Código 10, the event program with a true crime aesthetic presented by David Aleman and Nacho Abad, premiered last night on Cuatro, exceeding the channel's average for the day by one point. With a 5.4% share of the screen and almost three million viewers, the space premiered, exceeding the data from Viajando con Chester from last week and on a more than complicated day in terms of competition: Masterchef (TVE1 ), Survivors (T5), Brothers (Antena 3) and The Infiltrated Chief (La Sexta).
Beyond the audience data, what the premiere of Código 10 makes clear is the commitment of the new Mediaset board of directors to turn Cuatro into a reference channel and, most importantly, with its own identity. The viewers who tuned in yesterday to the program produced by Mandarina -despite the numerous advertising breaks- were able to see a format that was more reminiscent of international programs than the usual aesthetics of the Fuencarral channel.
Mediaset recycled one of its sets (that of Cuatro al día) but including a large curved screen that allowed articulation of the transition from live to the true crime documentaries that Código 10 was offering. All the aesthetics to go from the reports to the set were studied to the millimeter , with long shots that entered and left the screen, and with a play of lights and music that immersed the viewer in each of the stories as if it were a cinema.
Not only the live set, but the aesthetics of the mini-documentaries made many wonder if they were watching a Mediaset channel or a platform like Netflix, Amazon or HBO. The only thing that reminded viewers that they were on Cuatro was the numerous ad cuts that made many Twitter users desperate, who lamented the excessive interruption of the program.
Código 10 is the first large format in prime time to be born entirely sponsored by the new management of Mediaset with Alessandro Salem as CEO, Borja Prado as president and Jaime Guerra as Content Director. The new managers of the audiovisual giant have made numerous -and controversial- decisions that affected the inheritance that Paolo Vasile left them. For this reason, the new program by Abad and Alemán can be taken as a declaration of intent.
Some intentions that go through to recover the identity that Four years ago had and that would imply, among other things, the return of Noticias Cuatro in the coming weeks. Guerra and his team seem to want to bet on quality in the new projects they are entrusting to the different production companies for their second chain, something that would allow -in the medium or long term- to recover the prestige that the channel once had.
It is a daunting and difficult task that lies ahead. But last night's premiere of Código 10 shows that a general Mediaset channel can also produce high-quality content without losing the pulse of current affairs. The audience and patience will be key to knowing if this television model is established, or if the generalists give up the battle against the all-powerful streaming platforms.
