{"id":922818,"date":"2026-10-10T08:04:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T08:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/922818\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T08:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T08:04:08","slug":"spain-tv-players-forge-new-alliances-up-international-ambition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/922818\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain TV Players Forge New Alliances, Up International Ambition"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSpain<\/a>\u2019s TV industry is shifting gears as international buyers grow more selective, prompting its leading operators to rethink their series business.<\/p>\n

\n\tPay TV operator Movistar Plus<\/a> is scaling up in Spanish originals. Atresmedia<\/a> is strengthening its longstanding relationship with Netflix<\/a>, while Mediterr\u00e1neo Mediaset is placing a large emphasis on international sales.<\/p>\n

\n\tMeanwhile, public broadcasters are pursuing different models of collaboration. RTVE<\/a> shares financing and rights with overseas partners, while Catalonia\u2019s 3Cat<\/a> brings partners aboard at the development stage.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIn a contracted economy and a very saturated market, we have to nurture the international side very carefully,\u201d says Ghislain Barrois, CEO of Mediterr\u00e1neo Mediaset Espa\u00f1a<\/a> Group.<\/p>\n

\n\tBarrois sees a shift in the global streamers\u2019 buying priorities. \u201cNow they are focusing much more on local series, and the rest of the market is adapting to that,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cLicensing and co-production, too, are again an important tool,\u201d says Guy Bisson, executive director of Ampere Analysis. Both fell out of favor during the peak-TV boom, but successive release windows now offer ways to \u201cextend life and monetization opportunities,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

\n\tAtresmedia is extending the commercial life of its programming through deals with streaming platforms. Its latest Netflix deal brings Antena 3\u2019s daily drama \u201cDreams of Freedom\u201d to the platform, with Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo\u2018s \u201cVeneno\u201d also set to join the service. Since 2025, a Disney+ deal brings Spanish subscribers 300-plus hours annually from Atresmedia\u2019s Atresplayer.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cRather than a change, what we are doing is consolidating our content distribution strategy,\u201d says Jos\u00e9 Antonio Ant\u00f3n, general director of Atresmedia.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe broadcaster has long viewed global streamers \u201cas an ally and not as a threat,\u201d an approach that also informs content development. \u201cWe study this strategy carefully to ensure it does not cannibalize our business model but, on the contrary, expands and strengthens it,\u201d Ant\u00f3n says.<\/p>\n

\n\tAtresmedia\u2019s recent originals include \u201cAdrift,\u201d from Mediawan\u2019s Boomerang TV and Buend\u00eda Estudios Canarias, about fishermen returning after being presumed dead.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe volume of content Netflix licensed in Spain rose from 2,420 hours in 2024 to 2,829 in 2025, including around 700 hours from RTVE and Atresmedia, up from 543 a year earlier, Ampere Analysis estimates.<\/p>\n

\n\tLicensing existing programs is one part of the equation. With production costs rising, broadcasters are also bringing partners together to finance new series and share the investment.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe increase in production costs makes it ever more difficult for a single operator to assume the financing of certain projects on its own,\u201d says Rafael Bardem, RTVE\u2019s deputy director of co-productions.<\/p>\n

\n\tAlongside sales of finished programs, RTVE uses advance financing agreements that divide territories and exploitation windows among partners. \u201cEl Valle del Arc\u00e1ngel,\u201d which involves \u201cNarcos\u201d producer Dynamo and Sony, follows that model. \u201cIt is a demanding formula, because it requires developing a product capable of connecting with audiences in different markets,\u201d Bardem says.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor 3Cat, those partnerships also shape projects from the development stage. \u201cThe earlier the principal editorial and financial partners come aboard, the easier it is to accommodate the conditions each considers essential or non-negotiable,\u201d says P\u00edo Vernis, 3Cat\u2019s director of audiovisual business.<\/p>\n

\n\t3Cat tailors release arrangements to each production, working with Netflix and Prime Video while seeking a Catalan premiere for projects it leads. \u201cWe think and rethink the windowing formula for each production,\u201d Vernis notes.<\/p>\n

\n\tCharting Ferran Adri\u00e0\u2019s culinary revolution at his restaurant El Bulli, drama \u201cG\u00e8nesi\u201d has Netflix aboard across multiple territories, with New Regency also handling international distribution outside Spain.<\/p>\n

\n\tOver the next three years, Movistar Plus plans to increase its annual output of Spanish originals from eight to 16 series, alongside another 10 titles through co-production and rights acquisition agreements. Recent Movistar Plus co-productions include \u201cKilling a Bear,\u201d with Arte France.<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Rebeca Aguilar, head of international distribution at Movistar Plus, co-productions offer more than financial backing. \u201cThey also provide us with a partner who brings a great deal of value to the series and represents a first step in its international reach,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\n\tBarrois is more cautious about international co-productions. \u201cFrom an industrial and economic point of view, if you find someone with whom to share the bill, fantastic. But editorially it is more complicated,\u201d he says. \u201cWe design our series with our audience and Spain in mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBarrois says Spain retains a cost advantage despite rising production expenditures: \u201cI think we are still well below most European countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMediaset\u2019s domestic-first approach goes hand-in-hand with international sales and platform partnerships. Its family mystery drama \u201cPure Bred,\u201d produced with Banijay\u2019s Shine Iberia, has secured distribution across 29 territories, including the U.S., Canada and the U.K. through Walter Presents, plus a Spanish licensing deal with SkyShowtime. Mediterr\u00e1neo has also sold Bamb\u00fa-produced period drama \u201cLa Favorita\u201d to nearly 100 territories and licensed ITV Studios\u2019 Plano a Plano series \u201cShe, Damned Soul\u201d to Movistar Plus.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the commissioning front, crime and thrillers lead Spanish-language scripted orders, accounting for 32% of announced VoD commissions in 2025, ahead of comedy at 21% and drama at 20%, according to Ampere Analysis.<\/p>\n

\n\tGenre alone does not determine how well a series travels. \u201cThe principal factor is good stories which, regardless of whether they are more local or more global, allow viewers in any country\u201d to engage with them and relate to them, says Aguilar.<\/p>\n

\n\tVernis also sees international appeal in the cultural roots of Max Original co-production \u201cPubertat,\u201d set against Catalonia\u2019s castells, or \u201chuman towers\u201d that are built during festivals and celebrations.<\/p>\n

\n\tComedy can be harder to export, Barrois notes, given its reliance on local humor. But format adaptations offer another route: Netflix has commissioned local versions of Contubernio\u2019s Spanish original \u201cMachos Alfa\u201d in markets such as France, Italy and Germany. 3Cat\u2019s \u201cUnfiltered,\u201d a Gen Z-focused short-form series, is also suited to adaptation in other territories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spain\u2019s TV industry is shifting gears as international buyers grow more selective, prompting its leading operators to rethink…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":922819,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[490516,128366,64,63,134,490517,125592,490518,435,99617,2020,427],"class_list":["post-922818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-3cat","tag-atresmedia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment","tag-mediaset-espau00f1a","tag-mipcom","tag-movistar-plus","tag-netflix","tag-rtve","tag-spain","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=922818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/922818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/922819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=922818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=922818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=922818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}