“At Telecinco we cannot remain stagnant with what we do”

Two teams must solve different chains of words with some link to each other to try to win the maximum daily prize of 150,000 euros. This is the starting point of ‘Reaction in chain’, the contest that Telecinco broadcasts from Monday to Friday at 8:00 p.m. Leading the format is Ion Aramendi (46 years old, San Sebastián), who combines this program with the presentation of the ‘Survivientes’ gala on Sunday nights.

– How do you assess Telecinco’s confidence in the contest?

–I am very grateful, because when we talk about patience on television we tend to end that patience soon and it becomes a need for data. That the chain trust that we are gradually getting better audiences, being aware that it is a long road and I think it is a duty to thank the trust. We are delighted with the renewal and continue working to improve the format little by little and continue to engage more and more people. I am optimistic about the future. The programs go very little by little and the contests more, and in daily spaces you don’t have to look at the day-to-day data but rather the trend.

What novelties are you preparing in the contest?

–It is still early to announce it, but we are going to improve things. We are seeing how the format can grow and where we have the capacity to improve. Visually we have already changed some tests to make them easier, more playable and so that they are more enjoyable at home. We have also improved on the ‘mysterious character’, for example. There are still news for the future, which are more interesting.

–The contest dismissed the charismatic ‘Cocolocos’. Is the program considering a play-off or facing the best teams in the future?

–It is a very interesting idea, what happens is that I think it is too early to do a play-off because we have been broadcasting for a little over three months. In the future we are planning special weeks with the champions, play-offs, etc. We still have to learn how to play. We are developing the start of what is a great format that in Italy, for example, has been on the air for 15 years, so imagine the quality and expertise of the teams that are facing each other right now in the original program. Much remains to be learned and played.

–What does the Spanish version contribute to the international format?

–We give it a close touch. It is a format that is practically traced, except for a couple of tests that in Italy are much more complicated and that we have not even considered doing yet. I contribute my way of being, my laughter and closeness with the contestants. The typically Spanish character, I don’t know whether to say it like that.

–Would you participate in this contest or do you find it difficult?

–The truth is that I feel self-conscious about my wife. She plays ‘Chain Reaction’ from the movies. It is not the type of game that I am good at, I admit. The contestants have a lot of work and I don’t know if she would introduce me. To hang out and have fun, then yes. If I play with my wife, I’m sure we could be champions.

–How do you live the Telecinco commitment with two contests in the afternoon?

–I am looking forward to this new stage, because there are things that are improving a lot at Mediaset. I think that steps are being taken that are very interesting. The promotion is reworked in an orderly manner, in knowing what days go and how long the offers that we have in the chain last. Putting two contests in the afternoon also seems like a good idea to me, because we can’t get stuck in what we always do, especially when we see that the toast is eating elsewhere. We live in times where the television model has changed, but not because the televisions are changing, but because the public itself is altering its habits and customs. The best we can do is plant a grill, trust it and give it time.

–The one that remains immovable is the program ‘Save me’, to whom you owe a lot.

–Everything I have learned in my life has served me as an experience facing television. Even when I was working as a waiter, I gained a lot of experience to develop communication skills with people that I always use. But ‘Save me’ was the start of TV for me. Everything I know I learned in this program. It was a school. And when I went to the ETB, it was like the jump to the university.

–He continues with ‘Survivientes’ on Sundays and he already experienced an abandonment, that of Patricia Donoso. Were you disappointed?

–The first thing to do is put yourself in the role of a person who faces ‘Survivors’ and decides to start this adventure. If I put myself in Patricia Donoso’s shoes, well, she wouldn’t have put up with it either, but when you know you’re going to this program you already know what’s going to happen. The attitude with which she faced everything was perhaps not the best. I have felt disappointed with her, but you have to respect her decision.