A Night of Football Over Reality TV
On Thursday, August 20, 2026, Argentine television took an unexpected turn. Telefe, one of the country's leading channels, decided to postpone the broadcast of Gran Hermano: Generación Dorada (Big Brother: Golden Generation) to air the live coverage of the Copa Libertadores 2026 round-of-16 second leg between Rosario Central and Corinthians. The announcement came via the channel's social media, and the pre-match show began at 21:15 local time, with kickoff at 21:30. The broadcast featured commentary by Pablo Giralt and analysis from Juan Pablo Varsky.
The Match: A Single Goal Decides Everything
The match took place at the Neo Química Arena in São Paulo, Brazil. After a goalless draw in the first leg at Rosario's Gigante de Arroyito, the Argentine side, coached by Jorge Almirón, needed a win to advance. However, the night turned against them. Breno Bidon scored the only goal in the 80th minute, assisted by Memphis Depay, after Raniele was sent off in the 57th minute for a foul on Copetti. The aggregate score remained 1-0, eliminating Rosario Central from the tournament. Corinthians advanced to the quarterfinals, where they will face Estudiantes de La Plata.
Ratings: A Shift in Prime Time
The programming change had a direct impact on viewership. According to Kantar Ibope Media, the football match averaged 5.9 rating points on Telefe, placing second in its time slot, with a peak of 8.0 points. Meanwhile, Es mi sueño (It's My Dream), hosted by Guido Kaczka on eltrece, led the slot with an average of 7.5 points and a peak of 9.6 points, becoming the second most-watched program of the day. Telefe's news program El noticiero de la gente and the telenovela Avenida Brasil were the most-watched of the day, each with 7.8 points. Gran Hermano was put on hold for one night.
Gran Hermano: Fans Wait for the Next Gala
Fans of Gran Hermano: Generación Dorada will have to wait to see what happens inside the house. The nomination gala took place on Tuesday, and the nomination list was set on Wednesday, but the elimination was rescheduled for Monday, August 24, 2026. The reality show, hosted by Santiago del Moro, is in a decisive phase with nine women still competing after the elimination of Alejandra Majluf. The grand finale is scheduled for September 14, 2026.
Other programs also saw movement: LAM (on América) finished third with 4.2 points, and Bendita (on El Nueve) scored 3.8 points. On the public broadcaster TV Pública, ratings were much lower, averaging just 0.2 points.
A Precedent in Programming
This wasn't the first time Telefe altered its schedule for football. On Thursday, August 13, the channel had already aired the first leg between Rosario Central and Corinthians, which ended 0-0, also interrupting Gran Hermano. That match averaged 5.9 points and ranked fifth for the channel. The decision to prioritize football over the reality show reflects a commercial and audience strategy, though this time it didn't pay off: Telefe lost prime time to eltrece, which also aired Otro día perdido (6.3 points).
Telefe's next challenge is to regain audience with the return of Gran Hermano, while Rosario Central will focus on the Torneo Clausura, hoping to bounce back from their international elimination.