LA SCREENINGS: As part of a broader IP retention strategy, Paramount’s Latin American outfit TIS Studios returned to distribution this year. What are the objectives of this new unit and why does it claim the move is being vindicated?

Samuel Duque

On the first day of Content Americas 2025 in January, Paramount Global-owned TIS Studios made headlines by announcing the launch of a distribution arm – a move marking the return of a classic player to the international licensing market.

Colombia-based TIS is Paramount’s independent studio in Latin America. In 2021, the US company acquired a 75% stake in TIS and later took over the distribution of its vast library.

Led for 27 years by the Duque family in Colombia and previously owned by both Fox and Disney, TIS has had multiple names over the years, including Telecolombia and Fox Telecolombia, and has long been a key player in the international distribution ecosystem. With the company’s return to the distribution business, more than 5,000 hours and 122 new and classic titles are once again available to buyers.

The company based its move on the idea that, in a contracting market following the end of so-called Peak TV, its library of classics would be a valuable asset – and that no one is better positioned to handle its catalogue than TIS itself. Among the titles now back in TIS’s hands are series and telenovelas such as La Mariposa, Celia, Lynch, Kdabra, Atrapa a un Ladrón, Alias el Mexicano, Amo de Casa and La Dama de Troya.

“All these titles have returned to their production home, which has the best understanding of its own products and is in constant contact with all industry players,” explains TIS president Samuel Duque. However, he adds, the revenues generated by TIS’s new distribution unit will ultimately go to Paramount, which remains its parent company despite its recent sale to Skydance Entertainment.

Mexican film Amor es Amor from Rob Schneider

Reinforcing the idea of the perfect timing for the launch, the new unit’s catalogue also includes local productions from Paramount Television International Studios – many of which were produced for the Paramount+ platform but never released to the wider market following a global strategic shift.

Unreleased content such as the second season of dramedy Cecilia, Mexican film Amor es Amor from Rob Schneider and Colombian film Autogol (Own Goal), about the 1994 murder of Andrés Escobar, are now also being distributed by TIS. These join recent titles like the Brazilian biopic series Anderson Spider Silva, Spanish series Bosé, Mexican thriller Los Enviados, children’s show Marcelo Marmelo Martelo and films like romantic comedy At Midnight and thriller Uno Para Morir.

“I hope the market sees this as an exciting new development, especially due to the opportunity to air much of this content as first-window programming,” Duque says.

Alejandro Toro

“Buyers can treat these titles as practically original content. And in this contracted market, we see that as an opportunity for both us and our clients,” adds VP of commercial Alejandro Toro, who joined TIS in January to lead all commercial activities, including the new distribution arm.

Also among the standouts on the TIS slate is the fourth season of the narco-drama El Capo, which is also unreleased and available to licence along with the previous three seasons. Created by Gustavo Bolívar and originally aired in 2010 on RCN Televisión and MundoFox, El Capo is one of the most successful franchises in recent Colombian and Latin American TV history. It was sold in multiple territories, adapted in Mexico and also streamed on Netflix.

This new season, shot in Mexico, Colombia and the US, abandons the long-format model (previous seasons had between 60 and 90 episodes) and transforms into a premium eight-episode series. “El Capo did very well on Netflix and Paramount+, and now the new season — along with the entire franchise — is available as a package,” says Toro, who reveals several negotiations currently underway for the series.

According to the executive, five months after launching, the strategy behind the new distribution unit has already proven sound. “We’re validating it because there’s a lot of interest,” he says, citing the example of Futuro Desierto, a sci-fi series directed by Argentinians Lucía and Nicolás Puenzo and coproduced with Gaumont.

Set in a near future where humans and androids co-exist, Futuro Desierto features an international cast including José María Yazpik, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, Andrés Parra and Karla Souza. The show was acquired by Netflix for Latin America, as reported by C21 last week, a deal that further vindicates TIS’s move back into distribution.

Autogol centres on the murder of Andrés Escobar

Other soon-to-be-released titles – like the Mexican teen horror-thriller series Socorro and the true crime docuseries Monstruos de Ecatepec, coproduced with Gato Grande and based on a serial killer couple – are now hoping to follow in Futuro Desierto’s footsteps at the LA Screenings.

TIS also announced last week that it will shop the Colombian period series Cosiaca, coproduced by Teleantioquia and PFM Producciones.

Toro notes, however, that despite confirming their expectations at launch, there is also a “slowdown” in the market and the economic situation is “delaying” some purchasing decisions. “The market is very interested, but also cautious in its investments,” he warns.

That’s why content diversification is also part of the script for TIS’s new unit, which, in addition to the mentioned titles, will distribute third-party content. “We’re already closing distribution deals with third parties to bring more content to the table, including unscripted formats produced by TIS and offered to the market,” Toro says.

Mexican teen horror-thriller series Socorro

TIS is no stranger to producing unscripted content for the international market. From its Colombian hub, the company has created versions of RuPaul’s Drag Race for Germany, Mexico and globally, as well as Ex on the Beach and Dating Naked for markets including Brazil, Mexico, the UK, Netherlands and Italy.

“We’re working on a strategy to develop unscripted products and offer formats to our partners in the region, including third-party ideas,” Toro adds, giving the example of a paper format in the cooking space they’re about to announce – one they see as having “a lot of potential” to be produced out of the company’s Colombia hub.

With four business verticals – original content creation, production services, studio rentals in Bogotá and now distribution – TIS has positioned itself as one of the most complete studios in Latin America. It’s no surprise it has attracted investment from companies like Fox, Disney, and Paramount.

But perhaps more than its nine studios, its impeccable track record and its experience working with Hollywood, what has truly made the company stand out is its ability to generate its own IP library. That’s why, according to Duque and Toro, what truly drives this return to distribution is a renewed strategy to continue creating, and retaining, intellectual properties.

“We’re developing content in which TIS is willing to invest, with the goal of selling licences and generating coproductions with production companies, channels and streamers where we can retain IP and back-end rights, both for us and the content creators,” Toro explains. “We want to create win-win opportunities for everyone. And then, of course, distribute that content.”

In that sense, a new line of streaming films that TIS is developing in Mexico and Colombia stands out. The company is “running the entire track as if they were theatrical films,” applying for funding for these projects from Mexico’s Fiscal Stimulus for Investment Projects in National Film Production and/or Distribution and Colombia’s Film Development Fund.

“To retain IP, we have to be very bold in our business models,” Toro says. “We need to look at production models beyond originals in order to build long-term IP and consider the overall sustainability of the business.”