By RICHARD HUFF
DAILY NEWS TV EDITOR

Expect a lot more mentions of brand names in Telemundo's original-programming block over the coming season.

The network's executives, like all other television programmers, are  looking to implant brands in the scripts of shows as a way to lure advertisers and neutralize viewers' itchy remote fingers.

"Concept integration isn't just the typical product placement done in the past," Michael Rodriguez, Telemundo's senior vice president of network sales, said yesterday.

Instead, said Rodriguez, the idea of "concept integration" makes "the products one of the characters in the program."

Product placement, once an unmentioned aspect of TV, is now key as networks battle the  use of digital recording devices such as TiVo and DVRs, which allow viewers to fast-forward through traditional commercials. But if the products are part of the scripts, the audience is much less likely to miss a message.

READ MORE: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2008/05/13/2008-05-13_telemundo_touts_new_brand_of_telenovela_.html

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