Chile's TVN celebrates vertical soap opera boom, revitalizing fiction industry

Chilean television is witnessing a surge in vertical soap operas, a format that TVN is enthusiastically embracing and promoting. Paula Ovalle, executive producer of fiction at TVN Vertical, expressed delight that more channels are adopting this trend, stating it "reactivates the fiction industry in Chile." Previously, only one channel produced fiction series, but the rise of vertical dramas has spurred broader industry engagement.

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It is very entertaining to see how vertical content is also reproduced on other channels.

TVN views vertical productions as more than just content; it's about the public channel adapting to emerging digital storytelling methods. While traditional open television remains strong, the digital realm is rapidly expanding, offering new avenues for fiction tailored to mobile devices and social media users. Ovalle noted that TVN began researching this phenomenon in 2025, drawing inspiration from experiences in China, the US, Colombia, and Mexico.

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We like it a lot because it reactivates the fiction industry in Chile. We only had one channel that made fiction series or soap operas and now, with vertical series, other channels and us too, we like the industry to be reactivated.

The network debuted its vertical format with "Auditoría de Amor," directed by Boris Quercia. Since then, TVN has released four titles, with "Amor sin Culpas" starring Loreto Aravena being the most recent. The channel has already filmed its fifth production and plans a total of 12 initial titles. The success is evident in the TVN/Vertical app, the first of its kind for a Chilean network in this format, which has garnered 20,000 downloads. "Amor sin Culpas" became the most-watched series in its first week, achieving 30 million reproductions. Ovalle also revealed plans to expand the app's content beyond soap operas to include "other types of vertical content."

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The digital world is a Pandora's box that is exploding.