This Wednesday, as part of Content Americas, the organization presented the special session “Spain Upfront: Best of Spain’s New Content,” highlighting Spain as one of Europe’s leading production hubs and showcasing some of its most recent international hits.
Produced by Luis Cabrera and Ana Paula Carreira, from Miami
Continuing its tradition from previous years, Audiovisual from Spain organized its traditional Spain Pavilion for this year’s Content Americas, where Spanish companies are exhibiting the latest from their audiovisual catalogs.
The companies present in the pavilion are Arait Multimedia, Atresmedia, Feelsales, Filmax, Grupo adm, Mediterráneo, Motion Pictures, and Onza Distribution.
Furthermore, on January 21, the organization presented the special session “Spain Upfront: Best of Spain’s new content”, where Spain was highlighted as one of the leading European production hubs for global streaming platforms (Netflix, Prime Video, MAX) and one of the most consistent content providers for the industry’s major players.
Participants in the session included Silvia Cotino (Deputy Director of Sales and Business Development at Mediterráneo), Miguel García (Sales Director at Atresmedia Sales), Carlos Garde (General Manager at Onza), Rosalia Alcubilla (Head of Global Clients at RTVE), and Gloria Saló (Director of Content and Production Consultancy at GECA).
The session began with remarks from Javier Yraola, Director of Projects at Invest in Spain and advisor to ICEX, who emphasized investment in production in Spain. “Spain launched an ambitious plan, the Spain Audiovisual Hub, with a budget of €1.6 billion, which has greatly helped the industry develop. For example, employment in the sector has doubled, Spain is a leader in original content on European platforms, and nine out of ten of the most-watched series on platforms are Spanish.”
“This plan has been reinforced with €1.7 billion in financial instruments aimed at providing greater stability for new companies in the sector,” he added.
Gloria Saló reinforced this idea by presenting data on the growth of Spanish fiction, obtained by GECA, revealing that Spain is the third country in Europe in terms of absolute premieres, with 70, behind the United Kingdom and France. In Latin America, only Mexico surpasses it.
To demonstrate this strength, the session moved on to the presentation of some of the most successful Spanish-made fiction series and productions of recent months, beginning with Barrio Esperanza, presented by Rosalía Alcubilla of RTVE, who described it as “a fiction with an optimistic tone and very easily adaptable.”
Produced in collaboration with Globomedia (The Mediapro Studio), Barrio Esperanza was created by Iván Escobar and Antonio Sánchez Olivas. Set in a school, it is a social comedy with sharp humor for all audiences, starring Mariona Terés and an ensemble cast. With a vital and camaraderie-filled tone, it highlights the importance of public education and second chances.
Carlos Garde, from Onza Producciones, presented the series Atasco, produced in collaboration with Prime Video and Publicis Rebellion. Following the success of its first three seasons, the executive revealed that the series will return for a fourth and fifth season and will also be adapted in Italy, with the goal of achieving adaptations in Latin America as well.
The executive also highlighted the success of the format El Desafío, which continues to lead in viewership in Spain on Antena 3, where it premiered its sixth season this January.
In its turn to present, Mediterráneo, which entered the market with a slate of successful dramas, highlighted, of course, its period drama, La Favorita 1922, produced by Mediaset España in collaboration with Bambú Producciones, which has been a true success both in Spain and internationally.
“Prior to its premiere, we had already secured distribution in more than 20 territories, and it is currently available in 71,” said Silvia Cotiño, referring to the agreement signed with HBO Max in Latin America last October, which brought the series to the entire region.
Along with La Favorita 1922, the group also presented La agencia, a local adaptation of the series Call My Agent!; and Pura Sangre, its major new offering for this Content Americas market. Described by Cotiño as “the Spanish Yellowstone,” and produced in collaboration with Shine Iberia (Banijay Iberia), Pura Sangre is an intense ensemble drama that combines family conflicts, romance, thriller, and mystery at the heart of a powerful aristocratic saga, with a rural and equestrian setting as its backdrop and a criminal investigation as the catalyst for all its storylines.
Atresmedia, for its part, also presented one of its biggest hits: Las hijas de la criada, which premiered last December on Atresplayer, becoming the platform’s best premiere in the last three years.
The group also presented Padre no hay más que uno, a new series produced by Bowfinger International Pictures in association with Sony Pictures International Productions, with the participation of Prime Video and Atresmedia, which will premiere on Prime Video on February 6. It is described as “a hilarious comedy, full of family chaos, wacky situations, and heartwarming moments.”
To close, Hugo Serra, CEO of Conunpack International Sales, presented the films Un año y un día and Papeles (The Panama Papers), a co-production between Spain, Panama, and Uruguay.
