Channel 21 International - Fall 23 - Spain Special Edition

Spain Special Edition Everything about content

Fall 2023

Major trends shaping the Spanish market

Set to rights: Rethinking int’l coproduction

Amazon moves into live weekly series with OT

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Channel21 International | Fall 2023 | Spain Special Edition

UPFRONT

CONTENTS

In Spain, we call it pluralidad

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ANALYTICS: Spain in numbers C21 takes a deep dive into the Spanish market and highlights the most active channels, platforms, genres and production companies.

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CONTENT STRATEGIES: Atresplayer Atresmedia’s streamer was relaunched in July with FAST channels and a reaffirmation of its ‘360º’ rights exploitation model.

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NEXT BIG THINGS: Operación Triunfo on Amazon The musical talent show is set to become the first weekly series to be screened live on Prime Video.

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SPANISH CONTENT TRENDS REPORT: Fall 2023 From the revival of big entertainment shows to a wide variety of fiction and docs about Spain’s recent history.

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CONTENT STRATEGIES: Movistar Plus+ Domingo Corral explains how the platform has managed to avoid the cutbacks faced by much of the rest of the global TV industry.

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AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Coproduction Following the explosion in popularity of Spanish originals on streaming, producers are rethinking international copros to retain the rights to series.

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FUNDAMENTALS: Shooting in Spain Already a popular production destination, Spain now expects to attract 30% more filming with an increase in the tax incentive ceiling.

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CONTENT STRATEGIES: RTVE (scripted) The Spanish pubcaster is exploring new models and partnerships as part of its scripted strategy to bolster its daily series, premium fiction and copros.

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: Pilar Blasco With its dozen labels, Banijay Iberia is the largest production group in Spain.

Its CEO explains what their lifelines are in turbulent economic times.

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CONTENT STRATEGIES: Mediaset España The exit of CEO Paolo Vasile prompted the group to rejig its team, reach out to prodcos and seek new audiences.

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PERSPECTIVE: Elena Neira TV and streaming expert Elena Neira on what’s next in the streaming wars for a system that needs to produce and acquire more efficiently than ever.

ecently, a Spanish producer for whom I have a lot of respect told me that plurality – pluralidad – is the gem of Spanish television.

At the time I listened and nodded, but I don’t think I fully understood what he meant. Until now.

In this issue we decided to put the spotlight on Spain’s content industry. And no, we’re not talking about Money Heist (La La casa de papel papel). In fact, this will be the only mention of the Atresmedia and Netflix series in this special. Because long before Dalí’s masks invaded the street markets of Finland, Bolivia and Singapore, Spain had already proved itself to be a major contributor in terms of talent and content. And since then, too.

We are in the last quarter of a pivotal year for the global content market. The capital of the world entertainment industry has shown how broken its system was, and the streaming giants how their numbers simply weren’t adding up. These international storms took their toll in Spain, with several waves of lay-offs, the decision by companies such as Paramount Global and Lionsgate to abandon their TV production plans in the country and a late but real slowdown in local content commissions by big streamers.

But a lot has also happened among local players in Spanish television. 2023 will be marked as the year in which Mediaset España went through the biggest turning point since its birth; RTVE managed to revitalise itself and find a clearer path on what to produce; Atresmedia resolutely relaunched its Atresplayer platform; and Movistar Plus+ managed to remain almost immune to the global cyclone,

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consolidating its position as the most robust local streamer. In these pages we explore the content strategies of each of them.

As the only country in the world capable of talking to Latin America and Europe as equals, Spain’s strategic role is undeniable. And everyone understands this. That is why Spanish content has been travelling so well internationally for decades. It’s also why Amazon chose Spain for its first experiment with a weekly live talent show (page S15). And also partly why it’s one of the most soughtafter partners when it comes to coproduction (page S29). By the way, is there anyone in the business today who isn’t talking about coproduction?

At the same time, the internal race between autonomous communities to offer more attractive tax incentives (page S33) has led to a boom in the production services sector, making it more profitable to film in Spain today than in many other countries. And this, of course, creates industry.

A public broadcaster seeking to be more relevant and coproduce more, commercial freeto-air channels that nurture talent, a large SVoD player with local roots and the presence of all the major global streamers producing in the country.

All of this, most importantly, creates culture.

And that was the pluralidad.

There is no lack of dangers that threaten to destabilise it, which is probably Spain’s greatest challenge in the coming years. Well, that and not taking months to form a government to run the country. But let’s leave that for another publication.

Pina Mezzera, co-editor of Cveintiuno

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ANALYTICS: Spain in numbers

Channel21 International | Fall 2023

With the Spanish TV sector achieving a record level of local production last year, C21 analyses the industry’s current position, identifying the most active channels, platforms, genres and production companies in this growing market. .

By Gonzalo Larrea

Production powerhouse F

igures from GECA-owned Spanish audiovisual consultancy firm Teleformat reveal that in 2022, the local TV industry produced more fiction, docuseries and entertainment shows than ever, totalling 193 titles.

This record number is almost double the 104 productions recorded in 2018 and reflects the growth the Spanish TV sector has experienced in the past five years.

The industry is currently undergoing a third period of transformation since the days when Spanish viewers were limited to content solely from state-owned broadcaster RTVE. The first major change came in 1990 with the arrival of private channels Antena 3 and Telecinco, while the second began in the early 2000s with the advent of digital terrestrial television. And the current era can be defined as beginning with Netflix’s launch in Spain in October 2015.

Today, Spain has more than 25 national free-to-air channels and 17 regional ones, with three major groups dominating the linear landscape: Atresmedia (with Antena 3 and La Sexta as its main networks), Mediaset España (Telecinco and Cuatro) and RTVE (La 1 and La 2).

And with the launch this year of Sky and Paramount joint venture SkyShowtime, Spain has finally completed its portfolio of major global streaming platforms (Netflix, Prime Video, Max, Disney+ and Apple TV+), operating alongside two very active local streamers: Atresplayer and Movistar Plus+.

With the exception of Apple TV+, all of the above are currently producing Spanish scripted content. So it’s unsurprising that drama is one of the genres driving the surge in production, with local fiction series increasing from 31 in 2018 to 48 in 2022. Spanish dramas often also perform well abroad, as demonstrated by such titles as Elite (Élite), Veneno and the recent Burning Body (El cuerpo en llamas).

But one type of content that has exceeded all expectations in the past few years is docuseries, which have risen from just seven in 2018 to 51 in 2022.

With shows such as Saving the King (Salvar al Rey), about the scandals of the 

Distribution (%) of users with access to different platforms among users of SVoD services (total individuals 18+) =

67.3

13.4% 10.6%

-0.8

9.5% La 1

65.2 +2.6

37.3

6.2% -0.1 -1.3 +0.2

31 22.4

15.7

5%

Spanish linear broadcasters’ average audience share, January to August 2023

Source: GECA

Other

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ANALYTICS: Spain in numbers

Channel21 International | Fall 2023

former King Juan Carlos, the bizarre tale of a lost lottery ticket in Wanted: Millionaire (Se busca millonario) and crime investigation story Where Is Marta? (¿Dónde está Marta?), Spain seems to have found a taste for telling its recent history through true crime, stranger-than-fiction stories and investigations that dig into the dirty laundry of its monarchs. Sports are also a popular focus – the first locally produced title from Apple TV+ is Real Madrid: Until the End, produced by Wakai Media and focusing on the Spanish football giants’ 2021/22 season.

Entertainment has also benefited from the streaming age, and this year will see a musical reality show with live weekly episodes airing on a streamer for the first time when Prime Video launches Operación Triunfo (page S15).

The experiment couldn’t come at a better time for Amazon’s SVoD service, which has become the biggest such platform in Spain. Its ascent has partly been attributed to the fact Spain was one of the first international territories where rival streamer Netflix introduced its anti-passwordsharing plan earlier this year. While Netflix claims the initiative has been a global success, the rebound effect anticipated by the SVoD giant has yet to be seen in Spain.

According to Kantar research published by Bloomberg in April, in the first two months following the implementation of the anti-password-sharing system, Netflix lost one million users in Spain (of which two-thirds accessed the service using a shared account). And it has not yet recovered.

Research by GECA in August showed Prime Video still had the highest demand share in Spain at 67.3%, with Netflix in second place (and continuing to decline) at 65.2%.

While Prime Video is now the leading streaming platform after years in second place, a similar situation is unfolding with Antena 3 in broadcast TV. It is often said that the flutter of butterfly wings in one continent can cause a tornado in

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One type of content that has exceeded all expectations in the past few years is docuseries, which have risen from just seven in 2018 to 51 in 2022.

another: in Spain, the ‘flutter’ was a Supreme Court ruling in 2019 in favour of ITV Global Entertainment whereby its format The Alphabet Game (Pasapalabra) was pulled with immediate effect from Telecinco following a long conflict between channel and producer.

And the tornado, in this case, came in the ratings. Antena 3, Telecinco’s main rival, moved with ninja-like reflexes to reach an agreement with ITV to acquire the format, securing the missing piece of the puzzle in the fight for ratings supremacy after 38 months (between 2017 and 2021) in second place.

With a commitment to original fiction, Turkish dramas in primetime and big formats such as The Voice, The Masked Singer, I Can See Your Voice and Who Wants to be a Millionaire?, Antena 3 had already been narrowing the gap each month. Its agreement with ITV Studios for The Alphabet Game finally tipped the balance in its favour.

Amid the rise of Antena 3, and the fall of a Telecinco that is now reinventing itself (page S43), RTVE has been going through its own challenges over the past few years. But after hitting a record low in audience figures, the broadcaster is now hopeful of a revival.

At the time of writing, RTVE’s La 1 has been the second

Number of original titles produced in Spain, 2018 to 2022 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Total: 104

Total: 92

Total: 137

Total: 139

Total: 193

Entertainment

Scripted

Docuseries Source: GECA-Teleformat

most watched channel in Spain for three consecutive months and has achieved its best August in the past six years. A combination of successful daily series such as La promesa and 4 estrellas, the various iterations of MasterChef and the launch of ambitious survival show The Conqueror (El conquistador) has been key to this success.

Meanwhile, in terms of production companies, Spain has proven to be a very dynamic market. While the country has a strong, well-established independent sector, in the last few years it has experienced increasing integration through mergers and acquisitions, led mainly by large French groups.

Banijay is the French conglomerate with the largest presence in Spain, with 12 local production companies.

Fellow French groups Newen and Mediawan own five and four local prodcos respectively.

Added to these is a set of expanding local groups, such as The Mediapro Studio, with more than five local prodcos, Mediterráneo Mediaset España Group with 10, the growing Secuoya Content Group, and Atresmedia and Telefónica’s joint venture Buendía Estudios.

According to numbers from 2022, The Mediapro Studio, with labels such as Big Bang Media, 100 Balas, Globomedia, K 2000 and El Terrat, is the most active group in both freeto-air TV and streaming, followed by Mediterráneo, Banijay, Vocento and Secuoya in linear TV, and by Mediterráneo and Buendía Estudios in streaming.

So what does the future hold for the Spanish TV market?

As with the rest of the world, all forecasts predict a decline in production this year and in 2024. Spain seems to have finally reached its ‘peak TV.’ But rather than a crash, the Spanish market expects a gradual slowdown, with lower – yet still unprecedented – levels of production.

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CONTENT STRATEGIES: Atresplayer

Channel21 International | Fall 2023

Local hero Atresmedia’s streaming platform was relaunched in July with new access levels, FAST channels and a reaffirmation of its ‘360º’ rights exploitation model. But can its Atresplayer also be part of the coproduction game?

By Gonzalo Larrea

A

lthough its model depends on exploiting the rights of its original productions as much as possible, Atresplayer, the streaming platform from Spanish broadcaster Atresmedia, is positioned as an interesting piece of the puzzle in terms of international coproduction.

Launched in 2013 as a catch-up service, the platform has evolved over the last few years. In 2019, it added an SVoD tier for the first time, Atresplayer Premium, with the promise of releasing original, exclusive productions.

This July it unified its brand under the name Atresplayer, with three levels of access: free with ads, and without access to original titles; Premium at €4.99 (US$5.32) and Family at €7.99. The new version of the platform also added linear channels, radio stations from the group and a total of 10 additional free, ad-supported streaming TV channels, with more to be added.

The content offering remains similar, with 12 new original productions each year that fall under Atresmedia’s 360º exploitation model. Through SVoD, AVoD, linear TV and international distribution, the group looks to extract the largest financial yield as possible from its content.

Alba, the Spanish adaptation of the Turkish drama Fatmagül (Kanal D), is a good example of this strategy.

In March 2021 it debuted on Atresplayer’s premium tier, a year later it arrived to Spanish free-to-air channel Antena 3 and in July 2022 it was launched worldwide by Netflix, where it was quickly placed on the global platform’s top 10.

Drama series such as Toy Boy, Stolen Away (Perdida) and The Cook of Castamar (La cocinera de Castamar) are further examples, with premieres on SVoD, free TV and international sales in the hands of its own distribution arm.

And now, with the platform relaunch, the company has added a new revenue stream, with free access (with ads) to the first episodes of all its originals.

“We are capable of monetising our content via different distribution windows, so we don’t depend solely on the subscription environment. We watch the streaming wars from very far away,” says José Antonio Antón, content director at Atresmedia, who explains this position lets the company continue its investment in original production while the rest are cutting back.

Thriller series The Gipsy Bride

According to the firm’s last quarterly report, Atresplayer closed June with 539,000 subscribers, 108,000 more than at the end of 2022. Including its free version, the service reports five million unique users every month.

“The position of our platform within our ecosystem has been very clear from the start. We have grown in a very organised, consistent way, as shown by the number of our subscribers, which has grown continuously,” adds Antón, who defines the platform as Spanish streaming’s “local hero.”

And could Atresplayer coproduce with other local heroes?

According to Antón, despite its “360 model,” that could also make sense, especially for big-budget productions. ViX or Globoplay are positioned as possible partners in Latin America, and in Europe the likes of Viaplay, ITVX, OPTO SIC and RTL+ could also fit into this model.

“We are open to options in which perhaps we can retain the rights for Spain, some Latin American territories and part of the IP, but not the rest. Particularly for large projects, it makes a lot of sense to coproduce with other local platforms,” he says.

Thriller series The Gipsy Bride is already an example of this model. It was a copro with Viacom International Studios (now PTIS), in which Paramount retains some of the international rights.

According to Emilio Sánchez Zaballos, director of Atresplayer, the platform is already negotiating more agreements of this kind. “There are cards on the table. Our ideal model is one in which we would be able to maintain all distribution windows but occasionally on certain products due to licences, costs or circumstances, we could give up some of those.”

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We are capable of monetising our content via different distribution windows, so we don’t depend solely on the subscription environment. We watch the streaming wars from very far away.

José Antonio Antón Atresmedia

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NEXT BIG THINGS: Operación Triunfo on Amazon

Channel21 International | Fall 2023

Appointment to stream

Operación Triunfo 2017

Spanish musical talent show Operación Triunfo is set to become the first weekly series to be screened live on Prime Video. Is this the dawn of a new era for streaming’s complicated relationship with formats?

By Pina Mezzera

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f you have any idea about what’s been happening on Spanish TV so far this century you will surely have heard of Operación Triunfo (OT).

In case you’ve been living under a rock, the story goes like this. In 2001, in a Spain fascinated by a groundbreaking television concept called Big Brother, public broadcaster RTVE launches OT, a talent show that locks aspiring singers in an academy where they are trained as artists and perform each week in front of a live audience, which ends with one big winner. All Spain surrenders to this breath of fresh air, it becomes a national phenomenon and the 12.8 million viewers of its finale make it the most watched moment in the history of the country’s TV. At the time of writing, that record still stands.

The format, created by Toni Cruz and Josep Maria Mainat and produced by Gestmusic (then part of Endemol, now under Banijay Iberia), released two further seasons on RTVE’s La 1, another five on Mediaset España’s Telecinco and enjoyed an international run that saw more than 30 local adaptations, with particular success in Latin America and Africa.

In 2017, after a six-year break in Spain, it was recommissioned by the public channel and the fire was reignited. This time, the nostalgia of Millennials was joined by the enthusiasm of Gen Z, who saw in these young contestants an authenticity almost non-existent on TV at that time, fed by a multiplatform strategy that included a 24/7 YouTube channel where the young singers could be watched live inside the academy. In this second incarnation, OT ran for three seasons, cut short in 2020 by the pandemic which forced contestants to go home.

The Gestmusic format is now set to make history in Spain once again.

In April, Amazon greenlit a new version of OT. OT At the

The world is watching us. It is the first time a streaming platform will broadcast a live entertainment programme lasting so many weeks.

There have been experiments with stand-up comedy specials and live sports in some countries but this has never been done before.

Tinet Rubira, Gestmusic

end of this year it will make its debut in Spain and more than 30 Latin American territories as the first weekly unscripted format to be aired live on Prime Video.

“The world is watching us,” says Tinet Rubira, director of Gestmusic. “It is the first time a streaming platform will broadcast a live entertainment programme lasting so many weeks, as Operación Triunfo runs for 14 weeks.

There have been experiments with stand-up comedy specials and live sports in some countries but this has never been done before.”

Aside from the Rubiales kiss, it’s the most interesting thing to happen on Spanish TV in the past year, and expectations are accordingly high.

If it works, it could open a new chapter for big entertainment formats on SVoD platforms, as linear TV continues to lose ad muscle. Simultaneously, it could pave the way for streamers to finally cross off a task on their todo lists: find relevant formats that generate impact and massive social dialogue.

The move took a great deal of thought, the streamer and producer claim.

“Operación Triunfo is the biggest challenge we face today: how do we bring such a classic TV show to our platform for our audience whilst continuing to attract the format’s [existing] audience, as well as offering something new,” said Óscar Prol, head of Spanish unscripted originals at Amazon Studios, at the last Conecta Fiction & Entertainment event.

As Rubira explains, Gestmusic and Amazon have spent over a year working on getting this balance right to ensure OT’s OT loyal fan base don’t feel betrayed and Prime Video subscribers don’t see them as intruders. “No decision has been taken lightly. Everything has been carefully planned out,” he says.

But how exactly do you update a classic primetime talent show to make it compatible for live viewing on a major streaming platform?

One of Amazon’s innovations for the show lies in the platform’s advantage over most of its rivals. The e-commerce giant will make all of its 

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NEXT BIG THINGS: Operación Triunfo on Amazon Amazo

Channel21 International | Fall 2023

services available to OT viewers, offering them a new experience while increasing the possibilities for monetising the IP in other spaces, such as music, consumer products and events.

As for the show itself, the idea seems to be to change it as little as possible. “When it comes to adapting the format, it’s about knowing your audience and knowing how they watch,” says Prol. “In Spain, for example, we’re used to three-hour primetimes and that doesn’t work on a service like ours. So we’ve redesigned the weekly galas so they last an hour-and-a-half.”

The live YouTube channel that follows the contestants while they attend classes, rehearse, eat, laugh and cry, will also continue to offer free access to the reality side of the show.

Rubira claims this was the key to the phenomenon that sparked OT’s last comeback. “You’ve got to pay attention to where your audience is. And our audience wasn’t on public television, but on social media, on YouTube. The success of the 2017 return was that we made OT content available on phones, which is what young people were using for entertainment.”

Prime Video will supplement this content with special episodes showing the final audition stage, weekly aftergalas and a daily programme with a host and collaborators.

“With this new way of live broadcasting, you no longer go home and decide what to watch. You already know there is always going to be OT content available. It means going on Prime Video, attending an appointment and choosing if you want to watch it live or later,” explains Prol.

Scheduled weekly and daily shows on a subscription streaming service – anyone shocked?

In general, news of Amazon’s OT revival has been received with excitement by Spain’s creative community, which, in recent months, has had doors slammed shut in its face again and again. However, some local producers have expressed their surprise. For years, the streamer has been saying it wanted to see new concepts that could never work on free TV, and yet, suddenly, their big bet is… an old concept borrowed from free TV. “It’s about bringing the usual, but like never before,” argues Amazon’s Prol. “Rather than returning to TV, it’s renewing it – doing something that has already been done, but doing it differently.”

According to data published in August by consultancy firm GECA, Prime Video has the highest market share in Spain at 67.3%, making it more popular than Netflix (65.2%), Disney+ (37.3%), HBO Max (31%) and Movistar Plus+ (22.4%). In its hunt for profitable business while continuing to keep and increase subscriptions, Prime Video has opted for fewer productions but on a larger scale. In Spain, that means drama series like Reina roja and Los Farad and formats such as OT. However, it is entertainment – and not drama – that allows a channel or platform to create a brand, says Rubira at Gestmusic, which this year also produced shows including Your Face Sounds Familiar for Antena 3, The Traitors for HBO Max and Deal or No Deal for Telecinco in Spain. “You can watch a drama any time, but

Operación Triunfo has aired for 11 seasons in Spain and has been adapted in more than 30 territories

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With this new way of live broadcasting, you no longer go home and decide what to watch. You already know that there is always going to be OT content available. Óscar Prol

Amazon Studios

an entertainment show like this is so powerful that you need to be able to talk about it,” he says.

According to Rubira, this is what the local market wants now: programmes with a strong event factor. “You know that feeling that you can’t miss an episode because everyone’s talking about it on social media or the next morning at work or school?

How do you achieve this? By providing something the viewer experiences as exceptional, and Operación Triunfo is just that.”

The first show of its kind, this new iteration of OT on Amazon appears to offer a balance between risk-taking and playing it safe – a balance that usually works on television.

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Channel21 International | Fall 2023

SPANISH CONTENT TRENDS REPORT: REPORT: Fall Fall 2023 2023

1990s gameshow El Grand Prix returned to Spain in 2023

Fall favourites From the revival of big entertainment shows to diverse fiction titles and docs focusing on Spain’s recent history, these are the major trends shaping the country’s TV content. By Juanma Fernández

T

he television season kicking off in Spain in the last quarter of the year brings plenty of new content, but also new challenges.

While mainstream broadcasters are trying to stop audiences from defecting to streaming, the VoD platforms must do the same to retain subscribers while they seek to consolidate a model that makes them profitable.

They say that creativity is born out of crisis and with both models in the eye of the storm, a new generation of content with international potential is now emerging in Spain.

Probably the most obvious trend has to do with the return of bigger and more popular entertainment shows, with a certain amount of nostalgia. For example, El Grand Prix is a 1990s gameshow made in Spain that, after years off the air, successfully returned to pubcaster RTVE’s La 1 this summer thanks to prodco Europroducciones, part of iZen Group. On free-to-air TV, where a 10% audience share and a million viewers are seen as a success, the programme attracted a 26.1% share on its premiere, which prompted conversations about the creation

of new versions, international adaptations and the return of other classic Spanish formats.

Another example is The Conqueror (El conquistador), from The Mediapro Studio, a Spanishcreated adventure reality show that, after 21 editions on Basque broadcaster EITB, is now demonstrating its full potential on La 1.

Atresplayer drama series Cardo

But perhaps what is most surprising is that this approach is also gaining momentum on streaming.

Services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and HBO Max have understood that they cannot live on fiction and documentaries alone, and that big entertainment formats are one of the pillars of any audiovisual service. They have also realised that not just any format works for them – they need it to connect with the masses.

As a result, streamers have fully embraced the reality and talent show genres, appointing respected professionals such as María José Rodríguez at Amazon Studios, previously manager of original content for channel #0 at Movistar Plus+ and executive producer at Discovery Networks; and Álvaro Díaz at Netflix, former general director of Zeppelin TV, where he produced the Spanish versions of formats such as Big Brother and The Bridge.

Interestingly, the type of content with which both platforms are seeking to revitalise their offer are classic Spanish broadcast TV formats.

On Prime Video, the content of choice is Operación Triunfo, one of the most successful musical talent shows on Spanish TV, which was previously screened on RTVE and Telecinco and will now lead the platform to its weekly live broadcast debut (page S15).

Netflix, although not broadcasting live, has also chosen a very current, 

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Channel21 International | Fall 2023

SPANISH CONTENT TRENDS REPORT: REPORT: Fall 2023

Secuoya Studios’ new drama Zorro. Inset: Amazon’s Alexia, Labor Omnia Vincit on footballer Alexia Putellas

classic TV show: Sálvame. After Mediaset España began its restructuring (page S43) and cancelled the popular magazine programme last June, the streamer has decided to take eight of the show’s panelists to the US to film the docu-reality show Sálvese quien pueda, also produced by La Fábrica de la Tele.

“Nobody will be disappointed; we are going to make television history,” says Kiko Matamoros, one of the stars of the series. Netflix promises to show international audiences the secrets behind the programme that had Spanish viewers hooked for 14 years.

HBO Max has also made a strong commitment to formats, although focusing on new generations with a risky new brand from Zeppelin TV, Time Zone, a big show that combines video games with a futuristic approach.

When it comes to fiction – a genre that has been key to building Spain’s image abroad – a look at which stories are being told and how producers are telling them reveals the trend of decentralisation; Madrid is no longer the capital of Spanish series.

After a period in which the same sets, the same aesthetics, the same look were constantly in use, producers decided to show the viewer other corners of the country, which until recently were barely seen on screen. With these new settings came more authentic, diverse and original plots.

Perhaps the most obvious example is Hierro, a thriller by Portocabo and Atlantique Productions for Movistar Plus+, in which the island of El Hierro in the Canaries is as much a character as the actors.

But one could list dozens of series that have shown a less familiar Spain recently, from a mysterious Malaga in La chica de nieve (Netflix and Atípica Films) to a thrilling Galicia in Operación Marea Negra (Prime Video and Ficción Producciones).

Regional Catalan television channel TV3 has been particularly active in its quest to promote its local surroundings through drama, with original productions such as the melodrama Bojos per Moliére (Veranda) and the romantic series Cites Barcelona (Filmax).

Since 2018, Turkish dramas have burst on to the local TV scene to such an extent that they

are the only scripted series that have managed to achieve sustained success in the Spanish free-to-air market. Partly inspired by this success, and partly in response to it, the three big broadcasters have returned decisively to daily fiction.

Telecinco tried this, with limited success, with melodrama Revenge is Mine (Mía es la venganza), produced by Alea Media and created by one of Spain’s greatest classic soap opera writers, Aurora Guerra (El secreto de Puente Viejo, Acacias 38). Antena 3 announced Sueños de libertad for 2024, a new Diagonal TV drama to replace its longrunning Love is Forever (Amar es para siempre). Pubcaster La 1 has acted as a point of reference, opting for the classic soap opera La promesa (Bambú Producciones) and Salón de té La Moderna (Boomerang TV), as well as revitalising its access primetime slot with the family comedy 4 estrellas (The Good Mood).

“La promesa signifies a return to the classics,” explains Josep Cister Rubio, creator of the period melodrama and executive producer at Bambú Producciones. “Turkish series are taking up a lot of our space because, as well as having spectacular actors and sets, they make classic stories with a very classic stamp. The idea is a throwback, but obviously without going backwards in terms of production levels.”

And how long before the Spanish teams at Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max or Disney+ commission a long-running series? Cister says there has already been interest in this idea from several platforms.

Despite their many differences, the aforementioned titles all had one thing in common: the inclusion of LGBTQI+ themes. In fact, they all have plots that have been applauded by viewers, even introducing non-binary characters in the case of 4 estrellas, which was created by showrunner Dani Écija.

Veneno is perhaps the most successful and international example of this trend, but it is far from being the only one. For some time now, Spanish fiction has dared to tackle riskier themes. We have seen Thistle (Cardo, Suma Content), which looks at both legal and illegal drugs; Simple (Fácil, Destrucción y Salvación), a comedy starring a group of friends with functional diversity; Tramps (Zorras, Morena Films), a drama about three young people who want to fulfil their sexual fantasies; and Selftape (Filmax), the original series from the Spanish SVoD platform Filmin that mixes reality and fiction to explore the wounds of two precocious actresses.

Another global trend to which Spain has been no stranger is the search for big IPs to adapt for the screen. Among the most ambitious Spanish projects are Reina roja, produced by Dopamine and Focus, based on the saga by Juan Gómez-Jurado and 

21

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SPANISH CONTENT TRENDS REPORT: Fall 2023

due to be released on Prime Video; La red púrpura, the second instalment of Carmen Mola’s The Gipsy Bride (La novia gitana), produced by Diagonal TV for Atresplayer; Sira, the novel by María Dueñas that Buendía Estudios is developing as a series; and probably the most eagerly awaited: Zorro, in which Secuoya Studios will bring back the classic character created in 1919 by Johnston McCulley.

And behind the vast majority of literary adaptation agreements in Spain there is a name that keeps cropping up: Scenic Rights. The theatrical and audiovisual rights management agency headed

by Sydney Borjas has become a key player in this sector and, given the current situation that promotes ambitious yet safe commissions, it looks set to grow.

Finally, when looking at scripted series, we must mention the boom in biopics. Although the trend is not new, in Spain, it has found the perfect ally in the documentary format.

Illustrating this are the projects that have emerged around the singer Miguel Bosé. After years out of the spotlight and an image tarnished by his Covid denial, the Madrid artist decided to tell his life story with the help of one of his closest friends, Macarena Rey, CEO of Shine Iberia. The drama series Bosé was one of SkyShowtime’s greatest assets on its launch in Spain and was acquired by Telecinco for free-to-air broadcast. Not long after, Movistar Plus+ released the docuseries Bosé renacido, also produced by Shine Iberia.

The idea of making docs to complement dramas has extended to other Spanish figures over the past year. Atresmedia commissioned documentary series Una vida bárbara and scripted show Cristo y Rey, both produced by The Good Mood, to tell the story of TV star Bárbara Rey and her romantic relationship with king Juan Carlos I before his abdication.

Channel21 International | Fall 2023

La promesa has been this year’s most successfull daily series in Spain

Netflix launched docuseries Las cintas de Rosa Peral (Brutal Media) and the drama El cuerpo en llamas (Arcadia Motion Pictures) on the same day.

Both are based on the brutal murder of a Barcelona civil guard, although in this case they were made by different production companies.

Likewise, in the wake of Netflix hit series The Crown, there have also been several attempts to bring the life of Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia and the Spanish monarchy in general to the small screen, but so far none of the projects have been greenlit.

In a country like Spain, where football is part of people’s daily conversations, streaming platforms have been able to exploit this interest in docs about football players, clubs and the game itself. In recent years, Prime Video has mainly opted for series about players, such as Alexia Putellas or Sergio Ramos.

Similarly, documentaries like La liga de los hombres extraordinarios and La España de Clemente, both for Movistar Plus+, have also been released,

Romantic series Cites Barcelona features the city as a character in itself

exploring Spanish society in the 1990s through the lens of football.

Meanwhile, HBO Max docuseries 11 tiros was a remarkable mix of sport and true crime, which saw You First Originals and Beta Entertainment Spain delve into the darker side of football to show a parallel universe of fame, parties, luxury and crimes of all kinds.

True crime, of course, is also trending on streaming platforms in Spain. In the last few months alone, titles such as No se lo digas a nadie on Atresplayer, Luz en la oscuridad on Movistar Plus+ and Las últimas horas de Mario Biondo on Netflix have been released, all with a great deal of buzz.

Nostalgia, diversity, personalities and crime.

Spanish creativity is being put to the test to satisfy a demanding national audience in an increasingly competitive landscape. This, coupled with an international market that needs to expand licensing like never before, can only be good news.

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CONTENT STRATEGIES: Movistar Plus+

Channel21 International | Fall 2023

Embracing risk

D

irector of drama and entertainment Domingo Corral is already preparing the 2026 slate for Spanish streaming platform Movistar Plus+. And there is no mention in his plans of reducing commissions or changing his content strategy.

In a slowing global economy, with cuts to commissions and a total rethink of the streaming model, this is quite an exception compared with what’s going on in the rest of the world.

Movistar Plus+, owned by telecoms operator Telefónica, started its original drama series strategy in 2017 with the goal of commissioning between eight and 10 originals each year. So far, it has released a total of 38 series running to 60 seasons.

“Our priority is to try to remain relevant,” explains Corral about the kind of series that the platform has been producing, ranging from thrillers to dramas and comedy, always with a dose of risk. “In a context where there is so much content, the most important thing is to stand out.

Assuming a certain level of risk is essential in order to stay relevant,” he adds.

Titles such as the award-winning drama Riot Police (Antidisturbios), the apocalyptic Offworld (Apagón) and personal dramedies Simple (Fácil) and Perfect Life (Vida perfecta) are a reflection of this strategy, which also looks to be linked to top Spanish talent, such as screenwriters and directors Rodrigo Sorogoyen, Leticia Dolera, Paco León, Pau Freixas and Veneno’s Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo – popularly known as Los Javis – who have just released the long-awaited and unique drama series La Mesías on the platform.

While chances have been taken with stories, a more conservative policy in terms of volume of commissions has enabled the platform to avoid making cuts. “It’s undeniable that spending is being contained globally and that’s because the numbers are not coming in. But we are not experiencing this because when the production explosion arrived, we didn’t set out to make 20 series a year. We decided to continue making between eight and 10, but of the highest quality. And now we don’t need to make cutbacks,” adds Corral, who was appointed to oversee the company’s entertainment content in April.

Alongside its growth in drama series, Movistar Plus+ has positioned itself as a very active player in the unscripted space with comedy shows that have managed to capture the local zeitgeist, such as La resistencia, as well as docuseries showcasing relevant local stories such as Palomares,, about the 1966 nuclear incident, or public figures, such as Lola,, about legendary flamenco singer Lola Flores.

La Mesías was created by creative duo Los Javis

Movistar Plus+’s Domingo Corral explains how a policy that’s risky in terms of content but stable in terms of commissions is enabling the Spanish platform to avoid the cutbacks faced by the rest of the global industry. By Gonzalo Larrea Under Corral’s command, the aim is to keep searching for “differential and unique” programmes that “can’t be seen anywhere else.”

Adapting big global formats is not currently part of his plans.

“We’re not ruling it out in the future, because

“

Our priority is to try to remain relevant. In a context where there is so much content, the most important thing is to stand out. Assuming a certain level of risk is essential in order to stay relevant.

Domingo Corral Movistar Plus+

television is about trying and getting it wrong until you get it right. But you have to prioritise where you want to put your limited resources and, at the moment, I’m not considering big formats,” he explains.

Corral’s appointment as entertainment director coincides with the relaunch in August of Movistar Plus+ as an independent platform. Until then, the service could only be contracted as part of a package with internet, telephone and cable. It was possible to subscribe independently to Movistar Plus+ Lite for €8 (US$8.50) per month, but it offered very limited content.

Now, anyone can sign up to Movistar Plus+ for €14 and access not only its original content, but also its full range of films, acquired series, live channels and sports.

Although more expensive than the basic ad-free Netflix plan (€12.99 in Spain), the sports offer sets Movistar Plus+ apart from other SVoD services in Spain. “There are platforms with lots of series, others with lots of films, others with sports, but no platform has it all as well as offering such relevant local content,” says Corral, whose priority is to refresh the platform’s creative content year after year.

“My big concern is how to keep reinventing ourselves, how to continue offering content that is fun, exciting, engaging, original and innovative.

It’s an exciting but complicated task. It’s tempting to repeat things that have already worked, but that leads you, at the very least, to irrelevance, if not failure.”

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AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Coproduction

Channel21 International | Fall 2023

29 Hierro was coproduced

by Portocabo, Atlantique Productions, Arte and Movistar Plus+

Keeping a grip on IP D

espite the fact Spanish drama continues to enjoy a golden age of international popularity on platforms such as Netflix – and the fact never before has so much content been produced with such high budgets – the original model is not sustainable in the long term, Spanish producers have warned time and again.

“Producers are better off than ever in terms of creativity, but worse than ever financially,” says José Manuel Lorenzo, president of DLO Producciones, part of Banijay Iberia.

Spain, in contrast to other European markets, has no specific regulations that allow producers to retain part of the intellectual property rights or recoup them after a certain time.

And thanks to its cultural connection to the rest of Europe and historic, idiomatic links with Latin America, Spanish series travel increasingly well, turning Spain into a key market for original production for platforms.

That’s why a growing group of Spanish producers are now looking to capitalise on the same favourable conditions in its market while retaining IP through international coproduction. The sudden slowdown of commissions from the platforms this year might, ironically, work in its favour.

“We were living in quite a comfortable status quo where we shared the format and final product rights with the operator on an international level. With the arrival of platforms, that was lost,” explains Lorenzo.

DLO has already made

Following the explosion in popularity of original Spanish series on streaming, an increasing number of producers are rethinking international coproduction in an effort to retain the rights to their series. By Gonzalo Larrea two international copros with US Hispanic company Telemundo International Studios, part of NBCUniversal, for fiction series Tell Me Who I Am (Dime quién soy, Movistar Plus+, 2020) and El Inmortal – Gangs of Madrid (El (El inmortal, inmortal Movistar Plus+, 2022). But undoubtedly the most ambitious producer in the copro space is Galicia’s

“

We were living in quite a comfortable status quo where we shared the format and final product rights with the operator on an international level. With the arrival of platforms, that was lost.

José Manuel Lorenzo DLO Producciones

Portocabo, which, after making period drama Vidago Palace with Portugal in 2017 (for TVG in Spain and RTP in Portugal), ended 2019 with one of the most important international alliances in Spain to date, for crime thriller Hierro.

Filmed entirely in Spanish and set in the Canary Islands, Hierro

secured French producer Atlantique Productions and cultural broadcaster Arte as partners from day one. Movistar Plus+, which screens it in Spain, was actually the last partner to get onboard.

“Movistar saw Hierro as an original but with the advantages that coproducing brings. It was by far the cheapest series per minute on the whole Movistar grid, apart from comedy shows – and the most successful,” says Alfonso Blanco, general director of Portocabo.

Following Hierro, Portocabo became one of the most in-demand producers in Spain, with dramas such as Honor, an adaptation of Israeli series Your Honor for Atresmedia, crime thriller Rapa for Movistar Plus+, youth series The Argonauts & the Golden Coin (Los argonautas) for pubcaster RTVE and crime thriller Dry Water (Auga seca), coproduced with Portugal’s SPi and shown on RTP, HBO and TVG. Its growth has been so marked that, since 2020, Banijay has taken a stake in the company. “The model works, not only in terms of revenue but also in order to have editorial control,” argues Blanco, who has already embarked on his next European copro: procedural drama Weiss & Morales, alongside ZDF. The German company has become a touchstone for the Spanish audiovisual business, thanks to its distribution and coproduction of dramas such as Stories to Stay Awake (Historias para no dormir), ANA. all in (Ana Tramel. El juego) and Boundless (Sin límites), the epic series about the first circumnavigation of the world. 

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AHEAD OF THE CURVE: Coproduction

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Coproduction

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Epic drama Boundless (Sin límites).

Inset: Portocabo’s Alfonso Blanco and Berta Orozco of Mediacrest

Another producer that has been exploring the copro route for years is Plano a Plano, with several projects currently running and one due to be announced. “It is a longer path compared to producing originals, but when you manage to complete the puzzle, you reap the rewards,” says Esther Agraso, director of the company’s international arm.

Plano a Plano certainly hasn’t abandoned the originals route – it produced three seasons of Valeria and A Perfect Story (Un cuento perfecto) for Netflix – but it is intent on coproducing. Its efforts are close to paying off with Scar (Cicatriz), an adaptation of the book by Spanish writer Juan Gómez-Jurado, which already has partners like Mexican-Spanish producer Dopamine, pan-European group Asacha Media and Serbian telco Telekom Srbija, its first confirmed screen.

“And with the general reduction in costs on platforms and traditional channels, coproduction provides the opportunity to enter into more projects while risking less, by only acquiring its distribution window,” says Agraso.

Plano a Plano has also partnered with international distribution company Entertainment One for its original Salazar. Set in 18th century Spain on the border with France, the shows centres on real-life inquisitor Alonso de Salazar Frías.

Some established giants have undergone overhauls in search of international copro partners, such as Secuoya Studios with Zorro (Amazon Prime Video) and Montecristo (ViX), and The Mediapro Studio with The Head (Hulu Japan and HBO Asia) and Kosta (YLE, ReelMedia and Media Musketeers Studios). Meanwhile, other ‘younger’ producers, such as Mediacrest (created in 2019), have been born with coproduction as part of their DNA. Nautilus, an ambitious story about a narcosubmarine, is set to be made into a coproduced drama series. In this case, the partners are the Colombian producer Dynamo and TelevisaUnivision’s platform

getting behind the copro model,” explains Agraso at Plano a Plano.

Alberto Rull, director of production and content at prodco Vértice 360, part of Spanish group Squirrel Media, adds that this situation leaves the country’s producers at a disadvantage compared with their European counterparts.

“In Europe there is a tradition of natural coproduction, of prebuying rights, signatures, letters of intention, and that tradition doesn’t exist in Spain.

Here prebuying rights is an almost impossible mission,” says Rull, who currently drives different original developments in order to coproduce with partners in Europe.

Without this prebuying, he explains, Spanish producers are unable to apply for funding from the likes of Creative Europe MEDIA, which requires that buyers are already involved. “A lot of grants don’t reach Spain because we don’t qualify. Things When we go out to sell a project, are changing, which I’m happy about, but the channels still need clients want to know that there is to take a bigger step and they already an initial distribution window in must be able to support projects the original territory, and it’s not always that make sense for the Spanish possible. The channels and platforms in and international markets. And Spain are still in the process of getting that should come from public TV,” he adds. behind the copro model.

José Pastor, director of cinema Esther Agraso, Plano a Plano and fiction at RTVE, claims the pubcaster has become open to this model, mainly through its free digital platform RTVE Play, where the international market, such as The Teacher (La more experimentation is permitted.

RTVE is currently partnering with Finland’s YLE, profe), alongside María Wood Producciones and TV3 from Cataluña, Anagram Sweden, Swedish Fremantle.

But it’s not all good news, of course. As with SVT and Germany’s NDR on the copro This is Not Hierro, one of the problems Spanish producers are Sweden, with the support of Institut Català de les finding is that they have to work back to front, first Empreses Culturals and the MEDIA programme.

“If we want to compete with platforms and produce finding screens abroad so that later national players the level of quality necessary in today’s market, we will want to get onboard too.

“When we go out to sell a project, clients want must make the most of Spain’s fiscal incentives to be to know that there is already an initial distribution able to do so with less investment. And to optimise window in the original territory, in this case Spain, this incentive and have access to the European and it’s not always possible. The channels and media funds, we believe it is important to try to make platforms in Spain are still in the process of the copro model flexible,” says Pastor.

ViX. Mediacrest is also moving ahead with its project 17Khz, which already has Finnish producer ReelMedia, Finnish pubcaster YLE and Brazilian producer Glaz Entretenimento onboard.

“Spain continues to offer some of the most competitive production costs in comparison to other countries nearby,” says Berta Orozco, director of international sales and coproduction at Mediacrest, regarding Spain’s advantages as a partner.

The fiscal incentives the country is putting in place (see page S33) are another attraction.

“Spain boasts great professional talent where there are no boundaries. The actors, producers and directors are recognised worldwide and this talent, alongside fiscal incentives, also attract foreign partners who want to produce here,” says Orozco, who outlines other Mediacrest projects designed for

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FUNDAMENTALS: Shooting in Spain

Channel21 International | Fall 2023

33

Hub of the Dragon A

ttracting international filming and providing In the last five years, 256 international incentives for local productions have been among films have chosen Spain as their Spain’s priorities in recent years. And according to Elisa García Grande, executive director of Invest in production destination. And now the country expects to attract 30% more Spain, the plan is proving to be successful.

Invest in Spain, a division of ICEX (España Exportación filming with the increase of e Inversiones), is responsible for implementing the the tax incentive ceiling and a Shooting in Spain programme, aimed at attracting filming special plan for series. to the country and part of the Spain Audiovisual Hub. The latter is an ambitious government plan to turn the country

By Gonzalo Larrea into the “Hollywood of Europe” by investing €1.6bn (US$2bn) in the audiovisual sector by 2025.

Also working to attract international productions is the for all types of production, the country has raised the cap Spain Film Commission, a non-governmental association on tax rebates from €10m to €20m, in line with requests that centralises and coordinates the work of 43 film offices from the sector. The rise represents a five-fold increase, from €60m to €400m. and film commissions throughout the country.

For Carlos Rosado, president of the Spain Film According to ICEX data, in the last five years alone, Spain has attracted a total of 256 international films, Commission, this change makes it possible to attract even bigger productions. “With a maximum of €20m and being investing an average of €2.6m able to get back 25%, you can now attract productions of per title. up to €80m,” he points out.

Productions such as According to ICEX estimates, Uncharted (shot in Alicante, There this new policy could lead to a 30% Valencia, Barcelona and is a increase in international filming in Madrid), The Midnight Sky national Spain.

(Canary Islands) and Asteroid consensus The next objective of the Spain City (Chinchón), to name but Film Commission is to raise the cap a few, have chosen Spain. The here on the even more. “The only way to attract positive effects on TV are also need to establish certain big productions is by increasing the evident, in series such as Killing policies to promote filming cap, or at least matching the average Eve (Barcelona), The Witcher (Canary Islands), The Crown in Spain, regardless of which in other countries, where it is around €30m or €40m,” says Rosado.

(Tabernas Desert and Algeciras), political party is in power.

For series, the cap has been House of the Dragon (Cáceres and increased to €10m per episode, not Trujillo), Westworld (Valencia) and Carlos Rosado Spain Film Commission per complete series. “Previously, Foundation (Canary Islands). with the lower limit, Spain would And these results are closely linked to the latest changes to tax incentives and the only be considered for shooting part of a chapter or only a few minutes. However, the increase in percentage as launch of the Spain Audiovisual Hub. According to the law introduced in December 2022, and well as of maximum limits is enabling productions to approved by the European Union in August this year, in access higher returns and now they are choosing Spain for addition to offering a tax rebate of 30% on the first €1m multiple episodes, or even complete series,” says García invested and a 25% rebate beyond that at national level Grande. 

“

Spain was chosen as the location to shoot part of the first season of House of the Dragon

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Rosado adds that the new ceilings also increased the number of days spent shooting in Spain. “Not only have more productions been filmed, but we have also noticed that producers are spending more time filming in the country. As a result, the financial return is much more significant,” he says.

According to Profilm, the association that brings together 90% of Spanish production companies that provide production services to international projects, direct investment by foreign productions has increased by 8% in 2022 to €288m, while 10% more international projects were shot in the country.

The data, however, is not yet complete, explains Rosado, who announced an alliance with Profilm during the last San Sebastian Film Festival, to better monitor the number of productions shot and their investment.

“We are going to create a model to evaluate the number of international productions shooting in Spain and their economic impact. Few countries have this, but we believe it is the best way to explain to Spanish society, and also to the public authorities, the real impact on the economy,” he explains.

“What we can say for certain is that, as soon as the right policies are in place, we see an increase in productions being filmed, an increase in working days and a considerable economic increase, which has not yet reached its peak.”

Another factor that makes Spain even more competitive in terms of attracting filming is that, given its governmental structure, some of its regions are able to raise the ceiling of the incentive above the national 30%.

The three main regions that stand out in this respect are the Canary Islands, the Basque Country and Navarre, thanks to their long-standing tax autonomy agreements.

The Canary Islands offer deductions of up to 54% (50% of the incentive plus 4% in corporate tax). In the Basque Country, the incentives offered by Vizcaya (which can rise to 70%), Guipúzcoa (up to 45%) and Álava (up to 40%) stand out, while Navarre offers tax rebates of up to 40%.

“Not only is Spain a good destination for the industry, but filming has created a network of highly qualified professionals throughout the whole country, to the extent that it is now common to see, in certain

FUNDAMENTALS: Shooting FUNDAMENTALS: Shooting in in Spain Spain

regions, full employment in all the trades and professions that are involved in filming,” Rosado says.

But one problem that is beginning to affect the sector this year is the Hollywood strikes, especially that of the actors now that the writers’ have called off theirs after walking out in May. SAG-AFTRA, the union representing more than 150,000 film and television actors in the US, began its first industrial action in almost 40 years on July 14. Since then, all productions with members of SAG-AFTRA have come to a standstill, including those being shot abroad.

“We are already beginning to see its impact, albeit still moderate, but it opens up the world of the unknown,” Rosado says.

According to Profilm’s latest update, published in July, a total of nine projects being filmed in Spain have been delayed and at least €220m in planned investment has been put on hold.

In addition, three major projects scheduled to be shot in Spain during 2024 are also being delayed.

Could a political change in Spain affect all these plans?

As we go to press, Spain is in a tussle to decide on a new government. While current president Pedro Sánchez, from socialist party PSOE, has a good chance of being reelected by congress, any imbalance between the forces that make up his coalition could set the country on course for a repeat election.

But for Rosado this is not a concern. “There is a national consensus here on the need to establish certain policies to promote filming in Spain, regardless of which political party is in power. In addition, we are involved in the Spain Audiovisual Hub and we still have two years left to implement the agreements,” he says.

Westworld chose Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences to depict its future landscape. Below left: A total of 66 series and 47 movies were shot in Madrid last year alone

“

The increase in percentage as well as of maximum limits is enabling productions to access higher returns and now they are choosing Spain for multiple episodes, or even complete series.

Elisa García Grande Invest in Spain – ICEX

S35 35

A CITY TO TELL GREAT STORIES Biggest production hub in Spain 30% Tax Rebate and local grants Incredible locations that can double for other cities Top suppliers and service companies Hands-on assistance and institutional support

madridfilmoffice.com

CONTENT STRATEGIES: RTVE (scripted)

Channel21 International | Fall 2023

Comedy 4 estrellas is produced by The Good Mood

A

fter a rather quiet year with only two fiction greenlights, Spanish public broadcaster Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) kicked off 2023 by commissioning a handful of new scripted projects, which are just starting to arrive on La 1, its main network, as part of the 2023/24 season.

“The road is yet to be paved,” says José Pastor, who took over as director of cinema and fiction at the pubcaster in November 2021 with a personal and somewhat revisionist approach that is beginning to reap rewards.

Interestingly, the first two scripted titles to be approved under his mandate last year were daily series.

Produced by Bambú Producciones (Cable Girls, Now & Then), the period melodrama La promesa became Spain’s most popular afternoon show; and comedy 4 estrellas, produced

by The Good Mood with showrunner Dani Écija (Los Serrano, I’m Alive)’s classic stamp, surprised everyone by taking over an access primetime slot where fiction had not been scheduled for years. The results have already secured its renewal.

“The first thing we needed was a daily series,” says Pastor about his fiction strategy for RTVE. “If anything, I’d say they are the most important thing. A primetime series gives you eight nights out of 365. A daily series,

Finding a fiction formula With its daily series, premium fiction and an active approach to coproduction, Spanish pubcaster RTVE is exploring models and partnerships like never before as part of its scripted strategy.

By Pina Mezzera if it works, will feed you and has a hefty bearing on the network’s monthly and annual ratings.” With an average audience share of almost 11%, La promesa has been leading in its slot all year and raised La 1’s overall ratings.

In addition, when it comes to choosing daily programming, a successful local series allows the pubcaster “not to have to resort to Turkish fiction or long-running fiction from other countries,” adds the executive. On top of that, RTVE’s

distribution arm has been successful in selling this type of content internationally, taking titles such as Acacias 38 to AMC in Latin America, Dos vidas to Mediaset Italia and Seis hermanas to TVP in Poland, to name but a few.

With the recent release of Salón de té La Moderna (Boomerang TV), a period drama riding on the back of La promesa, La 1 currently airs three original daily series from Monday to Friday.

However, Pastor’s roadmap also includes bringing fiction back to the spotlight in Spanish primetime slot, having been relegated to streaming for the last five years. In the case of La 1, he is confident that the latest round of approvals by RTVE’s board of directors will allow the broadcaster to keep drama series in its premium slot throughout the season.

The new primetime series range from three-episode miniseries to sixto eight-episode dramas and include thrillers, period dramas and stories based on true events, backed by a diverse range of local producers.

There are dramas such as Ena, produced by La Cometa TV and based on the figure of Queen Victoria Eugenia, and the spy thriller Operación Barrio Inglés, by Onza and Emociona Media, set in the 1940s.

Also in the broadcaster’s line-up are unconventional crime dramas such as Detective Touré, from Tornasol Media and DeAPlaneta, and Demokracia, which uses the Spanish transition to democracy as a backdrop. RTVE will also explore Spain’s recent history in shows such as La ley del mar (Studio60, McFly Prod and À Punt), based on the rescue of immigrants in the Mediterranean Sea, and Las abogadas, which tells the story of the terrible Atocha massacre of 1977.

You might conclude that 

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CONTENT STRATEGIES: RTVE (scripted)

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We speak to a very large and broad audience and we have to respect the codes of free-to-air TV, but we are demonstrating a different production value and trying to ensure that every euro we spend is seen on screen.

José Pastor RTVE

RTVE is only looking for stories with historical relevance and social impact.

However, Pastor highlights this as one of the most frequent misconceptions he faces when creators and producers pitch their stories to him.

“If you want to present a project for La 1, you have to first think of a series that will be a big hit – and then it also has to be suitable for a public service. But what usually happens is that I receive a very interesting idea that tells a very relevant social story – but have they stopped to think whether people will watch it?”

But beware of going high-concept in search of a smash hit. The strength of the stories cannot come from there, Pastor adds, but rather from wellconstructed characters.

For Pastor, what all these projects have in common is that they have taken a step forward in terms of quality and visual narrative. “We speak to a very large and broad audience and we have to respect the codes of freeto-air TV, but we are demonstrating a different production value and trying to ensure that every euro we spend is seen on screen,” he says.

Despite its broad reach and public

service mission, RTVE has also managed to explore partnerships to turn rival SVoD services into allies.

In May 2021, Prime Video premiered the crime thriller series Parot, coproduced by RTVE. La 1 released it more than a year later, in June 2022. Under a similar model, the public channel launched a reboot of horror anthology series Stories to Stay Awake (Historias para no dormir) nine months Top: Period drama Ena is based on the life after its debut on Amazon’s of Spain’s Queen Victoria Eugenia. Above: platform. Then came Boundless International copro This is Not Sweden (Sin límites), whose streaming window was shortened further, is to ensure we always have the first to five months.

And while the model was generally window,” says Pastor. “And for that, applauded by the industry, the we will probably have to take the lead audience figures were far more stark, in terms of financing.”

There is another conclusion – that in leaving only one conclusion: it works for the streamer but not for the linear Spain, the reverse model does work.

Series such as Wrong Side of the channel.

“After having tried with these Tracks (Entrevías) and Alba remained series, we believe we need to explore in Netflix’s global top 10 for weeks other avenues. With Doctor García’s having joined its line-up months after Patients (Los pacientes del Doctor being broadcast on Telecinco and García), we looked for simultaneity Antena 3 respectively.

“Success on free-to-air TV means with Netflix. But our current position

Channel21 International | Fall 2023

success on the platform, but not vice versa. Netflix has done much better with Wrong Side of the Tracks, without marketing and for much less money, than with many original series that it has spent money on. We have to analyse why that doesn’t happen both ways. Free-to-air TV is a way of communicating and promoting content.”

When it comes to coproduction, many Spanish producers are calling for a more sustained commitment from the pubcaster. This means going into partnership from the outset and at all levels, as opposed to pre-buying, which is the model RTVE has used with Amazon and Netflix, as well as for the recent Allende, the Thousand Days (Los mil días de Allende).

Produced by Chile’s Parox and Spain’s Mediterráneo, the show will be aired by the pubcaster on one of its two main channels, La 1 or La 2.

The only recent experiment in real international coproduction has been through its free digital platform RTVE Play, in the form of young-adult series This is Not Sweden (Esto no es Suecia), produced by Funicular Films, Nanouk Films and Anagram Sweden for RTVE, as well as public broadcasters TV3 (Catalonia), SVT (Sweden), NDR (Germany) and YLE (Finland).

This project is just the beginning, says Pastor. “It’s true that coproducing from the outset is a more risky model, and it’s complicated to find projects that really convince us, but it’s very rewarding and I think we must open up this approach. We are moving slowly but our goal is to have at least one or two copros a year.”

When Pastor took over at RTVE, he was appointed for a two-year term, which is up this November. With a possible change of government in Spain, and as with any public post of this nature, anything could happen after that. In any case, his ambition is to transcend the constraints of his role.

“What I would like is for fiction to become a distinguishing feature of our editorial line. I would like La 1, but also La 2, to be recognised as the home of fiction. And in order to achieve that, we must work on turning series into events, on reviewing the number of episodes. We need to find a fiction formula, a code, that works for us.”

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: Pilar Blasco

Channel21 International | Fall 2023

Dating show Deep Fake Love uses AI to test couples

Creative DNA T hink of five Spanish shows, in any genre, that have surprised you in the past year. Or even in the past decade. Take a look at the producers behind those titles and I’m willing to bet you’ll find Banijay Iberia.

The European production and distribution giant has a powerful presence in Spain and Portugal, comprising eight of its own labels (Cuarzo Producciones, Diagonal TV, Endemol Portugal, Gestmusic, Magnolia, Shine Iberia, Tuiwok Estudios and Zeppelin), plus stakes in DLO Producciones, Portocabo and Pokeepsie Films. In addition, LaLiga Studios was launched this year as a joint venture between Banijay Iberia and LaLiga, the Spanish football league, to create premium sports related content.

So can we expect further acquisitions?

“We are always analysing the market, but right now we are putting the spotlight on entertainment in general, not only on production companies,” says Pilar Blasco, CEO of Banijay Iberia.

While closely monitoring the current challenges within the industry, she relies on the company’s strongest weapon. “The only way to get through these times is by getting creative. We’ve lived through thousands of crises and we’ve survived. It is creativity what saves us.”

And although it’s a term that is used more often than it is actually put into practice, this creativity – which Blasco says is “in the group’s genes” – is reflected on screen.

In Spain, to name just a few of the group’s projects, Zeppelin has produced the reallife video game Time

With a dozen labels under its umbrella, Banijay Iberia is the largest production group in Spain. Its CEO, Pilar Blasco, explains what their lifelines are in turbulent economic times.

By Pina Mezzera

Zone (HBO Max) and the first local anime series, The Idhun Chronicles (Memorias de Idhún, Movistar Plus+). Portocabo has transformed the way thrillers are told with Hierro, and Gestmusic explored the unknown with the musical reality show Operación Triunfo for Amazon Prime Video (see

“

As a group, we invest heavily in creativity and we have large internal funds to support this. A lot of people think we only create what is aired, but we’ve actually got lots of projects in the drawer.

Pilar Blasco

Banijay Iberia

page S15), having created other international hit formats, such as Your Face Sounds Familiar (Atresmedia).

“As a group, we invest heavily in creativity and we have large internal funds to support this. A lot of people

think we only create what is aired, but we’ve actually got lots of projects in the drawer,” says Blasco.

In August, Banijay launched the last of these pots of money, the Al Creative Fund, which was set up for its labels in 21 territories to finance ideas using artificial intelligence (AI) technology at their heart.

Despite the controversy surrounding it, Blasco defends AI when it comes to creating content. “I’m really interested in AI and I think it’s going to be useful for creators as part of the broader creative process. There will always be people who are afraid of new technology, but it’s good to keep AI close as it can be used to develop good ideas much more quickly.”

And the proof is in the pudding. In July, Netflix debuted Deep Fake Love (Falso amor), the first dating show in the world to use deep-fake technology. Created by Cuarzo Producciones, the Spanish format tests five couples’ trust by asking them to guess if images (of their partner kissing another contestant, for example) are real or have been altered by AI. A prize of €100,000 is at stake.

“The combination of classic entertainment formats alongside brand new technology results in excellent content,” she says.

As well as innovation, Blasco has found a second lifeline in difficult times: the Spanish language.

An early experiment of this crossing of borders has been Bosé, a drama series based on the life of Spanish singer Miguel Bosé, coproduced by Shine Iberia with Latin American VIS (Paramount Global’s international studios, now rebranded as PTIS), Elefantec Global and Legacy Rock for Paramount+ in Latin America and SkyShowtime in Spain.

“The Spanish language is the future. I always like to think that, thanks to the language, Spanish people have a foot in America and Latin Americans have a foot in Europe. This bridge, built by Spain, is really interesting and we need to keep it open,” says Blasco.

CONTENT STRATEGIES: Mediaset Mediaset España España

Channel21 International | Fall 2023

Rebuilding bridges The departure of CEO Paolo Vasile prompted Mediaset España to restructure its team, reach out to prodcos once again and seek new audiences. Here’s how its transformation and new strategy are shaping up.

By Juanma Fernández WBITVP Spain makes Who Wants to Marry My Son? for Cuatro

O

ctober 17, 2022 will forever be remembered in the history of Mediaset España – and probably in that of Spanish TV. On that day, the press reported the departure of the group’s CEO, Paolo Vasile, after 23 years of “unique and extraordinary” management.

A few weeks later, the board of directors appointed Alessandro Salem and Massimo Musolino as new co-CEOs and gave more power to the president, Borja Prado. After enduring its own Game of Thrones, the company decided to give full executive and editorial powers to the Italian Salem, a trusted confidant of Pier Silvio Berlusconi, head of parent company MediaForEurope.

A new chapter began at Mediaset España, and during the first half of 2023, moves and new appointments to key positions were announced.

Manuel Villanueva kept his role as head of content and Jaime Guerra became head of the group’s entire production division, under which Eduardo Escorial was hired to head entertainment and current affairs, María Zambrano took over reality and dating formats and Teresa de Rosendo became development director at Telecinco Cinema, while marketing director Javier Cuenllas was made director of on-screen programming.

As a result, there has been a shift to types of products and formats that weren’t previously seen on its screens. Although the changes span the group’s seven free-to-air channels, there is one big goal: to

attract new audiences, so that its flagship network, Telecinco, can once again fight for leadership on the ratings board against its rival Antena 3 (owned

by Atresmedia) – the most watched channel in the country since November 2021.

During Vasile’s last years at the helm of the Spanish giant, Mediaset favoured productions from in-house or sister companies, leaving out practically the entire audiovisual sector and even directly vetoing some prodcos.

So much so, that more than 50% of its line-up was produced by its own labels Unicorn Content (El programa de AR) and La Fábrica de la Tele (Sálvame). Similar shows and characters made it seem as if the same type of TV, dominated by conflict, was being shown 24 hours a day. At one point in 2022, Telecinco even used the same set six nights a week for programmes such as Temptation

“

We know where we want to go and with which products we want to reach the audience. In effect, we must try to open our channels to all kinds of audiences and be much more open to try to get the viewer to stay with us for much longer.

Javier Cuenllas Mediaset España

Island (La isla de las tentaciones) and Secret Story and their companion discussion shows.

Hence Salem’s roadmap for the group’s “evolution” – he doesn’t want to talk about change or “the new Mediaset” – is about opening up to new producers that are able to provide fresh content.

As such, in recent months Mediaset España has re-established its relationship with producers such as Secuoya Studios, responsible for adapting docu-reality series The Real Full Monty (Desnudos por la vida); Shine Iberia, with which it has already broadcast the comedy talent show Me resbala, an adaptation of the French format Vendredi tout est permis avec Arthur; and The Mediapro Studio, which is producing a local version of the Belgian show The Musical of Your Life (El musical de tu vida).

“It’s true that we had closed ourselves off to some of them and to certain products. And we have to start rebuilding bridges that have been broken.

We are open to all kinds of products, formats, big entertainment, small entertainment, fiction...,” says Cuenllas.

“It was necessary. It is the content manager’s job to find talent wherever it is. If you have it on the inside, great, but you don’t always. And it’s practically impossible to have all the talent. It would be incredibly arrogant to assume that you do. So you have to detect talent, attract it and retain it. And this is why we have been opening up and talking to production companies again, building bridges with them,” says head of content Manuel Villanueva, one of the few top executives who has kept his role in this new phase.

In its search for new projects and formats 

43

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CONTENT STRATEGIES: Mediaset España

Channel21 International | Fall 2023

Inset: Jaime Guerra (top) and Manuel Villanueva.

Right: Telecinco’s version of Belgian show The Musical of Your Life

to connect with viewers who have “distanced themselves from TV,” the company will be more actively involved in international trade shows than they were before. The current aim is to deliver familyfriendly, daring and risky content, moving away from the “individualisation” of TV viewing.

“We know where we want to go and with which products we want to reach the audience. In effect, we must try to open our channels to all kinds of audiences and be much more open to try to get the viewer to stay with us for much longer,” says Cuenllas. “Giving value to television, having much better quality, appointment viewing, enhancing...

Those are the key words.”

In September, at the launch of Telecinco’s new season, Salem said: “We are not against anyone and we don’t have any enemies. That is our mantra: to look at our glorious past without fear of change, maintaining our ethos of being a daring and risktaking broadcaster, respecting all opinions and free of violence.”

In short, Mediaset España’s new content strategy boils down to three main components: entertainment, information and live programming.

For primetime, Telecinco has opted for adaptations of big entertainment shows, such as a new celebrity version of Big Brother, produced by Zeppelin and Banijay Iberia, Got Talent (Fremantle Spain), Deal or No Deal (Allá tú, Gestmusic, Banijay Iberia), ¡Vaya vacaciones! (Cuarzo Producciones, Banijay Iberia) and the aforementioned The Musical of Your Life and The Real Full Monty.

But its second channel, Cuatro, also sees the return of unscripted formats produced by a variety of companies. These include competition shows such as Who Wants to Marry My Son? (¿Quién quiere casarse con mi hijo?) and Reality Queens... (En busca del Nirvana) produced by Warner Bros ITVP Spain; and female-focused factual programming such as Beta Entertainment Spain’s WAGS, ellas también juegan, which follows the partners of renowned football players, or Fremantle Spain’s true crime series En guardia: mujeres contra el crimen, featuring female Civil Guard investigators.

The programming of DTT thematic channels

continues to focus on Telecinco and Cuatro reruns and, above all, on acquisitions of foreign content, mainly from Turkey, Latin America and the US. Production chief Guerra insists on the idea of “entering every home and family” to bring them together in front of the TV. “We want our line-up to be fun, entertaining and informative, to be on the street, to be where the news is, where current affairs are. That’s why we have 50% more live production,” he says.

In fact, Telecinco broadcasts live from 08.00 to 20.00 Monday to Friday with news, journalistic and magazine programmes, and at weekends from 13.00 to 21.00 with gossip and entertainment news. “[Film director] Isabel Coixet says that to look is to find,” adds Villanueva, who is prone to using

“

We are not against anyone and we don’t have any enemies. That is our mantra: to look at our glorious past without fear of change, maintaining our ethos of being a daring and risk-taking broadcaster, respecting all opinions and free of violence.

Alessandro Salem Mediaset España

quotes and sayings when talking to the press. “Our desire is to look and, indeed, to find. If only we could find something that would once again transform television.

Just as Eiffel found his tower and changed the way we look at the marvellous city of Paris, and one day Telecinco found the marvellous format of Big Brother,, which also changed

the way we look at TV, if only we could find a format of this type now.”

And this means finding formats not only for Telecinco and Cuatro, but also for Mitele Plus, the group’s streaming service.

After several years of partnering with other platforms such as Amazon Prime Video and Netflix for the exclusive broadcasting of its series, Mediaset España now wants to provide its own service with more content. In fact, the group recently announced that it was looking for partnerships to find new content that would enable it to offer its subscribers more variety and value.

So where does fiction fit into the picture? Although it doesn’t seem to be on the group’s list of priorities, it does have its place in the global content strategy.

The fiction division, directed by Arantxa Écija, ordered comedy series Serrines, madera de actor for Telecinco and is about to release season 13 of its hit comedy La que se avecina, as well as S3 of family drama Wrong Side of the Tracks (Entrevías), following its success on free-to-air TV and subsequently on Netflix. Audiences did not respond as well to other dramas on Telecinco, such as the daily series Revenge is Mine (Mía es la venganza), venganza which was cancelled in July after a month on air.

Unless things change, Mediaset España’s plan for fiction is still primarily focused on the agreement it has had with Prime Video since 2017, under which its series – almost all of them from prodcos in which it has a stake, such as Alea Media and Mandarina – are first released on Amazon’s streamer before reaching Telecinco as much as 12 months later.

The ratings do not yet reflect the company’s evolution, but then the new programming is only just beginning to reach the screen. We will have to wait a few months to see if viewers get onboard with the new, or almost new, Mediaset.

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PERSPECTIVE: Elena Neira

Channel21 International | Fall 2023

Streaming takes a local road T TV and streaming expert Elena Neira analyses what’s next in the streaming wars for a system that needs to produce and acquire in a more efficient way than ever.

he boom in direct-to-consumer business that has factors (such as the US writers and actors’ strikes) have taken place in recent years will be remembered as forced a change of course, slowing the glocalisation of one of the most transformative periods in audiovisual the content industry. Market saturation has dampened the history. It has also proved to be one of the most fleeting. A growth of subscribers and Wall Street has been forced to wind of change is sweeping the industry, seeking to restore focus its attention on profits as the main indicator of the some of the benefits that digitalisation destroyed and which strength of these companies.

Streaming needs to be profitable. And no, it’s not are vital for the business’s economic sustainability.

To understand new market trends it is necessary to easy. One of the first steps to achieve this has been the measure the consequences of the modus operandi of transformation of the business model. Subscription as streaming platforms over the past 10 years. The vertical the only means of income is now a thing of the past and approach to production and distribution processes has advertising models have begun to emerge, seeking to given OTT services the leeway to rewrite the way in make services cheaper to be more in tune with the financial which entertainment reaches homes. And along the situation faced by many families and, at the same time, generating more direct income from way, consumer demands have been advertisers. redefined. The need to provide an offer We are entering Platforms’ original production, after with global appeal – key for companies a new phase in years of steady growth, has entered with an international focus – initially a necessary stage of austerity. Once seemed to be incompatible with local which the relevance of again, this is a new opportunity for content. However, it was here where a content will be the core key route for development was found. attraction of any content local content. Exclusivity is no longer perceived as the most valuable asset After years in which selling titles offer. The system no these services have to offer, and that is outside the country of origin was longer aspires to be driving the licensing market, leading to arduous and often unsuccessful, a faster and less risky way of growing streaming demonstrated that, with the self-sufficient but to content libraries. right recommendation system, local produce and buy better.

In this new stage of the streaming content could travel. wars, neither organisational model Content licensing acted as a pilot test. Once local stories had established themselves in nor scale seem to be barriers to success. Examples such international territories, producing them was the next step. as Spain’s Atresplayer and Movistar Plus+ show how This marked the real turning point: the local appeal was defending an original vision is compatible with a sustainable clear, even if many of these stories were being distorted business. The renewed interest in content windowing is by the pressure to make them more accessible to a global increasing the possible routes for production (both in-house and external), reaching new commercial success beyond audience.

‘Glocal’ content (local content with the capacity to travel the boundaries of the platforms behind it.

We are entering a new phase in which the relevance of internationally) had accomplished its mission. It not only helped to set titles apart and consolidate international content will be the core attraction of any content offer. The outreach, it also helped to strengthen national launches system no longer aspires to be self-sufficient but to produce and maximise investment, taking advantage of the network and buy better. Without the pressure to tailor content to a global audience, what remains are good stories, capable of tax incentives available in many countries.

Fast forward to 2023, the year of the great streaming of appealing to an audience tired of soulless offerings and correction. Socio-economic variables and other industry fast fiction that’s forgotten as soon as it has been seen.

“

WHO’S WHO: CHANNEL21 SPAIN SPECIAL Co-editors Pina Mezzera pina@c21media.net, Gonzalo Larrea gonzalo@c21media.net, Business development director Fabricio Ferrara fabricio@c21media.net C21 EDITORIAL Editorial director Ed Waller ed@c21media.net, Editor of C21Media.net Jonathan Webdale jonathan@c21media.net, Chief sub-editor Gary Smitherman gary@c21media.net, Chief sub-editor, Drama Quarterly John Winfield john@c21media.net, News editor Clive Whittingham clive@c21media.net, Channel21 International editor Nico Franks nico@c21media.net, DQ editor Michael Pickard michael@c21media.net, Research editor Gün Akyuz gun@c21media.net, North American editor Jordan Pinto jordan@c21media.net, C21Kids editor Karolina Kaminska karolina@c21media.net, Senior reporter Neil Batey neil@c21media.net SALES Founding partner & commercial director Odiri Iwuji odiri@c21media.net, Sales director Peter Treacher peter@c21media.net, Business development director Nick Waller nick@c21media.net, Sales Manager Hayley Salt hayley@c21media.net, Senior sales executives Richard Segal richard@c21media.net, Malvina Marque malvina@c21media.net, Telesales executive Yasmin Connolly yasmin@c21media.net Event programming director Ruth Palmer ruth@c21media.net Head of events Gemma Burt gemma@c21media.net Events coordinator Lucy Corona lucy.corona@c21media.net Programming coordinator Erin Blackmore erin@c21media.net Team assistant Mia Hodgson mia@c21media.net PRODUCTION Operations director Lucy Scott lucy@c21media.net Head of digital Laura Stevens laura@c21media.net Production and events coordinator Courtney Brewster courtney@c21media.net Digital assistant Alex Stevens alex.stevens@c21media.net

C21Media Ltd 2nd Floor, 148 Curtain Road, London EC2A 3AT Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7729 7460 Fax: + 44 (0) 20 7729 7461 Email: cveintiuno@c21media.net

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Honor thy mother.

la Mesías original

A shocking series from Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo about a mother who raised her daughters to save the world.