{"id":496718,"date":"2025-10-13T17:44:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T17:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/496718\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T17:44:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T17:44:11","slug":"spain-hits-mipcom-as-still-one-of-europes-potent-tv-forces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/496718\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain Hits Mipcom as Still One of Europe’s Potent TV Forces"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tSpain<\/a>\u2019s is rocking with its local TV fiction boom, but that is running mostly on one engine: the streaming services \u2014 far more than anywhere else in Europe. Yet the market is proving ever more flexible as players test new formulas to finance, launch and maintain hits.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn 2024, global streamers poured \u20ac2 billion ($2.2 billion) into Spanish original content \u2014 second only to the U.K. at \u20ac2.9 billion ($3.1 billion), and way above France and Germany (\u20ac8 million, $860 million each) or Italy (\u20ac7 million or $750 million), according to a recent European Audiovisual Observatory report.<\/p>\n

\n\tNearly 70% of Spain\u2019s total content spend comes from streamers, compared to just 24% in France. That ratio defines the ecosystem. Yet many of Spain\u2019s most resonant hits still originate with broadcasters. Diagonal TV\u2019s \u201cSue\u00f1os de libertad,\u201d Atresmedia<\/a>\u2019s leading daily soap, has just sold to Latin America via HBO Max, as did RTVE-Bamb\u00fa\u2019s Emmy-winning telenovela \u201cThe Vow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFinancing increasingly relies on streamers, however, whose weight makes them unavoidable partners on most new projects.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cToday, we simply cannot launch a series without involving a platform in the equation,\u201d says 10.10.2025 23 Variety Ghislain Barrois, CEO of Mediterr\u00e1neo Mediaset<\/a> Espa\u00f1a Group and Telecinco Cinema. \u201cCosts are too high and the pressure on talent and crews is enormous. Platforms bring oxygen, but they also reshape the rules of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBarrois adds, \u201cWe produce less so that we can push harder on promotion. The challenge isn\u2019t so much producing a show; it\u2019s making it stand out in a saturated market.\u201d \u201cSue\u00f1os de libertad,\u201d with 1.3 million daily viewers on Antena 3, also serves to illustrate the streamers\u2019 growing appetite for daily soaps. Beyond leading Spanish free-to-air afternoons, the series is also available on Atresplayer<\/a>, Movistar Plus+<\/a> and Disney+.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOur system of exploiting fiction is a 360-degree model, allowing the series\u2019 journey to be much longer and therefore more profitable,\u201d says Montse Garc\u00eda, Atresmedia\u2019s head of fiction. \u201cFree-to-air fiction still has its audience. That level of loyalty is extremely difficult, which is why we\u2019re very proud,\u201d Garc\u00eda adds. \u201cThey have to impact viewers on a higher level than series on platforms, because it means your audience has to tune in every day\/week at a specific time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFew projects reach the screen today without multiple partners across windows. \u201cPadre no hay m\u00e1s que uno, la serie,\u201d an adaptation of Santiago Segura\u2019s blockbuster film franchise, is a case in point. Produced by Bowfinger Intl. Pictures with Sony Pictures Intl. Prods., Atresmedia and Prime Video, the family comedy shows how flexible Spanish players have become. Mediterr\u00e1neo\u2019s \u201cLa Favorita 1922,\u201d a period drama by Bamb\u00fa, first aired on Mediaset Espa\u00f1a\u2019s Telecinco, then on Mediaset Infinity and Netflix. It pre-sold to more than 20 territories.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFrom development to production, and the campaign around launch \u2014 it was a demonstration of confidence I hadn\u2019t seen in years,\u201d recalls Bamb\u00fa founder Ram\u00f3n Campos. \u201cMy conclusion is that we need shorter episodes, so watching doesn\u2019t feel like an effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIndependent producers are adapting. \u201cFrom the start, we worked almost entirely with originals,\u201d says Anxo Rodr\u00edguez, founder of Espotlight, producer of Prime Video\u2019s \u201cLos Farad\u201d and \u201cDime tu nombre,\u201d as well as \u201cUn nuevo amanecer\u201d for Atresplayer. \u201cBut budgets are bigger, and the market more saturated. Exploring licensing was the next step \u2014 for that, you need financial muscle and partners who are close to distribution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tESpotlight\u2019s pact with Sony Pictures Television gives that cushion, offering first-look support and distribution muscle. \u201cPackaging now resembles assembling indie films.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFor Izen Group, part of France\u2019s Studio TF1, the math is similar. \u201cOriginals give visibility but limited margins,\u201d explains president Jos\u00e9 Velasco. \u201cLicensing involves more risk, but it returns the producer to their true role: taking creative and financial responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tCo-production is another answer \u2014 and Spanish players are leaning in. In the drama \u201cPuberty,\u201d actress-writer-director Leticia Dolera (\u201cPerfect Life\u201d) is backed by Distinto Films, Corte y Confecci\u00f3n de Pel\u00edculas, Uri Films and 3Cat and Belgium\u2019s AT-Prods., with Beta Film handling sales, and HBO Max taking rights to Spain and Portugal.<\/p>\n

\n\tMovistar Plus+ has teamed with Banijay\u2019s DLO Producciones and Arte France on Alberto Rodr\u00edguez\u2019s \u201cThe Anatomy of a Moment,\u201d while Alea Media\u2019s Aitor Gabilondo is partnering with Chile\u2019s F\u00e1bula to adapt Isabel Allende\u2019s \u201cA Long Petal of the Sea.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Mediapro Studio<\/a> is co-producing \u201cRaza Brava,\u201d the new series from Hern\u00e1n Caffiero, alongside DeCulto, At\u00f3mica Group and Erik Barmack\u2019s Wild Sheep Content. Plano a Plano co-produces thriller \u201cInnato\u201d with L.A.\u2019s Dynamic TV, set for Netflix Spain.<\/p>\n

\n\tMeanwhile, Secuoya Studios<\/a> is shooting \u201cArcadia\u201d with ViX, William Levy Entertainment and SkyShowtime in Spain aboard. Eyeing Europe, Secuoya operates a first-look deal with the U.K.\u2019s BlackBox Multimedia and a partnership with France\u2019s Sydney Gallonde.<\/p>\n

\n\tSpain\u2019s sizeable tax breaks have drawn foreign shoots and strengthened the local industry. But execs stress regulation must keep pace.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSpain needs not only attractive tax incentives but also legal certainty and flexible, competitive regulations across all areas \u2014 including labor \u2014 to remain a truly attractive production hub,\u201d says Sara Fern\u00e1ndez-Velasco, Izen\u2019s CEO.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spain\u2019s is rocking with its local TV fiction boom, but that is running mostly on one engine: the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":496719,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5312],"tags":[163358,163359,2000,299,163360,160108,48016,163361,104,163362],"class_list":{"0":"post-496718","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-spain","8":"tag-atresmedia","9":"tag-atresplayer","10":"tag-eu","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-mediaset","13":"tag-mipcom","14":"tag-movistar-plus","15":"tag-secuoya-studios","16":"tag-spain","17":"tag-the-mediapro-studio"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115368104469876440","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496718\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/496719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}