Spain's unscripted sector battles outside influences
With an ever-increasing number of Spanish unscripted prodcos owned by foreign groups, C21 looks at how these international connections are impacting the pipeline of domestic formats and IP.
Deep Fake Love is an AI-driven dating show for Netflix
Spain is one of the biggest buyers of unscripted content in the world, so it’s little wonder a myriad of foreign production and distribution groups have muscled in on the territory to reap the rewards.
French companies such as Newen, Banijay, StudioCanal, Satisfaction and Mediawan have all expanded their footprint in the Iberian market through acquisitions of and stakes in Spanish prodos, while the UK’s BBC Studios (BBCS) and ITV Studios (ITVS) are relatively recent arrivals. Italy is represented by prodco Garbo Produzione, which in 2022 backed Madrid-based Onza, producer of formats such as The Celeb Challenge and The Way Home.
The strategic alliances can be mutually beneficial. International entities establish local bases from which to introduce their heritage brands into Iberia. Meanwhile, for Spanish prodcos, M&A deals can result in transformational levels of investment from deep-pocketed parent groups as well as the chance to exploit an extensive international distribution network.
Christian Liarte
However, there have also been grumblings in Spain that indie prodcos are being squeezed out of their market by the influx of foreign giants, with domestic producers also having to surrender creative control of the unscripted space to interfering arrivistes.
Still proudly independent is Mediacrest, which produces local versions of unscripted shows such as Keshet’s original format Boom!, for Mediaset, and Mapi, based on a concept from Japan’s NHK, for pubcaster RTVE.
However, Mediacrest has been affected by the influx of groups from abroad recently, when reports in Spain revealed it would lose production of El Cazador (The Chase) to ITVS Iberia from next year. Mediacrest had made 14 seasons of the original ITV format, but ITVS Iberia, led by MD Nathalie Garcia, will take the reins from 2025.
“We live in a globalised world, and this is happening,” says Christian Liarte, director of global business development, partnerships and acquisitions at Mediacrest. “We have to assume we’re going to have to fight against big players, but this is not a problem at all.
“El Cazador has been a great success for Mediacrest these last five years. We have a very close relationship with ITVS Iberia and our goal is to work with them on other projects.”
A former head of European original content at Rakuten TV, Liarte joined Mediacrest in late 2023, following the departure of Daniel Domenjó to Satisfaction Iberia.
“Being independent is a critical decision for us,” Liarte says. “We’ve been approached by many companies who wanted to know if we would be interested in selling, but it’s not only purely economic factors that drive us forward.
“In big groups, you have to hit certain targets and numbers, but independence is of great value to us. That way we can make the best decisions for our content from an editorial perspective rather than prioritising profit and loss margins.”
Talpa Studios’ shiny-floor format The Floor
It’s been just under a year since France’s Satisfaction Group announced it was launching an Iberian arm after partnering with entrepreneur and producer Daniel Domenjó to target the Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American markets.
Satisfaction boss and French TV host Arthur Essebag had been eyeing expansion into Spain for some time and with Domenjó installed as CEO of the newly minted Satisfaction Iberia, work began in earnest. Progress has been swift, with three primetime shows greenlit in little over nine months.
The first production out of the gates was a local version of Dutch format The Connection, commissioned by RTVE, followed by a Portuguese adaptation of Talpa Studios’ shiny-floor format The Floor, coproduced with Coral Europa, and a forthcoming Spanish version of the show for La 1, RTVE’s main channel.
“It’s a beautiful marriage where both halves of the couple have independence and understand both their differences and natural similarities,” says Domenjó, explaining how his partnership with Satisfaction Group works.
“The group’s financial support is paramount, but at the same time we’re working together in a very flexible and agile way. We don’t want to be slaves of annual budgets or rigid business plans. Instead, we want to be able to observe the momentums of the industry in Iberia and Lat Am, because sometimes business plans and PowerPoints show us ways that aren’t aligned with what the audience, broadcasters or streamers want.”
Daniel Domenjó
Satisfaction Iberia will work with other companies such as the aforementioned Talpa and Israel’s Keshet International – which signed a multi-territory formats agreement with Satisfaction Group in January – to bring both tried-and-tested brands and new IP to Iberia and beyond. Domenjó urges Spanish indie prodcos to follow the same collaborative strategy.
“I have led independent companies,” Domenjó says. “I would tell indies to search for good partners if they want their formats to travel easily abroad.”
Raimon Masllorens, co-founder of BBCS-owned Brutal Media, believes Spanish unscripted indies shouldn’t fear losing market share to international groups.
“It’s not a problem because here in Spain there are a lot of laws to protect indies,” he says. “There are many advantages to the investment that is coming into the market from international groups, as they are giving us the opportunity to adapt formats from their catalogues.”
Barcelona- and Madrid-based Brutal Media (This Is Opera) became part of BBCS’s global entertainment production network in late March. Under the agreement, Brutal will continue to develop its slate of original IP in Spain, as well as produce formats from the BBCS catalogue, which includes brands such as Dancing with the Stars, Bake Off and The 1% Club.
So far, the M&A deal has seen Brutal produce a six-part primetime local version of The Weakest Link (El Rival más Débil) for Telecinco.
“One of the most important things is that Brutal Media is BBCS’s only production company here in Spain,” says Masllorens. “So it’s a different philosophy to some of the other groups here, which are thinking more in terms of volume.
“BBCS is a prestigious name recognised around the world, which gives Brutal Media access to a huge international distribution network. However, in our soul and our day-to-day operations, we are still working like an indie.”
Keshet’s unscripted original format Boom!
Paris-based Mediawan launched its own production hub, Mediawan Studios Spain, in late 2020 following its acquisition of Lagardère Studios and Spanish prodco Good Mood. Led by Monica Galer, it comprises Boomerang TV, a subsidiary of Lagardère, plus stakes in Good Mood, Weekend Studio and Veranda TV.
Jorge Pezzi was named CEO of Boomerang in March last year, with the company currently in the process of pivoting after losing the local production of La Voz (The Voice), La Voz Kids and Antena 3 gameshow Pasapalabrato to ITVS Iberia.
Galer said: “Having created ITVS Iberia, ITVS is taking back its titles from Boomerang in 2025. It’s a very exciting time in Boomerang’s history, during which Jorge has the task of rethinking entertainment at the company.”
Boomerang will produce a Spanish version of Battle in the Box, a format acquired by Mediawan from Korean company Something Special in April. Pezzi believes that for the Spanish unscripted market to evolve, buyers need to take more risks by commissioning original concepts.
“However, the fact is the networks don’t get behind paper projects,” he says. “They prefer projects that have already been tested in other markets. One of our intentions is to co-develop new formats with the channels so they feel part of the idea and become more likely to bet on those formats.”
Led by Pilar Blasco, Banijay Iberia was formed in 2020, following the merger of Bainjay and Endemol Shine. Its unscripted labels are Cuarzo Producciones, Endemol Portugal, Gestmusic, Shine Iberia and Zeppelin.
Blasco also believes the Spanish market would benefit from an injection of new IP to complement tried-and-tested formats, although convincing risk-averse buyers is another matter entirely. “It’s a pity because Banijay Iberia is capable of bringing a lot of new IP to the market, but our customers won’t always bet on it,” she says.
“Two examples of very ambitious and pioneering new unscripted shows from Banijay Iberia include [Cuarzo’s AI-driven dating show] Deep Fake Love for Netflix and real-life video game format Time Zone, from Zeppelin for Max.
“We would like to do more because right now we have 11 new pieces of IP in development for 2025, but perhaps only one or two of those will be greenlit.”
Ultimately, Blasco thinks domestic indie prodcos and foreign groups can co-exist in relative harmony if they can both leverage their own unique skill sets.
“The collaborative work between groups and talent from small companies is the key to the future for everyone,” she says. “Some customers prefer to work with indies rather than groups – being small can be an advantage. There’s room for everyone.”
