall viewers) compared to “NCIS” which had 2.7 million viewers in this group and Saturday Night Live, which had 3.1 million viewers in that demographic, an advertiser’s dream.

The show is has an average of 5.4 million viewers and has a loyal following among Hispanics.

“Univision is committed to becoming the No. 1 television network in the United States, regardless of language, within the next five years and our ability to deliver top quality programming like 'Soy Tu Dueña' allows us to further advance on this goal,” Univision Networks President, Cesar Conde, said in a statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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