Atresmedia, Telefonica join forces

International series like La Casa de Papel have travelled better on Netflix than US shows

Spanish broadcaster Atresmedia and telecoms giant Telefonica have agreed a new production partnership that will see them produce original content together.

The deal will see the two Spanish companies join forces in order to create original TV series and feature films for Atresmedia channels and Telefonica’s pay broadcaster Movistar+ as well as third-party outlets.

Under the deal, the companies will share resources and talent and will focus on producing original Spanish content to be distributed internationally. The companies aim to maximise their content output and hope to better compete in the international distribution market. The partnership will see the two companies collaborate in equal measures, having agreed to a 50/50 split.

Atresmedia has recently seen success in its production of Spanish content, with its series La Casa De Papel (Money Heist) being picked up by Netflix as well as winning an Emmy for best drama series in 2018.

The company has increasingly been looking to the international market in recent times, launching a studio division at the end of 2017 and airing dramas of 50-minute episode length as opposed to the Spanish standard of 70 minutes since 2018 in order to appeal to global buyers. It signed a first-look deal with Netflix soon after.

Meanwhile, Telefonica’s Movistar+ has committed itself to fostering local talent and has vowed to produce 12 original series per year. This month, Movistar+ will also be broadcasting its first original feature film from Oscar-winning Spanish director Alejandro Amenabar.

It has a coproduction partnership with NBCUniversal-owned US Hispanic broadcaster Telemundo the first products from which were unveiled in March. In April Telefonica revealed it would be launching a Movistar+ SVoD service.